Instructor Resource Center

Assignment: Rhetorical Analysis

(minimum of 600-700 words)

Your analysis is to show how a text fulfills its purpose for a particular audience. Because this purpose is fairly open-ended, you’ll probably want to focus your analysis on certain kinds of elements the author uses to achieve his or her purpose.

To assist your readers in understanding your analysis, be sure to

• include a clear thesis statement and forecasting statements to guide the readers
• explain the context (historical background, original audience, etc.) and its connection to the essay

Questions to Help You Focus Your Rhetorical Analysis

Content

1. What kinds of evidence—facts, statistics, anecdotes—does the author use? How does the selection of supporting evidence help fulfill the purpose of the text?
2. How does the writer use supporting evidence to appeal to readers? Are these appeals logical and rational? Emotional? A combination of the two?

Oral Presentation with Poster of Visual Analysis

For this project you will work with group members who have analyzed similar ads or similar magazines.

Planning the Poster

Your group will work together to create a visual display (poster) of your ads. Think about the main point you would like to make in comparing the ads. As you work, consider the principles of visual communication described in class, in the Everything's an Argument text, and in Student Guide: English 150 and 250 (pp. 27-42).

Working as a Team

Ten Visual Analysis Activities

Instructors: Listed below are possible activities to precede the visual analysis of an ad. Choose which activities you prefer and/or create your own!

Whole Class Analysis of Ads in Text

Use the examples of ads in Everything's an Argument for the whole class to analyze. You might use the questions on the handout called Visual Analysis of an Ad: Prewriting Notes.

Whole Class Analysis of Magazine Ad

English 250: Documented Essay

(minimum of 1,000 words plus a Works Cited page)

Assignment

Now that we have read and discussed issues related to a specific topic, you should be ready to offer your own observations and argument on it. As a class, we will brainstorm specific issues you might address in your paper.

A cautionary note: even though this is the longest paper of the semester, you'll need to narrow your focus. Even in a 5-page paper, you simply can't address a large, complex topic. Remember, less is more when it comes to your topic.

Reflecting on the Documented Essay and PowerPoint Presentation

The reflection assignment gives you an opportunity to think about what you have learned and examine the process you used in completing the assignment. Once again, your audience will be you and your teacher.

You may choose again to use either a letter or report format. The questions below are a guide; please answer at least two questions for each assignment. Remember to include an introduction, body, and conclusion to your paper.

Documented Essay