Assignment -Rhetorical Analysis
For this assignment, you are asked to analyze either Jon Lovett's "The Culture of Shut Up" or Susan Casey's "Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic...Are You?" (beginning on pages 13 and 225 of The Engaged Reader, respectively). Your rhetorical analysis should be comprised of the following integrated parts:
- An introduction consisting of the following five elements:
1. a hook
2. the article's author (first and last name) and title
3. the author's credentials (brevity and relevance to the article topic are essential here)
4. an overview of the article's rhetorical situation (the author's rhetorical purpose and intended audience, and the article's occasion and general topic to segue nicely into your thesis)
5. your thesis statement
- A thesis statement containing the following three elements:
1. the rhetorical strategies you are using to analyze the text
2. the author's central assertion
3. the effectiveness of the text (author achieves his or her rhetorical purpose), ineffectiveness (author does not achieve his or her rhetorical purpose), or a combination of the two (author has mixed success in achieving his or her rhetorical purpose). See page 151of A Brief Guide to Writings from Readings for examples.
- Three to four subsequent body paragraphs, which should:
1. begin with a topic sentence identifying the specific rhetorical strategy to be discussed and
linking that strategy to a persuasive appeal
2. connect to the previous paragraph with effective transitions
3. include specific examples from the text in the form of quotations and paraphrases
4. include an explanation of why the combination of strategy and appeal does or does not help the author achieve his or her purpose (ultimately, this analysis will link back to your thesis statement).
5. be logically organized and mirror the order implied within your thesis statement
- A concluding paragraph, which will:
1. contain a restatement of your thesis (but in different terms)
2. revisit the assertions you make in your body paragraphs
3. give your audience a sense of closure by revisiting your hook in some way or imagining the text had it been written differently.
Additional Areas of Analytical Focus
- Those of you who choose to analyze Lovett's article should devote a portion of your essay to a discussion of the analogy that begins Lovett's piece. What persuasive appeal can you link to his use of analogy and does this combination of strategy and appeal help or hinder his central argument?
- Likewise, those of you who choose to analyze Casey's article should dedicate a portion of your essay to an analysis of the images (photographs and/or graphics) she includes. What response (persuasive appeal) is she attempting to elicit from her readers, and is she ultimately successful (do the images enhance her argument or not)?
Other aspects of a well-written rhetorical analysis to keep in mind as your write and revise:
- Your audience is comprised of college-educated adults, but instead of reading the original text for themselves, they are relying on your essay for information.
- Let your voice guide your reader through your essay. In other words, don't let your chosen quotations and paraphrases speak for or instead of you.
- Chose your textual evidence wisely (make sure to use succinct quotations that are a well-chosen example of the strategy and appeal you are discussing).
- Use third person voice and present tense.
- Practice writing formally. Avoid conversational language when writing for an academic audience.
- Revise often. Revision is the key to producing a well-written assignment.
- Slow down the writing process and read your paper out loud after your write.
Essay Submission Guidelines:
- The finished submitted draft should be three to four pages (3-4) pages.
- Please follow MLA essay formatting, citation, and documentation guidelines.
- Use 12-point Times New Roman.
- Include a Works Cited page.
- No handwritten or late work will be accepted.