rhetoric analysis

SYNOPSIS

This term we have talked about rhetoric from a more traditional perspective, one in which the rhetorical situation concept is used to develop assessments as to how and why a persuasive text works the way it does, and another where we have extensively discussed (primarily in conversations about The Misinformation Age) the ways social interaction impacts the degree to which we accept information we’ve been presented as true or false. These two approaches to explaining the rhetorical impact of a text certainly have significant overlap, but they have enough distinction as well that as an exercise we perhaps can practice using each as a separate analytical process in addition to articulating how they work in combination.

For this assignment, then, I would like you to choose a rhetorical text and then 1. provide an assessment of its function using the rhetorical situation model, 2. provide an assessment of its function informed by the ideas and research in The Misinformation Age, and 3. provide a brief synthesis of these two approaches in one final analysis.

For this assignment I ask pointedly that you support your claims not only with your own personal observation and experience (as you have in the Crafted Responses), but also with researched evidence.

CHOOSE A RHETORICAL TEXT

Find a rhetorical text that addresses an issue of public concern to one degree or another. Ideally you’ll choose a text that you can also find responses to, either direct or indirectly. I’ve provided a link below to a list of texts to give you an idea of the types of texts and issues would work best. Feel free to choose one of these texts to use, but this is not a requirement.

PROJECT 3 – TEXT LIST

PART I (750 words)

Offer an organized, focused and cohesive analysis based on a (and note I’m using the word “a” and not “the” here) specific rhetorical situation that this text inhabits. Concerns to address within your piece: How are you defining the situation (rhetor, audience, and the aspects of the kairos you see relevant)? How do you see all these components interacting in order to explain the impact (or lack of impact) of this text on the audience?

PART II (750 words)

Offer an organized, focused and cohesive analysis informed by some of the ideas and research presented in The Misinformation Age. In this piece you should relate the way that the claims in the rhetorical text are presented and/or received to a concept or concepts discussed in the book. One productive way you could approach this part of the assignment could be to discuss how this text or the response to it might serve as an example of a concept, phenomena, or research result described in the book.

PART III (500 words)

Offer an organized, focused and cohesive synthesis of the ideas you’ve presented in Parts I and II. What overall point can you make about how this text works rhetorically and/or how rhetoric works in general based on what you’ve said in the previous parts of this assignment? In what ways can you fit your ideas together to come to some kind of overarching conclusion?