Rhetorical Analysis
Finding a Topic
The purpose of this essay is to examine the rhetorical features of your selected text. Choose a topic that is long enough and contains enough of the persuasive elements discussed in class to make a substantial analysis.
Historical Speech Analysis: Select a speech or public letter by a politician or other public figure that has cultural or historical significance. The web site American Rhetorics Top 100 speeches provides some ideas. Speeches by current figures, such as Barack Obamas The Audacity of Hope from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, can also serve as appropriate topics. You may cite videos, audio recordings, and/or written transcripts. You cannot do Letter from Birmingham Jail by MLK or Obamas A More Perfect Union as we analyzed these texts in class.
Developing Your Analysis
Rhetorical Situation. Establish the rhetorical situation of the argument by considering the authors background, purpose, and audience. This often serves as the introduction as the rhetorical situation offers background which helps the reader put the argument in context.
Means of Persuasion. Analyze the authors use of ethos, pathos, and logos. The body should include somewhere an analysis of the authors appeals to character/authority, emotion, and reason. Be sure to cite specific examples and explain how they are intended to affect the audience. If one of the means of persuasion is missing from your argument, this absence should also be addressed.
Other Rhetorical Strategies. Consider the other rhetorical features of the text, such as thesis, organization, and the specific stylistic techniques discussed in the lecture and in Chapter 11 of the textbook pages 98-130, Analyzing Texts. Incorporate in your analysis a discussion of these features, where applicable, into the introduction or body of the paper.
Evaluate the effectiveness of your chosen text. Discuss whether its persuasive strategies are successful for the intended audience.
Organizing your Analysis. Decide how you will organize the ideas in your analysis. Will you focus part by part, text by text, thematically, or spatially? Follow pages 125-126 in your textbook to develop an outline.
Additional Requirements
Sources: In addition to the text you are analyzing, you may want to find sources to help establish the background and rhetorical situation of your topic. Do not research the texts rhetorical strategies. Your analysis should not be taken from secondary sources but should instead reflect your own thoughts and ideas.
Format: Your final draft should be 750-1,000 words, typed, double-spaced, carefully proofread, and formatted in MLA style. See Chapter 54, MLA Style pages 548-596.
Dos and Donts
Do write for an audience unfamiliar with your text. Imagine a reader who may have read the argument but hasnt put a lot of thought into it. You are explaining the persuasive strategies to someone who needs to be reminded about the context and content of your topic.
Dont simply summarize the text, but do summarize when necessary. Keep in mind that you are writing an analysis, not a summary. You should not simply restate the arguments main ideas. But you will have to summarize to provide context either at the beginning or throughout the essay, depending on how you decide to organize your ideas. For help with that see Chapter 51 in your textbook, Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing pages 526-538.
Do focus on HOW the author attempts to persuade his or her audience. Closely examine each rhetorical feature, cite specific examples, and explain how each example is intended to affect the audience.
Dont write a position paper, but do offer a thesis statement that speaks to your opinion of the arguments effectiveness. The goal of the assignment is not to respond to the authors argument as much as critique its effectiveness. Your stance might come up in the conclusion but should not be the focus of the essay. This may seem a little confusing but think of it as if you are analyzing the arguments strength (or lack there of). Your opinion on whether you think the authors argument is right or good is less important than if you think it was effective or ineffective. Now of course, if you are persuaded by the essay or speech it is likely that the rhetorical devices were effective. What you need to answer in your thesis is why: why was the essay or speech effective (or ineffective for that matter)? It is in exploring this question, you will be able to form a thesis.
You can use the example we went over in class, Why It Worked: A Rhetorical Analysis of Obamas Speech on Race. The writer, Roy Peter Clark, provides his thesis in point form, discussing Obamas 2008 speechs effectiveness. Traditionally, a thesis is one or two sentences, but you can format it however you would like. (Though it is always best to be concise).
Grading Criteria
Your essay will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
Demonstrated ability to construct a rhetorical analysis as explained in class lectures and handouts.
Demonstrated understanding of the means of persuasion and other rhetorical devices.
Clear and focused thesis statement.
Paragraphs fully developed with detailed supporting evidence.
Proper use, citation, and documentation of source material using MLA format.
Effective essay organization to create a clear line of argument.
Clear and precise sentence-level rhetoric (grammar and style).
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