The
purpose of a rhetorical analysis is to illuminate the rhetorical strategies at
work in any particular argumentative text and evaluate the author's
effectiveness. A successful rhetorical analysis will answer the following
questions and concerns:
·
who
are the intended and invoked readers of the text?
·
what
lines of argument the text uses to persuade the audience. Does the text employ
arguments from the heart? from values? arguments based on character? arguments
based on facts and reasons? How effectively does the author employ these
appeals? Are the appeals successful? Is the argument, in the end, actually
persuasive, or does it undermine itself at any point?
·
what
are the claims articulated in the text? What kind of evidence does the author
use to support those claims? What background does the author include? How much
does this background expect from the audience? Does the author offer any
qualifiers or rebuttals?
·
what
is the purpose of text? What kind of argument is it? Is it an argument that
informs? Is it an argument to convince? to explore? to make decisions? to
meditate?
Select
a webpage (presumably a portal or entry page) from a major corporation --
preferably fast food, but other chains are acceptable -- and subject it to a
rhetorical analysis. The purpose of
your paper is to judge the text based on its effectiveness, NOT to agree or
disagree with it. A scurrilous text
by the tobacco industry may be well constructed, while a perfectly just claim
may be poorly articulated or designed.
Follow the
model below precisely when writing your paper. Be sure to cover the same
topics in the same order, and be
sure to do analysis (rather than description) in the body paragraphs.
Remember
that you are NOT arguing about whether or not you agree with the author; you are
simply analyzing his/her use of rhetorical tools and strategies!!!
In
the table below, the far right Function column describes the kind of
thinking you should be doing in each paragraph.
Description paragraphs should simply present what is in the ad,
without judgment & without trying to understand how it works.
Analysis paragraphs take the ad apart and explain how it works or
why it is constructed a particular way. Evaluation
paragraphs present your opinion (supported with lots of evidence) about how well
the ad fulfills what you perceive to be its goals.
Description
= “What is it?”
Analysis = “How does it work / Why is it that way?”
Evaluation = “How well does it work?”
Content
|
Function
|
|
§1
(Intro) -
Background and Summary of the text |
Intro
& Description |
|
§1
(Intro) - Thesis statement |
Intro
& Description |
|
§
2
- Argument's Purpose: Reasons to Argue plus the more
specific motivation of this particular author. |
Analysis:
Reasons to Argue |
|
§
3
-Lines of Argument. Analyze
the author’s use of lines of argument on a paragraph-by paragraph
basis, and report in your essay which lines the author uses the most.
Be sure to say what kind of pathos the author uses, and how
he/she builds ethos, &c. |
Analysis:
Lines of Argument |
|
§
4
- Discuss Language (Tone, Word Choice, Diction). To
what sort of Audience does the author seem to be writing? |
Analysis/Description:
Tone/Audience |
|
§
5
- Logical Fallacies - Even if you approve of the argument, you
should acknowledge its weaknesses and try to anticipate how opponents
might attack it. If you
want to defend the text, write a rebuttal based on the logical
fallacies. (A rebuttal
anticipates the potential objections of hostile readers and refutes
them.) |
Analysis:
Logical Fallacies |
|
§
6
- Sum up your work by concluding whether or not the piece does what it
attempts to do for the audience for whom it is intended.
In other words, is it persuasive? This should take
into account all the info you discussed above. |
Evaluation/Conclusion |
|
Note:
§ means "section".
Each section is usually 1 paragraph long; however, they may
sometimes require 2+ paragraphs. The Lines of Argument § in
particular, may require 2-3 paragraphs.
Remember that a paragraph
is 4-8 sentences. |
|
·
Your paper should be ~5
pages long; turn in an electronic copy to the teacher folder.
· 10-
to 12-pt font
·
double-spaced
· the URL should be given in the 1st paragraph. If the page changes a lot (campaign sites changes hourly), copy and print out the web page to turn in or append to your e-text
·
All
references used must be listed in a Works Cited page in MLA format
·
Turn
in Xeroxes/e-texts of all sources used
· All assertions must be backed up by evidence from the text