Assignment

Instructions and materials for Writer's Notebook 2.1: Rhetorical Analysis

Writer's Notebook 2.1: Rhetorical anlaysisChoose one of the articles linked below and write a 1 -2 page (300-600 words) rhetorical analysis. This will be practice for the major essay at the end of this unit.

I've already provided you with one example of a rhetorical analysis (the response to free expression at Harvard by Milena Ateya) that you can use as a model. You can also use the following questions to help you generate ideas.

1. What is the author's purpose? What does he or she hope to achieve?

2. Who is the intended audience? How do you know?

3. Identify the types of appeals made by the author (logos, pathos, ethos). How effective are they?

4. What do you know about the author? Do you find him or her credible (ethos)? Why or why not?

5. What evidence does the author provide to support the argument? Is the evidence relevant and trustworthy?

6. What is the setting or context? In other words, what event or problem inspired the author to write the essay?

7. Describe the author's tone or attitude. Is it serious, flippant, angry or sarcastic? How does the attitude affect the argument?

The questions above are here to provide you some guidance in writing your analysis. However, you should not merely string together a series of short answers to the questions. Your analysis should be written in essay format, with an introduction, multiple body paragraphs and a conclusion.