Rhetorical Analysis Essay – Essay #1

Learning Outcomes:

  • Explore and analyze your own and others’ values through the use of multiple strategies that engage different sources and perspectives in written and oral discourse.
  • Identify and analyze how cultural context and assumptions play a role in the analysis and production of discourse.
  • Understand basic rhetorical concepts (audience, purpose, genre, convention, logos, ethos, pathos, logical fallacies, structure, etc.) and apply such concepts to the interpretation, analysis, and production of written and oral discourse.
  • Develop an introductory understanding of critical discourse analysis and critical language awareness.
  • Use written and oral discourse to develop and present meaningful and interesting ideas that show your voice, a willingness to take intellectual risks, and an attempt to enter an academic conversation.
  • Create academic discourse through a basic process that includes editing, proofreading, and revising multiple drafts.
  • Interpret your own and others’ work and reflect on your development as a producer of discourse.
  • Construct basic research strategies, use appropriate research resources, learn to identify scholarly sources, and evaluate and cite those information sources.
  • Develop an introductory understanding of citation and an ability to appropriately cite sources using a consistent professional style (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
  • Identify and address personal impediments to discourse production, including speech anxiety and writer’s block.

Audience: General academic

Length: 4-5 pages. Your paper should thoroughly develop ideas based on the assignment and questions for consideration. Additionally, your paper should satisfactorily meet all requirements listed in the rubric.

Formatting requirements can be reviewed in the syllabus. Please see me if you have any questions regarding the formatting.

Prompt: For this paper, you areasked to complete a brief profile of a speaker and a thorough rhetorical analysis of a particular speech they made. You will locate your speaker and their speech via a website of the 100 best speeches (listed below and linked under the Speeches Tab on Blackboard). You will be required to complete readings that cover the genre of rhetorical analysis writings in the coming weeks and these should help you be successful in this paper. You will also have access to example rhetorical analysis papers under the Essay Help Tab.

Tips:

  • Your first step will be to identify a speech that you find interesting and that is rich in potential for this particular paper. I encourage you to watch at least 5 speeches before deciding which speech will work best for you.
  • Once you have identified the speech you will use, watch the speech through several times and take careful notes about the elements important to a rhetorical analysis. Pay attention to the speaker (including tone, facial expression, body movement, non-verbal cues), the audience, and the particular words they use. Carefully transcribe some important quotes. Pay attention for the following:
  • Who is the audience?
  • What is the purpose of the speech?
  • In what ways does the speaker attempt to appeal to the audience?
  • Find examples of Pathos – emotion
  • Find examples of Logos – logic
  • Find examples of Ethos – establishing credibility
  • Is the speaker making a particular argument? Do they prove their argument?
  • What is the context of this speech? What does your reader need to know in order to understand this speech? Does the speech take place somewhere that is important / relevant? Is there a particular history involved that is relevant to the speech?
  • Who is the speaker? What does your audience need to know about the speaker in order to understand this speech? You may need to do a little research here – make sure you find legitimate sources (books from the library are preferred, some websites might be acceptable if they are .org, .edu., or .gov sites – Wikipedia is never acceptable). Make sure you take careful notes where you found your information and cite it appropriately. Please see Essay Help for assistance with creating an in-text citation and a works cited page.
  • After thinking critically about the speech, begin to formulate an argument you want to make about how the speaker appeals to his or her audience. Again, you first have to establish the audience and then establish how the speaker appeals to that argument. Write a preliminary thesis statement.
  • Once you have established a preliminary thesis statement, begin to write an outline that works to prove that thesis. Set goals for each section of your outline to help you meet the appropriate page / word count.
  • Here is an example of how I would go about creating a rhetorical analysis argument / paper based on Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”:
  • Thesis: Although King is responding to an open letter written by local clergymen, King’s response is aimed at a much wider audience. Even though his indirect audience is large, his immediate audience remains the local clergymen and as such he relies heavily on emotionally charged religious appeals to convince his readers that his actions in Birmingham are just.
  • Introduction – Word Goal: 300 words
  • Hook – catch my reader’s attention with a brief story about the struggle going on in Birmingham
  • Briefly explain King’s purpose of being in Birmingham and the purpose of his letter.
  • Thesis
  • Context – Word Goal: 400 words
  • History of segregation
  • History of Birmingham issue
  • Clergymen’s letter
  • Analysis – Word Goal: 600 words
  • Example of Religious Emotional Appeal 1
  • Example of Religious Emotional Appeal 2
  • Example of Religious Emotional Appeal 3
  • Conclusions – Word Goal: 200 words
  • Next steps – Fill in the outline with your ideas and evidence from the source or your secondary sources, participate in class workshops, take it to the writing studio, revise, proofread, and submit!

100 Greatest Speeches:

Stage 1 (Due Week 6 on Tuesday by 11:59p): First rough draft of Rhetorical Analysis 25 points

  • Your rough draft should be 3 to 4 pages in length and have at least two instances of quotation from the speech you are analyzing. You should develop your analysis as much as possible as this will be your only opportunity for feedback.
  • You will post one copy to Blackboard under Week by WeekWeek 6 > Assignment Upload – Rough Draft Essay #1
  • You will workshop this draft as well – so you will load an additional copy to Blackboard under Week by Week > Week 6 > Essay #1 Peer Review Discussion Board

Stage 2 (Due Week 6 on Thursday by 11:59p): Peer Review Response 25 points

  • Respond to at least two other drafts.
  • Please try to respond to drafts not already responded to twice.
  • Please respond to the draft using the following starter sentences: "I heard..." / "I noticed...." / "I wondered..." These sentences should be completed to explain to the writer what you "heard" - meaning what you understood the paper to be about, restating the author's ideas / what you "noticed" - meaning what you enjoyed about the paper / what you "wondered" - what were you left wondering about in regards to the paper??

Stage 3 (Due Week 7 by Friday at 11:59p): Final draft of rhetorical analysis 50 points

  • Your final paper must be 4 to 5 pages in length to be considered.
  • It must include at least three instances of quotation from your primary source.
  • All sources used must be cited in a Works Cited page.
  • Other requirements are outlined above, in the syllabus, and in the rubric.
  • Uploaded to Blackboard under Week by Week > Week 7 > Final Draft of Essay #1