Essay 3 Rhetorical Analysis Writing Essay
English 1301Instructions for turning in your paper:
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Write an essay in which you analyze the rhetorical devices used in an article (suggestions are listed below). Assignment: Write a 750–1000-word rhetorical analysis essay.
This essay is worth 15% of your final grade for the course.
Directions
Complete a close reading of a chosen public document (yes, you get to choose!). Then, write a cohesive essay that:
1. Introduce and summarize the document.
2. Analyzes the author(s)’s use of the rhetorical tools such as ethos, logos, and pathos used in a public document. More options are listed below.
3. Evaluates the document’s effectiveness using these rhetorical tools.
This essay is NOT simply an expository or descriptive essay. It is an analysis of how effectively rhetorical tools are used in the document.
ü Read “Chapter 8 Conducting Rhetorical Analysis” in Writing: Ten Core Concepts. Read the sample stories in the chapter.
ü Do an Internet search of websites with listings of rhetorical devices or rhetorical tools. Read over a few to familiarize yourself with enough of them in order to be able to pick them out of an article.
ü Do an Internet search of websites with articles about the three appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. Read over a few to familiarize yourself with enough of them in order to be able to pick the three appeals out of an article.
ü Choose one of the following for your subject/topic for this assignment:
o You may analyze the author(s)’s use of ethos, logos, and pathos in one of the public document articles (from the Internet or a book) that you used for the Informative Essay (one of the web page articles you chose). If you neglected to include sources for that essay, do research now and locate a web page article on your topic for the Informative Essay.
o Alternative choices:
§ “The Price of College is Rising Faster than Wages for People with Degrees”§ “Why Is College So Expensive?”§ “College Costs Have Increased by 169% Since 1980—But Pay for Young Workers is Up by Just 19%: Georgetown Report”
o Alternative choices: choose another article and ask for approval at least 5 days before due date via email; include a link to the article in the email and the name of the article.
ü Write a 3–5-page (750-1000 word) rhetorical analysis in which you identify at minimum three rhetorical devices/tools used by the author. A good choice is the three appeals of pathos, ethos, and logos, but this is not required. Or, you can use one or two of the three appeals along with other choices. Examples could be metaphor, simile, alliteration, repetition, allusion, etc.
ü Be sure that your analysis has a clear focal point and an interpretive thesis—a clear statement that sets up the essence of the rest of the paper, naming the three rhetorical devices or tools you will analyze in your paper.
ü Analyze the way the text delivers its message. Consider the rhetorical situation that relates to your chosen text. What can you say about the speaker, the audience for the text, and purpose informing the piece?
ü Think about the genre and medium conventions and about appeals offered in the text (logos, ethos, pathos). Examine the strategies used and the details that are present in the text.
ü Make good use of critical thinking strategies as you begin, allowing careful reading of the text to drive your project.
ü Make sure to remember that this is a rhetorical analysis and not an expository or persuasive paper. You don’t want to try to convince your audience of anything concerning the topic other than what you think about how convincing the author(s) is by using rhetorical strategies in the article and on the page.
ü For a list of rhetorical devices and how they are used see: 31 Useful Rhetorical Devices.
ü For a list and explanation of the three appeals as rhetorical strategies see: Using Rhetorical Strategies for Persuasion.
ü Papers for this assignment will be checked by Turnitin for similarity to source material and AI creation of the text.
Typically, in an essay, you will try to include the following elements:
· Introduction—hook your reader.
· Thesis—clear thesis that includes the name of the author and the name of the article, the date it was published, and the name of the company or organization who published the article.
· Several body paragraphs.
· Good conclusion to leave your audience with something to think about.
Works Cited page is required. At minimum you will cite the article you are analyzing, and at minimum two other sources for information; you might also choose to cite Chapter 8 from the textbook Writing: Ten Core Concepts.
Notes: Use MLA format, 750-1000 words (which is usually about 3-5 pages).