English 102 University of Southern Mississippi

Project One: Rhetorical Analysis For this project, you will critically read and then analyze our chosen te t for the purpose of discovering the rhetorical choices, assu!ptions, and intended audience of the author and the overall effectiveness of the te t" Getting Started: #his assign!ent will re$uire you to e plore the te t as a te t on three levels% 1& as an atte!pt 'y so!eone to co!!unicate so!ething i!portant( 2& as a docu!ent that has intentionally 'een written and structured in such a !anner as to lead readers to thin), feel, and react in specific ways( and *& as a cultural artifact that e!'odies +at least on so!e level& the values, attitudes, and 'eliefs of a certain group of people at a particular !o!ent in ti!e" ,n order to do this project well, you will need to carefully re-read this text several times, analyzing the wor) on each of these different levels" #hat is, in your paper you will need to 'e a'le to discuss what you thin) the author is trying to say" -egin with the !ain ideas% what are they. #hen dig deep and figure out how the author is trying to get his ideas across and why he has done so in the !anner that he has" Using rhetorical concepts such as purpose, audience, genre, stance, media/design, ethos, pathos, logos, etc", you will consider what the author is atte!pting to do stylistically and structurally as a writer, and why" Finally, you will want to e plore the wor) as an historical and cultural docu!ent, loo)ing carefully not only at the te t itself, 'ut at the wider conte t in which it was written( speculate on the connections 'etween its audience, conte t, and the wider culture and values of the period" Rhetorical Considerations% 0our purpose is to !a)e an argu!ent a'out so!e aspect +not all of the!& of what the author is trying to say and do as a writer within the te t" ,n the process, you should offer so!e analysis of the cultural and/or historical conte t in which the te t was written" 0our audience for this paper is so!eone who !ay )now so!e 'asic rhetorical concepts, 'ut who has little fa!iliarity with this author and te t" #hus, the 'ul) of your discussion will want to focus on providing your reader with specific e a!ples and clear e planations of how the te t is wor)ing and why +or why not&" 1o not assu!e that your readers will have the te t to refer to as they read your paper2 0ou !ust 'e a'le to e plain and support your points through su!!ary, paraphrase, and $uotation" Putting It Together: Step 1% 3rite an 4cade!ic Su!!ary +a'out *00 words& that concisely and accurately su!!arizes the author5s !ain points" 6eep it si!ple( don5t worry a'out sounding repetitive if you use the author5s na!e or 7he says8 or 7he clai!s8 over and over" #he purpose of the su!!ary is to give a 'rief overview of what the author thin)s is i!portant" 4lthough this part of the project will 'e due 'efore the analysis, when you turn in your analysis, put the su!!ary first" Step 2% 3rite a *9: page ;hetorical 4nalysis that e a!ines how the chosen te t is organized and relates to its chosen audience and conte t +see 7<etting Started8 and 7;hetorical =onsiderations8 section of this docu!ent for further e planation and clarification&" 6eep in !ind that your ulti!ate ai! is to lead your reader through an orderly discussion that focuses on a few !ain clai!s a'out the author and the rhetoric of his writing" 0ou !ust also provide evidence to 'ac) up your clai!s, which in this conte t !eans specific e a!ples fro! the te t in the for! of su!!ary, paraphrase, and/or direct $uotation" 0our essay should 'e typed, dou'le9spaced, with standard one9inch !argins, and a'out >9: pages in length"