RhetoricalAnalysis Essay
The objective of this assignment is to enable you towrite a well-constructed rhetorical analysis that makes a claim regarding therhetorical tools exhibited in a text.
The subject of your analysis will be a rhetorical article (editorial)approximately 1-2 pages long.
Suggested sources: The New York Times, TheWashington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the London Times, the San FranciscoChronicle, your citys newspapers editorial page, etc..
You can use any editorial writer. Suggested writers include: RichardCohen, Ellen Goodman, Maureen ODowd, William Raspberry, Anna Quindlen.
Sample Websites from which to harvest editorials:
In a rhetorical analysis, you should:
1) Make aclearly stated, complex claim about the texts rhetoric and its effectiveness(thesis)
2) Contextualizethe text using the Rhetorical Triangle (author, audience and purpose)
3) Discussrhetorical appeals of the text (logs, ethos, pathos)
4) Observeproper MLA quotation and citation formatting requirement
5) Observeproper MLA paper formatting requirement
6) Choose a clearorganization for the paper that clearly aids understanding (think about youraudience the whole time you are writing)
7) Createinteresting and functional introduction and conclusion paragraphs
Your essay should include the following parts:
- Introduction: this is where you introduce the text you will analyze and let the reader know what your standpoint on this texts rhetoric will be. Be sure to include an explicitly stated thesis. Write in the third person throughout, and use an authoritative tone.
- Body:
*Contextualize: who is the author, who isthe audience, and what is the authors purpose in this piece of writing?
*Identify and discuss each of therhetorical appeals—ethos, pathos, logos
*Make sure each paragraph has a mainpoint, evidence from the text to support that point, and explanation of theevidence
*Remember to keep your analysis asobjective as possible; discuss the texts rhetoric, not its subject
- Conclusion: this is where you restate the claim you have made about the text and explain why your analysis supports the claim. You should also use a recognized concluding strategy; a formal conclusion, an implied conclusion, a broader point made of the thesis.
Minimum length: 750 words
Testimonials
