rhetorical analysis essay

Essay 1 ENGL 1302

In a 1500 or more word rhetorical analysis essay (typed, double spaced), analyze the use and effect of argument (persuasion/rhetorical strategies and devices) in the “Peter H. Coors-I’m the NRA” ad (posted on Canvas). In your essay, address the following through the analysis of rhetorical strategy and appeals—intent, audience, and central arguments/claims (sometimes these, as well as the intent, are not presented overtly or openly in the text and are implied and meant to be inferred by the target audience). We have already gone over one ad from the same NRA campaign. So use your experience with that text to inform your analysis of this one.

Remember analyze for rhetorical strategies such as the Aristotelian appeals–ethos, pathos logos,. Also consider the specific use of these appeals– to fear, guilt, freedom, choice, logic, charity, etc… Also note the use of fallacies and how they are used to insinuate a logical argument. You should also consider how other rhetorical devices work (like anaphora, loaded diction, myth—from Barthes–, simile, analogy, etc…) Remember to use specific examples from the ad and to support your claims about the persuasive aspects of the ad with complete explanations of how the rhetorical strategies/devices work to persuade.

The following is a link to some commonly used rhetorical devices:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/rhetorical-devices-list-examples