Https www youtube com watch v oina46hewg8

Project 3: Rhetorical Analysis

Now that we have written our own arguments, we are going to take a closer look at the way other texts haveused rhetorical appeals to persuade us in their arguments. In this project, you will analyze the way in which atext utilizes deliberate rhetorical strategies to create an argument.

Assignment: Write a 4-5- page, thesis-driven, essay in which you analyze how a certain text makes its argumentand argue whether or not this was effective. You will consider the rhetorical situation (topic, purpose, angle,readers, context) and the use of rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, ethos) in an audio/visual text and describe how

the author employed these techniques. You will argue how the author successfully accomplished (or did not accomplish) his/her purpose based upon the elements of rhetorical situation and rhetorical appeals.

Genre: Rhetorical Analysis

Purpose: Argument, Analysis

Audience: Intelligent, but uninformed

Requirements:

 Length: 4-5pages

 Format: MLA conventions, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12pt. font, Times New Roman

 Analyze this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8

Learning Outcomes for Major Project Three: Rhetorical Analysis

Reading

 Read audio/visual texts critically. Learn and use new vocabulary of rhetorical appeals in your own work. Read a text not for its content, but for its design.

 Use and cite information from one of the following sources to develop and support your argument:

Collaborating

 Once you complete a first draft of this paper, you will review a peer’s paper and provide useful feedback.

 Visit the writing center on campus.

Writing

 Write a 4-5-page essay

 Develop and support an arguable thesis

 Write a detailed, focused analysis of rhetorical strategies and appeals at work within a text

 Balance description and analysis effectively

 Write well-developed cohesive paragraphs with strong topic sentences and logical transitions

 Analyze the rhetorical situation and different rhetorical appeals to illustrate and support your ideas

 Format your paper using MLA citations and conventions

Rhetorical Analysis: A rhetorical analysis examines how a text is deliberately constructed or composed tocreate a persuasive argument (considering elements like rhetorical appeals, strategies of development ordesign elements.

Rhetorical Situation

Think about the author’s choices and consider all aspects of the rhetorical situation. You do not need to go into detail about every aspect; only some aspects will be worth exploring more deeply. Focus on the elements of the rhetorical situation that you think are most relevant to the text you chose.

 Topic: What is the topic of this text?

 Angle: What is unique about the way this text approaches its topic?

 Purpose: What is the author trying to accomplish? Why did the author feel the need to write the text?

 Readers: Who is the intended audience?

 Context: What external influences shaped how the reader interprets the text: place (where the text is

read), medium (where the text is published), current events (social, economic, or political trends)

Genre

Think about the elements that make up this text and recognize the pattern. What other texts is this text like?

Imagine that you had a room full of different texts and your job was to organize them and place each type of/genre of text into its own cardboard box, which box would you put this one in?

 What is it: What type of text is this? How would you categorize this text?

 Who reads it: Who is the intended audience? The writer had a particular audience in mind when they created the text. Who do you think that audience was?

 What is it for: What is the purpose (or the purposes) of this text? To persuade or argue? To inform or explain? To entertain or express? To analyze?

Rhetorical Appeals

You should address all three elements of rhetorical appeals and explore how the author utilizes these appeals.

While you might find that a text is relying mostly on one type of appeal, you should see elements of the other

appeals as well. Rarely does an author rely on only one of the appeals.

 Ethos: Appeals to character and expertise of the writer or speaker

 Logos: Appeals based on logic, reasoning, and evidence concerning the subject

 Pathos: Appeals to the beliefs and values of the audience