Rhetorical Strategies
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Goal: To demonstrate your understanding of rhetorical strategies by analyzing and evaluating another writer’s use of those strategies.
Description: To put it another way, you’re going to write a four-page essay arguing whether you felt another writer has done a good job of presenting his, her or their argument. (So, it’s an argument about an argument.) Remember, every type of essay should just be answering a good question, and this is no different. In this case, it’s “has the writer successfully argued his/her point?” You’ll “dissect” a writer’s argument to see how they use logos/ethos/pathos, organization, different types of evidence (anecdotal v. statistical, for example), the context, etc. to make an overall claim.
Chapter 4’s analysis of Martin Luther King’s argument is an excellent explanation of some key terms, and the sample student essay “A Powerful Call to Action” is a great model. I strongly suggest reading this whole chapter carefully.
Topic/Source: You might be a bit tired of this subject, but since this style of essay is a bit unusual or unfamiliar to many students, the best way to focus on our goal of “dissecting” is to pick one of the articles we just read on the subject of the value of pursuing a college education (located in Chapter 1’s “Reading and Writing About the Issue” and in Chapter 21’s “Casebook: Should Every American Go to College?”).
Additional sources: This assignment is primarily about understanding how to analyze an argument, so it’s up to you if you want to produce your own insights or try to research some ideas. It’s preferred that you rely on your own brain and a lot of deep thinking to analyze the essay you choose, but if you want to start Googling or even going through our library’s search engines, you’re obligating yourself to all of the in-text and Works Cited rules that apply when you do research. It’s probably best to spend more time re-reading Chapter 4 and asking your instructor questions about the writer’s argument rather than hoping someone on the internet has said something you can use.
Audience: You’re writing for a college audience, and remember, you want the essay to explain the article’s argument as it goes, so that someone who hasn’t read the article could still understand your essay.
Structure: Use your introduction to introduce the audience to the topic and debate, and then clearly introduce the title and author of the article you’re analyzing. You can then move to summarizing the author’s argument and where it stands within the debate (middle of the road, extreme, etc.). Then, end the introduction with your own thesis, which should state whether the writer’s argument was effective and identify the rhetorical strategies you’ll be examining to support your point. From there, each body paragraph should examine a different technique the writer used. (Remember, at all times, you’re answering the essay’s question: why were these strategies effective/ineffective?)
Tip: Don’t be afraid to dig into your analysis of what the writer is trying to say. You can scrutinize word choices for what their tone implies, or what they suggest about the audience, for example. There should be lots to discuss, so there’s no need to resort to long summaries or over-quoting.
Criteria: 1. Your own argument (clarity/consistency of your thesis, structure/development) (40%)
2. Analysis of writer’s argument (accuracy of summary, correct use of rhetorical terms) (50%)
3. Grammar/Mechanics (10%) Points Possible: 150 Length: Approximately 4 pages
