Essay One: Rhetorical Analysis of a Text Your first formal essay for the semester will be to write a rhetorical analysis on a text. For this assignment, you should select one of the following texts we’ve read and/or viewed together as a class to analyze rhetorically: · “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie => the one I chose · “My Life As an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas · Donald Trump campaign speech and press release from December 7, 2015 · “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. As Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, and Walters write in Everything’s an Argument , to analyze a text rhetorically means to perform “a close reading of a text to find how and whether it persuades” (91). As we’ve practiced in class, more than discussing in detail what the argument is, your rhetorical analysis should focus on the details of how each text makes its argument and ultimately how effective that argument is. Some things you’ll want to consider are the text’s language, rhetorical situation and context, audience, rhetorical techniques, organization/structure, and purpose (i.e., to convince, to persuade, to propose/call to action, to inform, or to explore). You may also want to consider: · Ethos—How does the writer establish trust with the audience? How does the writer establish his/her authority to speak on the topic? Does s/he handle the argument fairly or only present one side? Does the biography and background of the writer make him/her more or less credible? · Logos—How logical and well supported is the argument? What types of evidence does the author use—quotations, allusions to other texts or historical/cultural references, statistics, laws, step-by-step logical reasoning, narratives/testimonies? · Pathos—In what way(s) does the author attempt to connect with his/her audience emotionally? How does s/he use personal stories to make emotional connections? What moments can you pinpoint where the writer is trying to draw out a particular emotion from the audience? Are these emotional appeals effective, ineffective, overplayed? Explain how/why. · Opposing arguments—Did the author address counterarguments or alternative points of view? And was s/he effective at fairly engaging with them and shooting them down? · Style (word choice, sentence structure, details, imagery, tone/voice)—What are the elements of this author’s style and do they add to the argument or detract from it? If you are looking at a speech, here you may also examine how the speaker presents him/herself. · Is there a clear thesis? What is it? Does the author state it explicitly or implicitly? Why do you think s/he made such a choice? Likely, you will not (and, arguably should not) answer all of these questions in your final paper. It’s up to you to focus on just the ones that you find most relevant to your assessment of your chosen text. You must be sure to ground your analysis in specific examples from the text. This means you ...

1. Essay One: Rhetorical Analysis of a Text
Your first formal essay for the semester will be to write a
rhetorical analysis on a text. For this assignment, you should
select one of the following texts we’ve read and/or viewed
together as a class to analyze rhetorically:
·
“The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie
=> the one I chose
·
“My Life As an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio
Vargas
·
Donald Trump campaign speech and press release from
December 7, 2015
·
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
As Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz, and Walters write in
Everything’s an Argument
, to analyze a text rhetorically means to perform “a close
reading of a text to find how and whether it persuades” (91). As
we’ve practiced in class, more than discussing in detail
what
the argument is, your rhetorical analysis should focus on the
details of
how
each text makes its argument and ultimately how effective that
argument is. Some things you’ll want to consider are the text’s
language, rhetorical situation and context, audience, rhetorical
techniques, organization/structure, and purpose (i.e., to
convince, to persuade, to propose/call to action, to inform, or to

2. explore).
You may also want to consider:
·
Ethos—How does the writer establish trust with the audience?
How does the writer establish his/her authority to speak on the
topic? Does s/he handle the argument fairly or only present one
side? Does the biography and background of the writer make
him/her more or less credible?
·
Logos—How logical and well supported is the argument? What
types of evidence does the author use—quotations, allusions to
other texts or historical/cultural references, statistics, laws,
step-by-step logical reasoning, narratives/testimonies?
·
Pathos—In what way(s) does the author attempt to connect with
his/her audience emotionally? How does s/he use personal
stories to make emotional connections? What moments can you
pinpoint where the writer is trying to draw out a particular
emotion from the audience? Are these emotional appeals
effective, ineffective, overplayed? Explain how/why.
·
Opposing arguments—Did the author address counterarguments
or alternative points of view? And was s/he effective at fairly
engaging with them and shooting them down?
·
Style (word choice, sentence structure, details, imagery,
tone/voice)—What are the elements of this author’s style and do
they add to the argument or detract from it? If you are looking
at a speech, here you may also examine how the speaker
presents him/herself.

3. ·
Is there a clear thesis? What is it? Does the author state it
explicitly or implicitly? Why do you think s/he made such a
choice?
Likely, you will not (and, arguably should not) answer all of
these questions in your final paper. It’s up to you to focus on
just the ones that you find most relevant to your assessment of
your chosen text. You must be sure to ground your analysis in
specific examples from the text. This means you will likely
quote regularly from the text, analyzing roughly 2–3 quotations
or concrete textual examples in each body paragraph.
In addition, while it’s fine to write an analysis primarily
focused on the ways a text is rhetorically convincing and
effective, you must find at least one point of critique in your
chosen text. This point of critique should be discussed in a
paragraph of its own, likely near the end of your paper (though
it could be you find this fits better elsewhere). This critique
could take the form of identifying missed opportunities or
places where the writer might expand, develop, or edit down
his/her argument; areas of pathos, ethos, or logos that fall short
in the text; or other ways you felt the writer failed to make the
most of his/her rhetorical situation. Consider the critique the
place where you get to voice how you can see the text being
improved. Note: Should you be writing an analysis that is
focused mostly on negatively critiquing your text, you will need
to identify at least one point where the author succeeds
rhetorically and spend a paragraph focused on that component.
Format and Due Dates:
Use the following length and formatting requirements:
·

4. 3–5 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman, size 12, 1-inch
margins all around
·
Typed, double-spaced, page numbers on all pages except the
first page
·
First page: in the upper left-hand corner, put the following info:
o
Your name
o
Instructor name
o
Rhetoric 110N
o
Date (written in correct format, like so): 23 February 2016
·
Title (centered on first page after signature block)—create your
own unique title that could only go on your paper
Friday 2/12
: Bring working thesis statement, introduction, and at least one
body paragraph with you to class
Tuesday 2/16
: Essay #1 first draft due in Canvas by 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday 2/23
: Essay #1 final draft due in Canvas by 5:00 p.m.
TEXT EVIDENCE MUST BE INCLUDED. I HAVE
ATTACHED MY ESSAY BELOW. YOU JUST NEED TO PUT
SOME TEXT EVIDENCE IN THERE.