Dr. C. McDavis - Atlanta Metropolitan State College Division

Dr C Mcdavisatlanta Metropolitan State Collegedivision Of Humanities

Dr. C. McDavis Atlanta Metropolitan State College Division of Humanities and Fine Arts English 1102-English Composition II Rhetorical Analysis Essay Trajectory of Rhetorical Analysis Assignment: The following assignment is a major writing assessment for English 1102. Read the attached assignment sheet carefully. Submit the completed assignment in the Desire2Learn assignment drop box via attachment. Do not cut and paste the assignment. Doing so will affect the assignment's formatting. Contact me immediately if you should experience any difficulty submitting the assignment. As a community of learners in English 1102, we have now become familiar with the identification and application of the rhetorical appeals. Additionally, we have studied the classical argument model in Chapters 1, 2 & 6 of Read, Write, Connect, logical fallacies, and the exigence associated with any given issue. In English 1102 we will build upon these newly developed skills by writing a rhetorical analysis essay. The assignment will challenge our ability to enhance our authoritative voices by critiquing an essay or article by assessing the writer’s effective or ineffective application of the rhetorical appeals. Due: September 17, 2015. Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech: The first option for this assignment is to utilize President Barack Obama’s Inauguration speech given on Monday, January 21, 2013. A video of President Obama’s Inauguration speech is available to you in the Desire2Learn “Week 4” content area. The guidelines for writing a rhetorical analysis of the Inauguration speech are the same as those indicated for the article or essay option. Choosing an Article for Rhetorical Analysis: The most important part of an effective rhetorical analysis is the essay or article you choose for the analysis. If you choose the front page article from the Huffington Post, you will have a more difficult time finding the writer’s use of the rhetorical appeals in this article than if you choose an editorial in the same publication. You want to choose articles or essays in which the writer speaks to a specific audience with a specific project in mind. The essay or article has been written within the past year. The writer speaks to a specific audience. Example: A student may choose an editorial in Sports Illustrated. The audience here would be sports fans. (This is just an example. I expect essays to come from other sources—not sports magazines, car magazines, or fashion magazines). The writer has a purpose in writing. Make sure to choose essays or articles in which the writer writes to his or her audience for a reason—and that reason should be easy to find. The writer uses recognizable appeals. Read the essay or article thoroughly before choosing it. You should conduct a preliminary analysis of the essay or article to make sure you will have something to write about. The essay or article has length. It is equally important to choose an essay or article that uses appeals as it is to make sure there are enough appeals to discuss. Internet Sources—Generally not encouraged. The only sources acceptable from the internet are actual credible newspapers, journals, or other periodicals that appear in full text and can be fully downloaded from the chosen web page. A copy of the article or essay must be attached to the final draft. Assignments missing a copy of the article or essay will not be accepted. Remember some essays may lack any one of these components or common features found in rhetoric. If your essay or article incorporates any of them, answer the assignment questions accordingly. In any case where the essay or article is lacking these components, it is acceptable and encouraged to discuss the article in terms of how it is effective or ineffective based on such missing factors. Drafting the Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Each of the following items should appear in your rhetorical analysis essay. Use these guidelines as a checklist for fulfilling the major requirements: 3-4 pages double-spaced, with title; analyze the essay or article with sufficient use of rhetorical appeals; establish a thesis about the rhetorical strategies used; address the writer’s methods to capture the audience; identify the exigence; discuss the arrangement of evidence; ensure the thesis aligns with the actual message; evaluate if the writer effectively established credibility; examine the stance or position on the issue; analyze strengths and weaknesses in rhetorical appropriateness and appeals; explain the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the argument; attach a copy of the chosen essay, article, or speech to the final draft; submit via Desire2Learn.