Rhetorical Analysis¶
Rhetorical analysis examines how texts persuade, argue, and communicate, with attention to structure (organization of ideas), devices (ethos, pathos, logos, rhetorical questions), and implicit meaning (what is unsaid but implied). In computational contexts, this involves discourse parsing, argumentative-relation extraction, and understanding how linguistic structures encode persuasion.
For misinformation and fake-news research, rhetorical analysis is critical because deceptive or misleading texts often rely on rhetorical techniques—framing, selective presentation of evidence, appeals to emotion, implicit conclusions—rather than explicit falsehood. Understanding these techniques helps identify how information is shaped to mislead.
Key papers¶
- Interpretive Variation and Discourse Structure in Detecting Enthymemes in Controversial Political Discourse — uses Rhetorical Structure Theory to analyze where implicit arguments occur; shows that argumentative satellites (CAUSE, EXPLANATION, CONDITION) and tree structure distinguish easily recognized enthymemes from ambiguous ones.
Related topics¶
- Computational Argumentation (broader theoretical context)
- Implicit argument detection (identifying unstated components)
- Persuasion (rhetorical intent and effect)
- Stance Detection (identifying implicit positions)