Rhetorical analysis (2 pages) – 15%
In project II, students analyze a single public document from their class list (or a document approved by their instructor). For many students, the document will be a brochure or a website produced by or about the site they visited in project I. This essay will analyze the “rhetorical” choices the author (or authoring agency) is making in the source, analyzing why the author(s) chose the specific words and images in the source, why they chose its color scheme, why they chose a particular mode of distribution (pamphlet, website, promotional video, flyer etc.), what information they make, through arrangement, most visible in the text, what emotional appeals they make on their audience, etc. Students will support of a theme or thesis about the text’s choices with details from the text itself. As part of this assignment, students will complete an analysis chart that helps them identify and interpret authorship, audience, purpose, argument, and perspective.
Outcomes for Rhetorical Analysis
• Identify how the purpose of text is achieved through the choices a writer makes
• Evaluate the degree to which the argumentative choices a writer makes are effective and ethical
• Determine the effects of point of view on an author’s interpretation/argument
• Organize prose giving priority to more important ideas
• Demonstrate effective logical reasoning in written prose
• Incorporate paraphrases and quotations smoothly and honestly into writing
