You See, the Thing About Rhetoric....

In my opinion, there are a great deal of advantages that can be gained by being well versed in rhetorical analysis. First off, it offers you an opportunity to review something that you may or may not agree with, and look at it under a magnifying glass. While analyzing a piece, not only are you able to evaluate how effective it is as a piece of rhetoric, but you’re also able to take it in and form your own opinion on the topic that they are presenting to you.
Another advantage to analyzing other people’s rhetorical pieces, is that it prepares you to pick apart other people’s arguments. Once you’ve practiced picking apart someone’s statement, it will be much easier for you to find the errors in someone else’s argument after practicing it a few times. Lets say that you are in a debate with a friend of yours, after the things that we’ve practiced, if they state a logical fallacy, you will be able to more efficiently pick through the contradiction, and form a witty response that will support your own cause, or help them strengthen their own cause. Also, you can always make you and your point sound more well founded, if you say something to the effect of, “You sir, are using scare tactics to excel your views.” Just simply being able to practice to find out what is wrong with a written piece, helps one find out what is wrong, on the spot, with what is coming out of someone’s mouth, while preparing their own rhetorical appeal.
Analyzation of another’s rhetoric can also make you a better rhetorician yourself. As is true with any learned skill, not only does practice make perfect, but so does watching the winners and losers of that skill, learning from their trials and tribulations. So to with rhetoric, by judging the strengths and weaknesses of someone else’s piece, so to are you able to better find the weaknesses in your own writing, and play off of the strengths that you already possess. By seeing what someone does wrong, or by what someone does right, you can keep these facts in mind when you are composing your own piece.
We as people, don’t just evaluate rhetoric when we are given an assignment by a teacher, we are always evaluating other people’s statements and opinions on a daily basis. It seems that no matter where we are, or what we are doing, we are never to far from experiencing a rhetorical appeal from someone. Whether it be from a politician in front of an audience of hundreds of thousands of supporters and those who are in opposition of their view, or just ourselves, B.S.ing with that guy who doesn’t shut up at the Kwik Trip down the street, rhetoric is everywhere. Being more familiar with the various aspects of rhetoric helps us formulate, as well as evaluate, other people’s appeals.