For your first major assignment, you’ll write a argument-driven rhetorical analysis of a text, or source, related to our theme of personal responsibility. We’ll be looking specifically at texts that directly address a contemporary ethical problem or question related to personal responsibility.
1) You will select two sources from the reading selections (from the textbook or one I have assigned) to analyze first. Example: Angela Haupt’s “Why Do We Procrastinate?” and Adam Grant’s “Why I Taught Myself to Procrastinate.”
- a) How do these selections relate to personal responsibility?
- b) What claim (or central message) can you draw from both reading selections?
For guidance in writing your essay, consult the critical reading and responding strategies outlined in Chapters 1 and 2 of RRW (textbook).
2) ) Summarize the argument contained in each of the two sources (maximum 200 words for each source). What problem does each author address, what is the significance of that problem, and how does each author address it with an argument?
3) Following the summaries, write an analysis demonstrating what these sources teach you about the topic and how they speak to each other.
Describe the rhetorial situation of the texts being analyzed (author, purpose, text, setting,
- a) What are the areas of commonality regarding the topic? What would the central arguments be? Consider the author’s: approach, problem, method, sources, claims, evidence and/or conclusions. Provide specific examples from the source and include marked citations.
- b) What are the areas of difference regarding this topic? Consider the author’s: approach, problem, method, sources, thesis, claims, evidence and/or conclusions. Provide specific examples from the source and include marked printouts/photocopies for all citations.
c)Explain and analyze how the text connects with (or fails to connect with) the audience by using the rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, pathos).
4) Advance a research question. Restate the common problem that these two sources address and formulate a research question to which these two sources provide different answers. What broader question do these sources address? How well do these sources address the question? What might you still need to know in order to answer this question?
Conclusion
- Restate your thesis and how it applies to the theme of personal/community responsibility
- Address the overall effectiveness of the texts’ arguments
- Write closing comments-leave your reader with a thought-provoking idea or thought
Additionally:
- Are your body evidence paragraphs arranged logically with a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph?
- Do you have effective transitions between paragraphs to effectively guide your reader to your next example or evidence?
