Formal Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Sheet and Rubric? Ethos, Pathos, Logos Resource? Grading: See the?rubric in the ass

Effective arguments depend on . . .

Ethos – Establishing Credibility Logos – Using Logic Pathos – Connecting Emotionally

Your use of ethos conveys to your audience that

you are:

informed, intelligent, benevolent, honest

through the use of

Ethical Appeals (Appropriate/Fair Ethical

Behavior)

o Demonstrate knowledge of your subject ▪ Claim authority (credentials,

qualifications, past or present

experiences) ▪ Use evidence to support claims

o Demonstrate fairness to your audience ▪ Use language accurately and

respectfully ▪ Acknowledge the opposing point(s) of

view (anticipate possible objections) ▪ Concede any personal weaknesses /

admit limitations

o Establish common ground with your audience ▪ Acknowledge shared viewpoints ▪ Connect your argument to well-

established or widely respected core

values / principles

Your use of logos allows your audience to see

your argument logically (facts and reason) –

Claim + Supporting Evidence

through the use of

Logical Appeals (Appropriate/Fair Logical

Behavior)

o Hard Evidence ▪ Facts ▪ Statistics ▪ Surveys and Polls ▪ Testimonies, Narratives, Interviews

o Logical Structure ▪ Analogies (Comparison / Contrast) ▪ Precedent

o Strong Evidence & Sound Reasoning ▪ Inductive Reasoning: Drawing a

probable conclusion on the basis of a

number of specific examples

▪ Deductive Reasoning: Assuming a general, widely held principle (called a

premise) and then applying that

principle to a specific case

Your use of pathos allows the audience to

emotionally (anger, compassion, patriotism, etc.)

identify with the subject/argument

through the use of

Emotional Appeals (Appropriate/Fair

Evocations of Emotion)

o Language ▪ Vivid and concrete descriptive and

evocative language ▪ Figurative language

o Anecdotes ▪ Personal experience ▪ Experiences of others ▪ Narrative / story-telling

o Imagery ▪ A picture is worth . . .

Kairos – Showing Timeliness

o The writer demonstrates the temporal significance and relevance of the

argument and shows that this is the right

moment to make and support his or her

claim.

Week 4: Crafting Arguments Across Rhetorical Context

Formal Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Sheet and Grading Rubric

Write a thesis-driven rhetorical analysis in which you analyze the argument's rhetorical features and critique the author's rhetorical effectiveness or ineffectiveness. In other words, what strategies is the author using to be convincing to their intended audience? Are those strategies successful or not? Why/why not? You'll analyze the arguments strategies and rhetorical elements including but not limited to the articles main claim(s), reasons, warrants, grounds, tone; appeals to logos, pathos, ethos, and kairos; and types of evidence.

Your audience for the analysis will be other College English Composition students who have not yet read the argument or through about its rhetorical strengths and weaknesses. This means you should briefly summarize the argument's content, but you do not need to explain the concepts that students in this class will be familiar with or define terms that you can expect your peers to know.

Assignment Requirements:

• 750-1000 words (not counting works cited) but it may be longer, double spaced, adheres to MLA Formatting and Citations

• Separate Work Cited Page (hint: this is an Article in a Web Magazine) • Look at pages 109-111 of your textbook for Rhetorical Analysis questions you should be asking and

answering. Do not answer all of these questions but if you are stuck and don't know how to expand your argument, use this resource for ideas.

Missteps and Things to Avoid:

1. Arguing for or against the author or the topic of the piece 2. Filling this analysis with 'fluff' (i.e. spending too much time on the author's background and defining terms

like logos, pathos, ethos, or kairos to meet minimum word requirements) 3. Failing to consider audience or writing this paper outside of an academic register 4. Adding personal commentary into the analysis (i.e. the author is dumb, this issue doesn't exist, I feel like…

etc) 5. Only Summarizing and not analyzing the argument 6. Not explaining the source material or evidence (i.e. if you use a quote, don't just drop it into your analysis.

Always introduce and contextualize this evidence with attributive tags and explain how this evidence supports your claim.

Step 1 Choose an Article

You must choose one of the below articles to do your rhetorical analysis; if you do not like any other these options, you may choose another text to rhetorically analyze (9-10 page minimum). If you choose an alternative text, you must receive instructor approval.

1) Harris, Adam. “America Wakes Up From Its Dream of Free College.” The Atlantic. 8 Sept. 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/where-did-americas-dream-of-free- college-go/569770/ Accessed DD Month YYYY

2) Ripley, Amanda. “Why is College in America So Expensive?” The Atlantic. 11 Sept. 2018 https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/why-is-college-so-expensive-in- america/569884/ Accessed DD Month YYYY

3) Chua, Amy and Jed Rubenfeld. “The Constitution is Threatened by Tribalism.” Oct. 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/the-threat-of-tribalism/568342/ Accessed DD Month YYYY

Step 2 Dig In!

• Read the article once to get a sense of the general argument • Read the article again and take notes on what stands out to you (annotate as you go) • Utilize the “Questions for Rhetorical Analysis” on p. 109-111 to stimulate your analysis of the argument • Narrow down to three or four rhetorical features you consider most evident/significant in the argument

Step 3 Formulate a thesis to guide your paper

• The thesis for your paper should give your judgment about how the writer is successful or unsuccessful in their argument. Questions to consider: o What rhetorical elements do they execute and what falls flat? o Is the argument successful for a broad audience? o Is the argument successful for its specified audience? o Are some elements of the argument strong but others lacking?

• Tip: Do not simply state which rhetorical strategies the author is using; comment on whether they’re effective or not

Step 4 Use the “Organization Plan for a Rhetorical Analysis of an Argument” on p. 121 to outline and organize your paper

• Your paper needs to be structured in this way: Introduction (with thesis), Summary of Argument, Rhetorical Analysis (multiple paragraphs), and Conclusion. See details below:

Introduction:

• Clearly identifies the title, author, and source of the article you are analyzing • Providing appropriate background on the author (relevant titles, achievements, and information speaking

to their credibility) • Briefly summarizes (no more than one paragraph) the author's topic, position, and supporting reasons • Formulates and Clearly presents your own thesis–a statement on the overall effectiveness of the author's

argument–and forecasts the main rhetorical elements or argumentation strategies you'll be discussing in the body of your paper.

The body of your Analysis:

• If the summary is not included in the introduction, you will be allowed one paragraph (no more) to

summarize the author's topic, position, and supporting reasons

• Discuss the rhetorical elements and/or argumentation strategies in the same order in which they were forecasted in the introduction

• Be comprised of cohesive, coherent, topical paragraphs

• Demonstrate your ability to use transition language and attributive tags

• Support your claims with evidence from the article by demonstrating both quotations and paraphrase from the source material and to seamlessly work that material from the original argument into your own rhetorical analysis

Conclusion Requirements (do one or more of the following):

• Restate the thesis of your rhetorical analysis differently than in the introduction, making a point to highlight the rhetorical elements you just analyzed in the body

• Make an observation about how the quality (or lack thereof) of the argument you are analyzing might impact the issue at hand

• Explain how the argument could have been more or less effective, and what changes needed to be made for that to be the case

• Demonstrate what tactics the editorial employed that other writers would be wise (or foolish) to adapt for their own argument

Criteria Below Expectation

(0-9) Meeting Expectations

(10-18) Outstanding

(19-25) Total

Points

Nuts and

Bolts

Times New Roman 12-point font, 1-inch margins, double-spaced, MLA heading, header (last name and page numbers in upper right corner, 750 word minimum)

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Focus

Clear and strong thesis; clear 3-4 main points of analysis; thesis makes a judgment on the effectiveness of the rhetorical elements; the main points in the rhetorical analysis paragraphs clearly match up to the thesis A thesis statement is clearly identifiable and guides the directing of the paper. The thesis statement is clearly present in the introduction and comments upon the effectiveness of the argument

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Organization

Follows the outline structure on WA p. 121 and includes all specified sections; rhetorical analysis paragraphs utilize a reader-friendly style; includes smooth transitions between ideas and between paragraphs, paragraph breaks are logical and contain ideas neatly, paragraphs do not end with quotations

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Development

Adequately introduces the topic and interests the reader; gives enough background info so that a reader understands the context; intro includes a succinct summary of the original artifact; paper concludes by wrapping up and effectively listing the stakes/importance. Ideas are adequately developed and explained; The rhetorical analysis paragraphs are supported by specific examples and/or quotes

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Editing Spelling, punctuation, and proofreading do not conflict with ease of reading or understanding and show that effort was made to revise

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Accuracy and Attribution

The original artifact is accurately represented; The rhetorical elements are accurately represented; Attributive tags are used to clearly show which info comes from the original author; In-text citations are included and correctly done

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