Assignment 1: Rhetorical Analysis

Proposal Due: Tuesday, July 5

Rough Draft Due: Thursday, July 7
Final Draft Due: Friday, July 8
Overview: A rhetorical analysis examines how an author (or artist) attempts to reach,
maybe even influence, an audience. Rhetorical analyses use specific evidence from a text
(oral, written, verbal, visual, or multimedia) to establish a general claim (thesis) about
how the text works. The text might be traditional, like a presidential speech, or more
contemporary, like a video or meme. No matter the text you select, you will be
identifying and analyzing its details to make an argument. What message does the text
present? How do you know that? For what audience(s) is that message appealing, and
why?
Prompt: There is no point in analyzing the rhetorically obvious. Locate a
visual/oral/verbal text that you deem interesting (potentially persuasive) and analyze it
according to the way the text uses rhetorical effects and strategies to make its argument.
Use specific textual evidence to establish a general claim (a thesis) about how the text
works. You should not simply paraphrase or summarize what the author says or
composes; rather, your goal is to provide a way of understanding the measure of
persuasive effect.
In doing this, first, you will need to identify the rhetor, intended audience, message, and
intended purpose of the text. This information will set the foundation for the rest of your
analysis; every argument you make about how the text works will depend on who is
communicating, to/for whom they are communicating, what they are communicating, and
why they are communicating.
Then, you will work to explain how (and how effectively) the text:
appeals to its intended audience;
employs the available means (the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, pathos; the
rhetorical methods of development);
uses good reasons (that are ethical, practical, and aesthetic);
constitutes a fitting response (of informing, explaining, motivating, identifying,
etc.);
anticipates or acknowledges counterarguments in the service of reaching its
intended audience.
If you are analyzing a visual or multimedia argument, you will also need to address the
specific features of that medium. What visual and aural details contribute to the rhetorical
effect of the text?
As you plan and draft your analysis, consider your classmates as your audience, who are
also learning how to conduct rhetorical analysis. Keep in mind particular ways of
reaching this audience.

Process: As always, you will submit a proposal, a rough draft for peer review, and a final
draft.
As part of your proposal, you will submit a copy of your text for your instructor to
review. Additionally, you will provide an explanation of what makes this text an
interesting subject for a rhetorical analysis, convincing your instructor that you are not
setting out to analyze the rhetorically obvious.
As youre drafting, consider how you are supporting your claims about text. Make sure
that you refer to specific moments in the text (using quotes from the text when
appropriate) as evidence for your explanation of how the rhetor uses rhetorical effects and
strategies. At the same time, consider the balance between description and analysis in
your writing. Youll need to describe moments in the text in order to make your
argument, but remember that your job is not to summarize the text for your readers. Your
job is to examine the text.
After drafting, youll revise and edit. Consider carefully the organization of your piece.
Arrange your analysis (perhaps according to the chronology of the text or according to
particular rhetorical effects) so that your argument comes across clearly to your readers.
Format: Your final draft should be 4-5 pages (double-spaced, 12-point, TNR font, 1
margins). When citing your outside source(s), you will follow MLA format (see HGW
Ch. 19 and/or the PSU Libraries Citation Research Guide:
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/citationstyles/MLA _citation.html).
Grading Criteria: Your rhetorical analysis essay will be graded according to the
following criteria: it (1) makes a claim (a thesis) about an interesting, potentially
persuasive text; (2) identifies the rhetor, intended audience, message, and intended
purpose of the text; (3) assesses the texts employment of available means, good reasons,
and counter arguments; and (4) evaluates the text as a fitting response. A rhetorical
analysis of a visual or multimedia text will also include analysis of the visual/aural
components and their overall effectiveness.