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Rhetorical Essay

Required Readings and Viewings:

· Daniel D’Addario’s “Everything is Trolling Now” (420)

· Simon Dumenco’s “If We’re All So Sick of You, Facebook, Why Can’t We Quit You? (407)

· Richard Rushfield’s “Toward a Unified Theory of How the Internet Makes Everything Terrible” (418)

· Salvador Rodriguez’s “In the Digital Age, Breaking Up is Hard to Do” (415)

· Blacklivesmatter.com (Links to an external site.) and read “Who We Are” (about us, her story, guiding principles) and view the portfolio of images under Instagram icon and the bottom of the home page.

· Western Washington University Diversity Poster Competition https://housing.wwu.edu/reslife/diversity (Links to an external site.). View past posters and read contest “history and philosophy”

· Research 2-3 sources on “rhetorical situation” and Aristotle’s triangulation of appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) and cite these sources as part of your analysis.

Recommended: I have three copies of Everything’s an Argument (Andrea Lunsford) on reserve in the library. The chapters on Rhetorical Analysis and Logos, Ethos, and Pathos will prove useful in completing this assignment.

The Visual Rhetoric section online at Purdue OWL is a great resource. (Links to an external site.) This link is to the print version from Purdue Online Writing Lab

These Youtube videos favored by former students may also prove useful--they are fairly basic, but you are not limited to these:

Visual Rhetoric (Links to an external site.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vJvivIzkDg

“The Rhetorical Situation, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Writing Center: (Links to an external site.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-eRycqjzbg

Introduction to Ethos,Logos, Pathos (Links to an external site.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKtQEnERhSY

How to Identify Ethos, Logos, Pathos by Shmoop (Links to an external site.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf81d0YS58E

Purpose:

For this assignment we will continue to discuss the qualities of good argumentation and to develop criteria for evaluating arguments that we can apply to the principle readings and beyond. The emphasis will be on how arguments are presented and not just what they present.

Topic:

There are numerous terms that we toss around when deciding what makes for effective argumentation. Traditional rhetorical analysis (outlined by Aristotle) says that every argument is based on a triangulation of appeals to the emotions (pathos), to values (ethos), and to logic (logos). But an exact balance of this trio might not be most important--maybe an effectively emotional appeal would persuade more people; maybe you feel that reason/logic is the most important element, etc. While the term “rhetorical analysis” may seem technical to some people, it is an activity we participate in daily—every time we read or view something or talk to someone we are assessing their credibility (whether or not we believe them) based on the use of evidence, the use of reason, and the use of emotion. The credibility of the person or story depends on how the material is presented. For this assignment we will look more closely at defining purpose and function in arguments with special attention to the role of audience in defining what rules and values delimit what an argument ought to do.

Writing Task:

Write a 800-1000 word rhetorical analysis in response to one of the following options—remember a rhetorical analysis asks you to assess how effectively the argument is presented—you are not arguing your position on the topic:

Option I:

Go to BlackLivesMatter.com (Links to an external site.) and assess the rhetorical situation for the organization. What is their purpose and who is their audience? (here you want to read how the organization defines themselves and their goals/mission on the home page—this would be their purpose); then based on your assessment of the website’s purpose, which image or images are most effective at conveying that purpose/message to their intended audience—this should be in your thesis. You might consider comparing and contrasting what you see as an effective visual argument for the organization based on their stated purpose versus a less effective image. Keep in mind that this is not a review of the organization itself—you are assessing the relationship between the organization’s stated purpose (how they describe their goal/mission) and the images used to convey that purpose/message. Be sure to include a criteria or rationale for evaluating an effective visual argument (ethos, pathos, logos are applicable as well).

Option II:

View Western Washington’s annual Diversity Poster Competition. Again, assess the rhetorical situation for the poster competition—what is their purpose/goal and who is their audience? (read the “history and philosophy” section) https://housing.wwu.edu/reslife/diversity (Links to an external site.)

Next, assess which poster from the past ten years (as a visual argument) most effectively conveys the University’s purpose or theme for the competition and the degree to which this is accomplished or not? Conversely, which poster is the least effective. Your thesis should clearly state which is the most and/or least effective and the primary reason why. (You can analyze one image or poster or compare and contrast several). You should also include a criteria or rationale for evaluating an effective visual argument.

Option III:

Compare and contrast two essays from the assigned readings for this unit.

· Daniel D’Addario’s Everything is Trolling Now” (420)

· Simon Dumenco’s “If We’re All So Sick of You, Facebook, Why Can’t We Quit You? (407)

· Salvador Rodriguez’s “In the Digital Age, Breaking Up is Hard to Do” (415)

· Richard Rushfield’s “Toward a Unified Theory of How the Internet Makes Everything Terrible” (418) This essay is optional.

Establish a criteria (standards/key points) for evaluating an effective argument in order to assess the arguments’ effectiveness. Your thesis should state which essay is most effective based on the criteria--Here again you will want to examine the rhetorical situation—purpose, audience, tone/message and use of logos, ethos, pathos (that is appeals to logic, ethics, emotion). For this option you may also choose to rhetorically analyze just one of the assigned essays.

For all Three Options Your essay should:

· research 2-3 sources on the “rhetorical situation” and Aristotle’s triangulation of appeals (logos, ethos, pathos)--be able to explain these concepts and cite the sources you consulted as part of your paper.

· offer clear criteria (rationale) for evaluating an effective visual or textual argument.

· examine the information, claims, issues, and assumptions found in the texts/images.

· be unified around your own main line of argument (your own thesis that states which text/essay or image/poster is most effective and why)

· Support all assertions with specific references from the texts/images as well.

· Don't forget to include a works cited page and intext citations following the MLA format. Writing Tips: Quotations

If you responded to options I or II please include the images you assessed in the final draft. If the images or posters have no title, I often give them a short title to make references to the image/poster easier in the body of the paper. However, I always give enough visual detail as support so my reader will understand my analysis without actually having the image in front of them.

Due Dates:

Rough Draft is due Sunday, April 24 at midnight. A peer review will be assigned after midnight and will be due before the final draft. Please try to complete the peer review before Friday, April 29. Once again, you are asked to complete a peer review worksheet: Peer Review Worksheet 4.docx Preview the document View in a new window

Final Drafts are due Sunday, May 1 at midnight.