Writing to analyze a text, idea, experience, event, or phenomenon for an academic audience in a conventional academic essay genre. This assignment builds on the inquiry undertaken in the first assignment by examining what others have written about the subject and placing your personal inquiry in the context of a broader academic 
inquiry into the subject. You will select a text, film or phenomenon from those we have read in class (or others recommended or approved by me) so that peer review and instructor response is informed by shared resources and shared interpretations of the text/phenomenon. This assignment asks you to carefully examine how the text works rhetorically and to consider how and why analytical writing is used as a central mode of inquiry in the academy. Students will consider issues of authorship, purpose, audience, and context and how these issues affect the way readers understand an author’s message. Main question: What have others written about this issue?”

Using strategies discussed in class and your readings, you will analyze the chosen text and analyze how the author employs the rhetorical techniques discussed in the course, contextual or situational factors that are relevant to the work and whether or not the author successfully accomplishes his or her agenda. For example, you might look at the following, among others:

Author: (Who is the author?)
Purpose: (What is the author trying to accomplish? – Why did the author feel the need to write the text?)
Audience/Relationship to the Reader: (To whom is the text addressed?)
Context: (What are influencing factors surrounding the event of the text?
Where/When was the text written?)
Voice: (What is the overall tone of the text?)
Genre: (What type of writing is the text?)
Strategies: (How did the author write the text? Does the author follow prescribed methodologies? Does the author deviate from the norm?)
Effectiveness? (Is the author rhetorically effective? Does the text ‘move’ you? Does the text convincingly get you to think critically/differently about the topic/subject matter?) Your rhetorical analysis should demonstrate how the author utilizes one or more of the three elements of the rhetorical appeals:

Process:

Find your text: You will select a text from among the one we have read (or watched) in class.
Consider The Rhetorical Situation: Read/view the text several times over the course of different times/days, paying special attention to not only what the author is saying, but also how he/she presents his/her ideas. A good way to begin is to write out on a separate piece of paper what you think the text’s purpose is, including: the thesis, the audience, the context in which the text was written, the tone, and the genre of the text. Think about the rhetorical situation (issues of purpose, audience, context, voice, strategies, genre, etc.) in terms of the author’s choices.
Consider The Rhetorical Appeals: Focus on the three elements of rhetorical appeals (Ethos, Logos, and Pathos). How does (or does not) the author utilize one (or all) of these three approaches? Note: texts rarely utilize only one of the appeals, but rather typically utilize elements of all three.
Analyze the argument: After considering the rhetorical situation and elements of the text, thoroughly outline and analyze the argument. The purpose of this essay is not primarily whether or not you agree or disagree with the author, but to understand the content, context and conclusions of the text you are writing about. This will entail techniques of direct quotation, paraphrasing, and your own assessment.
For each point you want to make in your analysis, you will want to give examples to support your claims.

Cautions:

Avoid lengthy, verbatim quotations and/or paraphrases of the original text. Limit your use of these. The majority of your paper should consist of your own analysis.
Avoid a chronological summary of the text (where you move from paragraph to paragraph in the original essay), where you explain each of the author’s successive steps.
Avoid attributing your own opinions/beliefs to those of the author. In other words, avoid putting words into the author’s mouth. If the author presents an opinion you agree/disagree with, clearly differentiate whose opinion you are addressing. A rhetorical analysis is much less about your emotional response to an issue addressed by the author, and more about your reaction to the process by which the author achieves (or not) his/her intention. This essay is not about whether or not you ultimately “like” or “dislike” what the author has stated. It is about whether the author was successful in persuading you to his/her own opinion (there is a subtle, but critical difference).