Paper #1: Rhetorical Analysis

Write a rhetorical analysis of an article from Unit One. The purpose of a rhetorical analysis is to assess a text’s persuasiveness and effectiveness. These questions should guide your analysis:

The rhetorical situation:
- Where was this text published, and who is the audience for that site or publication venue?
- When was it published, and was it responding to a specific incident or cultural experience?
- Who is the author, and have they written or studied about their topic before? What can you find out about them through a simple internet search?

Ethos, which is a term for appeals to ethics, credibility, qualifications, or character:
- Does the author establish themselves as experts in the text (through education, experience, research…)?
- If the author cites examples or research, do they seem reliable, and can you trust where they come from? Or is the author asking us to trust them based on their character or personal experience alone?
- What might be the author’s agenda? Think about their main point, or argument, and consider if their motivation is to spread awareness, persuade you to do something specific/concrete, or if they are asking questions or speaking up to power. These are all legitimate agendas, and it’s fine for authors to have an agenda (aka a purpose), but in a rhetorical analysis, we want to understand what agenda(s) underlie the text.
- Does the author build credibility through their argument by being reasonable, thoughtful, careful about jumping to conclusions, and avoiding wild or reckless assertions?

Logos, which is a term for appeals to logic and reason:
- How clear and coherent is the author’s argument? Is their purpose for writing the article clear, and do they fulfill their purpose?
- Has the author situated their argument within an ongoing conversation about the topic? Do they refer to other experts to demonstrate that conversation?
- Is the author relying on any logical fallacies?
- If the author is attributing their concerns to an institution or person, is their attribution of blame or concern fair and reasonable?
- Does the author explain key terms and ideas well enough for a non-expert to understand?

Pathos, which is a term for appeals to emotions, values, and beliefs:
- How well does the author connect with their audience?
- Are the author’s descriptions, stories, or examples vivid and effective? Do they use language that helps readers fully understand what they mean?
- Does the author invoke any values or beliefs that they assume their audience will agree with? Is the author redefining any existing values or beliefs in new ways?
- Is the author trying to make the audience feel a certain way (anxious, concern, fear, panic, envy, curiosity, excitement, anger…). If so, does the emotion seem appropriate or useful in achieving their purpose? Are there multiple or contradictory emotions, and if so, do they make sense for the topic and argument?

Other considerations:

Where is the engine of this article?
If this article were a symphony, where are the climaxes? Where does it shift keys, or introduce new melodies?
While reading, what bodily reactions do you notice in yourself? At what points and why? How does it add to your understanding of the article?
Why might it matter to discuss this topic?
What surprises you?
What confuses you?
Is there anything you would change or delete from the article to increase the effectiveness of the author’s argument?

Below, you’ll find the necessary components of your final paper. This is the destination. The route may look messier than this:

Once you have considered these questions, you should arrive at an argument of your own about the article’s effectiveness and persuasiveness. This is a useful guide to writing a thesis statement for your argument. As you will see, it is common to say that an article is mostly or somewhat effective and persuasive for XYZ reasons. Or, it could be fine to say that an article is effective but not as persuasive as it could be because XYZ reasons.

Your paper should start with an introduction in which you state the article’s author and title, give a description of what the article is about and what you know about the author (briefly—not everything you know, but whatever seems relevant), and provide an explanation of where the article was published and who is in the intended audience. Then, you end the introduction with your thesis statement. It can also be smart to include an opening anecdote to grab your reader’s attention and connect YOU with your audience, and if so, it should fit in your introduction or near the beginning of your paper.

The body of your paper should develop your argument by discussing your rhetorical analysis. Support your ideas with as many examples from the article as possible because you must persuade your reader, and too few or poorly chosen examples will make you less credible and your purpose unfulfilled. Examples may be any of the following: quotes from the article (only a few—too many quotes undermine your own voice), ideas from the article restated in your own words, and real-life examples from your own experience or your imagination.

Research is not required for this paper other than a basic internet search to learn more about the author and publication venue. Also, you may not use AI to write this paper. If you are in the habit of using a program enhanced by AI, such as Grammarly, you should disable it for this paper. The only use of AI that is acceptable is the Editor function in Word, and even with Editor, I recommend you ignore suggestions when they are invasive or change too many of your words or ideas. I want to get to know your own, real, voice, even if there are minor grammatical errors and other flaws. If AI is used for this paper other than Word’s Editor function, you will need to rewrite the paper using a different article.

Your paper should be at least 5 pages long, not including the Works Cited page.