Assignment: Rhetorical Analysis paper
Description:
The rhetorical analysis paper assesses your ability to critically review an essay or an article in terms of its rhetoric and logic. You will be asked to explore the text's use of rhetorical appeals and its reasoning strategy. You will also be asked to assess the text's logic and whether it employs inadvertently or intentionally fallacious thinking. You might think of this paper as a Toulmin-style essay. Your overall essay question will be: How does the author use rhetoric and logic to establish or support their claim? Or, how does the essay work? Need Assignment Help?
Instructions:
Choose one of the three essays linked below.
Factual claim: "America's literacy crisis isn't what you think" (Vox)
Action claim: "Could 'adult dorms' save city downtowns" (The Week)
Value claim: "Jackie Kay on Bessie Smith: 'My libidinous, raunchy, fearless blueswoman" (The Guardian)
Then, analyze your selected essay by answering the questions below:
1. How would you summarize the source?
2. How does the author use the four rhetorical strategies (ethos, pathos, kairos, or logos)?
3. Does the source use deductive and/or inductive reasoning to prove its claims?
4. Are any logical fallacies apparent in the source?
5. What assumptions (warrants) does the author make?
Lastly, write a summary-response essay of at least 750 words that includes evidence for your claims from the text itself and that ends with a full citation of the text.