Researched Rhetorical Analysis

Length: 5-7 pages, not including title and reference pages (1250-1750 words)
Points: 150 points for final draft This assignment invites students to compose a persuasive essay examining a narrowly defined,  academic, beneficial, and credible topic developed with the help of the invention tools  provided in the textbooks, in the class, by the instructor, and with research. To solidify  such an analysis, you will incorporate research to explain more fully, illustrate more vividly  and support more concretely the evaluation of another professional’s writing. This essay does  not ask you to provide your own subjective opinions on the issue being discussed; rather, this  assignment asks you to assert evaluative claims about the effectiveness of an argument based solely on the author’s use of rhetorical concepts and writing skills, which would be used as  criteria for such an evaluation.The successful essay will develop and defend a claim (thesis)  about the effectiveness of an author’s persuasive efforts, which attempt to intervene in a controversial subject—something about which there is substantive and rational disagreement.

? Specific Requirements: Adhering to and using the standards found on the “Rubric for  Writing Assessment” included here, elements of effective persuasive essays discussed this  quarter, and the textbook’s rhetorical concepts, the research paper should be five to seven  pages in length, not including a Title and References pages. Additionally, the essay should  incorporate quotations, summaries,and paraphrases using introductory phrasing and document  sources in the text according to APA TheEasy Way!At least five different sources must be used  with not more than two deriving from a non-Baker College Internet resource. Information gained  from reference sources, such as an encyclopedia, (e.g. Wikipedia.org) or a dictionary will not  count as a legitimate source. The essay is worth 200points total (150 for final draft, 50 for  research, drafting, peer review, etc.)

? Introductions: Catch the reader’s interest in the introduction by providing a short  anecdote relevant to the paper; a revealing problem your research unveiled; a difficult  question; a telling quotation; a misconception that needs correction; or an epigraph followed  by detailed explanation of its relevance or significance to the analysis.

? Conclusions: Make the essay’s conclusions helpful and memorable for the reader.
Remember to save something engaging or provocative for the end.

? Content: The essay will help you learn to construct an arguable claim, identify reasons  and evidence, which are both relevant and sufficient, and to consider and respond to other  writers’ positions. This essay should identify and discuss the author’s purpose, the intended  audience, a brief background or context of the topic, the author’s language and style in  service of a persuasive purpose, and how these elements contribute to the effectiveness of the  appeals. You will also consider the rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos as the  means of making argumentsto produce an accurate assessment of the article’s argument. The  essay should also consider the articles’ underlying logic deployed to construct its argument.
Such an analysis will include an assessment of the general clarity of reasoning and, if  necessary, analysis of logical fallacies. It is important to note that although you may be  analyzing others’ views on a topic,you must develop your own argument as an outgrowth of this  analysis. More details about writing a rhetorical analysis on pages 270-271 of Writing: A  Guide for College and Beyond.

? Audience: Try to ignore any negative preconceptions about writing a research paper.
If the topic has been chosen with care and interest, this will focus one’s efforts and the  ethos will be persuasively communicated to the reader. Consider the audience to be classmates  or family but not necessarily your instructor. Although the essay will be academic in nature,  try to use a semi-formal tone. Please try not to be dry or boring as one might imagine an  “academic voice” might be. Work to make the paper interesting for the writer and for readers.
In other words, envision that the essay teaches the reader something while also attempting to  guide the reader toward accepting one’s judgment on the argument’s effectiveness.

? Rhetorical Strategies: Try to apply strategies learned this quarter. In addition to  using convincing reasons, does the essay stir a reader’s emotions? Is the train of thought  rigorous? Can you appeal to your readers’ morals or ethics? Does the essay show readers that  the writer—oneself as a researcher—is careful, responsible, and fair-minded with the  presentation of information? Does the essay accurately represent competing ideas and claims  fairly and accurately? Does the essay conform to conventions of written English in terms of  grammar, mechanics, usage, and formatting?

? Sources: The more authoritative sources used, the more convincing the research is; the  fewer and less credible the sources used, the less persuasive the writing is. Choose sources  from a variety of sources like journals, magazine articles, books, newspapers, government  documents, and the Internet. Databases like ProQuest and Infotrac are good sources. Moreover,

sources should be relatively recent, within the last five years unless you need to present a  history of the topic as part of your argument. Employ the research to support your evaluation  of the author’s effectiveness. On the one hand, for example, a source might convincingly  disprove an assertion of the author under scrutiny. On the other hand, question and challenge  a source’s credibility by examining credentials, assumptions, affiliations, and implications,  which could be used in the paper’s discussion.