Fremont high school norton reader

ESSAY #3: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

(2-3 double-spaced, typed pages)

First Draft Due: Monday, 10/28 (bring one printed out copy to class)

Final Copy Due: Sunday, 11/10

The Assignment: In 2-3 pages, write a rhetorical analysis of ONE of the articles we have read so far in class. Here is a list of them, plus a few more in the Norton Reader that are similar. Choose one!

-“Sorry I am too busy to talk to you right now….”

-(OR “The ‘Busy’ Trap” in the Norton Reader p 380)

- “Instead of School supplies, this year I’m shopping for a bulletproof backpack”

-(OR “Get a knife, get a dog, but get rid of guns” in the Norton Reader p 384)

-“Things are changing so fast: the benefits and dangers of robots in the workplace”

(OR “To Siri with love: How one boy with autism became BFF with Apple’s Siri” In the Norton Reader p 628)

-“Why are kids injured more often in sports”

-(OR “Sports should be child’s play” in the Norton Reader p 393)

-“Fremont High School” pages 423-428 in the Norton Reader

-“Stuff is not salvation” pages 378-380 in the Norton Reader

-“Be a gamer, save the world” pages 396-399 in the Norton Reader

Your rhetorical analysis should have a main claim or argument (as we have been discussing), but for this exercise, it should be an answer (notice I did not say “the” answer) to the following question: What rhetorical strategies does the author use and what is the effect?

Advice: When conducting a “rhetorical analysis,” thoroughly examine the connections between the author/speaker/rhetor, the audience, the purpose of the text/speech, and the context in which the text/speech was written/read/delivered (author-audience-purpose-context). Refer to Bitzer’s “The Rhetorical Situation” reading. In addition, consider not just what an author/speaker is saying, but also how the author says it. To further illustrate what it means to analyze a text rhetorically, consider the following questions:

· To whom is the author writing? (Who is the audience?)

· In what context is the author writing? (Time? Venue? “Climate?”)

· What words do you see the author emphasizing or repeating? Why?

· How does the author use analogy, imagery, and symbolism?

· Does the author refer to other authors? In what ways? To what purpose?

· How is the text organized or structured?

· What stylistic traits do you see the author using? why did they use them?

· How does the author try to persuade her or his readers?

· Who or what does the author praise or criticize? Why?

· What tone/language reveals the author's attitude toward his or her subject?

· How does the author encourage you to respond to her his or her writing?

· How does the author employ the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos)?

· What sort of reasoning do you see in the text? Do you see any false reasoning? What effect does it have?

Hints:

· Don’t just repeat the questions above. Remember what we have been learning in class about analytical essays. Instead, use the questions to orient your thoughts about the rhetorical moves that the author is making. Do some freewriting before you actually organize your essay. Remember that directly answering the questions will not necessarily lead to a good claim. Instead, they are intended to get you to think about the text that you’re reading, and helpfully guide your thought process. You will not be addressing all of the questions in your paper, but you may be addressing more than one (in which case you should explicitly show the connections between your ideas).

· Consider the author’s use of words and phrases and how the text itself is structured. You are not just noticing the “what” of the piece, but rather the “how.” (Likewise, consider not just what a paragraph says, but what it does.)

· Your own reaction to the text can be -- but is not necessarily -- revealing and productive. In other words, if you have a strong reaction to some portion of a text, you should consider why you have that reaction.

· You don’t need to have a name for every rhetorical strategy. You just need to be able to describe the strategy and recognize its effect. You are encouraged to use some of the technical language that we have learned in class, but the description of the strategy is clearly important.

*This essay should have a thoughtful introduction, a well-organized and coherent body, and a conclusion that appropriately closes out the essay.

*This essay’s primary focus is the article you choose. However I will allow ONE outside source if you would like to bring in some outside information. You must cite this information appropriately and provide a work cited page with a reference for the source.

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) also has a decent rundown of the rhetorical situation that you might find helpful: .