Rhetorical Analysis

The following are some questions you can ask about a forum to help you get a sense of its audience, purpose, and context.

• Who is the audience (or audiences)?
  • What are their demographics? (Age, gender, education, race, religion, or anything else that you can reasonably assume from the available evidence.)
  • What does the audience find persuasive, compelling, or interesting?
  • What draws the audience to the forum? What are they hoping to get out of it?
• What can you tell us about the forum itself?
• Why does the forum exist? Does the forum have a stated or implicit mission?
• Is there an organization that sponsors the forum? What are their goals?
• Who “pays the bills” for your forum?
• Who writes for the forum? Why do they do it?