RHETORIC PROJECT – ENGLISH II PROMPT

DUE DATE: ______

This will be a formative assessment worth 1 ½ quiz grades.

Purpose

We have been reading and analyzing rhetoric for the past several weeks with Antigone, and now it is time for you to demonstrate your ability to analyze modern rhetoric. You will be working with a partner or partnersto annotate a modern video commercial and then visually present your findings to class. You will also be doing some light historical research to better understand the product itself, the cultural impact, the company’s background, and the effectiveness of the advertisement.

Prompt

After viewing and listening to the modern commercial, you and your partner(s) must produce a thesis statement and 3 symbolic images that demonstrate the rhetorical strategies used by the commercial advertisement and analyze how those strategies develop the company’s argument.

Tasks

You and your partner(s), maximum group of 3, will sign-up for a commercial of your choosing.

After deciding on a commercial, you and your partners need to research the product itself, the cultural impact, the company’s background, and its intended audience in order to better understand and explain the context of the speech and/or what prompted the company to release the commercial at this particular time or moment in history.Bring your laptops, tablets, cell phones to class so that you can access the internet. Note: This is NOT a history assignment. You only need basic ideas that help elaborate various aspects of the commercial.

You and your partners must produce a thesis statement that includes a specific speaker, audience, and purpose, and you willfind or create 3 symbolic visuals that illustrate 3 different concrete details of rhetorical strategies (Ethos, Logos, Pathos) found within your speech.
Note: Your visuals can be original, found off the internet, hand crafted, photography, video etc.

You must then prove and explain how your visuals reflect the rhetorical strategies by using commentary.

Finally, you and your partner must present your findings to the class in a 3-4 minute presentation.
Note: Your presentation can be a video, poster, PowerPoint, etc.

Originality

This project should be your own work. While this is a collaborative project, you and your partners work should not resemble any other presentation. Any form of plagiarism is strictly forbidden and will not be tolerated. Anyone caught cheating will be subject to penalty under the Kingwood High School academic pledge.

Essential Questions:

  • What commercial are you and your partner(s) doing?
  • What draws you to this commercial?

Guided Questions:

  • What is the overall purpose of the commercial? (be specific – go beyond saying “to sell the product”)
  • Who is the intended audience? (be specific – don’t just say “the public” – consider the intended target audience… a specific gender, age group, social class, interest group, etc.)
  • How does the creator attempt to build the “credibility/character” (ethos) of their product?
  • What logical appeals are used in the commercial?
  • Are there any emotional appeals (pathos) present? If so, what are they and what emotion are the creators attempting to elicit from the audience?
  • Which appeal is the most prevalent? Why do you think the creators chose to use this appeal the most?
  • What other elements contribute to the effectiveness of the commercial? (e.g. music, spokesperson, narrator, etc.)
  • Are there any “literary” type elements present? If so, what are they (anecdote, allusion, analogy, symbolism, etc.) If so, what is their purpose?
  • Overall, do you believe the commercial was rhetorically effective? Explain your reasoning.