Introduction:

1 Sentence One: Name the author, genre, and title of

work, date in parenthesis; a rhetorically active verb; and a
THAT clause containing the major assertion or thesis in
the text.
2 Sentence Two: An explanation of how the author
develops and supports the thesis.
3 Sentence Three: A statement of the author’s apparent
purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.
4 Sentence Four: A description of the intended audience
and/or the relationship the author establishes with the
audience.
5 Sentence Five (thesis): In the article, (author’s last
name) makes an (effective OR ineffective) argument
about (list the main argument).
Sojourner Truth, in the speech Ain’t I a Woman
(1851), compares the plight of enslaved people and that of
women to provoke change in both women’s rights and the
abolition of slavery. Truth supports her argument by
giving examples of the work and loss that she has been
required to endure as an enslaved woman. The author’s
purpose is to point out the physical and emotional
strength that women have in order to convince them that
women should have the same rights as men. The author
writes in confident and challenging tone for the Christian
white men who are in attendance at the Women’s Rights
Conference at Akron, Ohio. In the speech, Truth makes an
effective argument about the strength that women possess.
Organize your body paragraphs so that you talk about
beginning, middle and end of the article. Here is a
standard frame for the body paragraphs:
In the beginning (or in the middle, or at the end), the
author opens by (use a rhetorically accurate verb
here) the idea of _________________. (Use the
sandwich method to insert your quote here). By using
(insert a literary device here), the author appeals to
(ethos/pathos/logos) which causes the reader to….

Body Paragraph #1: In the beginning, the speaker

opens by spotlighting the claim that women are delicate.
She uses first person point of view to call attention to her
experiences as an enslaved woman and compares them to
the arguments that women need to be cared for by stating,
“Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-
puddles, or gives me any best place!” By using her
anecdotal experience as both a woman and an enslaved
person, she appeals to pathos so that the audience
considers whether or not they really consider all women
as delicate beings who are incapable of having voting
rights.
Body Paragraph #2: Later in the passage, the speaker
refutes the argument against women’s rights. She alludes
to the religious history of the birth of Jesus Christ when
she says, “Then that little man in black there, he says
women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ
wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from?
Where did your Christ come from? From God and a
woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.” When she
uses this religious allusion, she appeals to logos and
provokes reflection in the audience because they are
forced to reckon with the logic of their religious
foundation for denying women’s rights.
Body Paragraph #3: In the end, Truth reiterates her
experiences as a woman. She employs the use of the
rhetorical question, “Ain’t I a Woman?” in order to
require the audience of men to contrast her experiences as
an enslaved woman to their supposed beliefs of what
women can endure. Her use of the rhetorical question
inspires change in the belief that women are weak.
Conclusion: Start with a modified form of your thesis:
Throughout the article, (Author’s last name)
(rhetorically accurate verb) about (name the main
argument) in order to…
THEN talk about the “so what” moment. Why does
this matter? These are YOUR WORDS – your “mic
drop” moment.
Throughout the speech, Truth highlights the strengths
that women possess to prove that they deserve equal
rights. The dominant perspective continues to use ideas
of supposed weakness about the minority experience as an
excuse to maintain the status quo. It is important to
remember that each person’s life brings strengths that
have come as a result of their oppression. People should
no longer be justified in having more rights simply
because one type of strength is valued more than another.

Finally – TITLE
Your essay title should be a hint at the final thoughts in your essay.
Example:
Valuing the Strengths of All People: A Rhetorical Analysis
Essay without color coding (in MLA Format): Starts on next page.
Your final essay must look exactly like this: 12 Point, Times New
Roman, Double spaced
 Valuing the Strengths of All People: A Rhetorical Analysis

Sojourner Truth, in the speech Ain’t I a Woman (1851), compares the plight of enslaved

people and that of women to provoke change in both women’s rights and the abolition of slavery.

Truth supports her argument by giving examples of the work and loss that she has been required

to endure as an enslaved woman. The author’s purpose is to point out the physical and emotional

strength that women have in order to convince them that women should have the same rights as

men. The author writes in confident and challenging tone for the Christian white men who are in

attendance at the Women’s Rights Conference at Akron, Ohio. In the speech, Truth makes an

effective argument about the strength that women possess.

In the beginning, the speaker opens by spotlighting the claim that women are delicate.

She uses first person point of view to call attention to her experiences as an enslaved woman and

compares them to the arguments that women need to be cared for by stating, “Nobody ever helps

me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place!” By using her anecdotal

experience as both a woman and an enslaved person, she appeals to pathos so that the audience

considers whether or not they really consider all women as delicate beings who are incapable of

having voting rights.

Later in the passage, the speaker refutes the argument against women’s rights. She

alludes to the religious history of the birth of Jesus Christ when she says, “Then that little man in

black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman!

Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman!

Man had nothing to do with Him.” When she uses this religious allusion, she appeals to logos

and provokes reflection in the audience because they are forced to reckon with the logic of their

religious foundation for denying women’s rights.

 In the end, Truth reiterates her experiences as a woman. She employs the use of the

rhetorical question, “Ain’t I a Woman?” in order to require the audience of men to contrast her

experiences as an enslaved woman to their supposed beliefs of what women can endure. Her use

of the rhetorical question inspires change in the belief that women are weak.

Throughout the speech, Truth highlights the strengths that women possess to prove that

they deserve equal rights. As people from the dominant perspective continue to use ideas of

supposed weakness and capability about women and people from the minority experience as an

excuse to maintain their dominance, it is important to remember that each person’s life brings

strengths that have come as a result of their oppression. People should no longer be required to

have more rights than others simply because one person’s type of strength is valued more than

another.

Works Cited

Truth, Sojourner. "Ain't I a Woman?." Civil Rights and Conflict in the United States: Selected

Speeches. Lit2Go Edition. 1851. Web. December 08, 2020.