Effective writers know how to tailor their text for a specific purpose and a specific audience. For example, writers can choose to make an emotional appeal using simple language so that any audience can understand the message. Part of becoming a strong writer is analyzing how well or how poorly another author crafts a message, which will help one make stronger choices when it is time to communicate with others in a professional setting.
For this task, you will choose a text that you will be able to analyze. Next, you will summarize the text and identify the text’s intended purpose and audience. Then, you will analyze the text’s context and the methods the author used to appeal to his or her audience. Last, you will evaluate, based on your analysis, the effectiveness of the text.
A. Compose a rhetorical analysis (suggested length 2–3 pages) by doing the following:
1. Choose and submit a piece or passage of persuasive writing that is authored by a different writer (e.g., a speech, a letter to the editor, or an essay) between 200-2,000 words in length.
2. Analyze your chosen text by doing the following:
a. Summarize the text.
b. Discuss the author’s purpose for the text.
c. Explain the context of the text.
c. Describe the audience of the text.
e. Explain the appeal(s) (i.e., logos, ethos, pathos) that are found within the text. For each type of appeal used in the text, include at least one example.
f. Evaluate the text’s overall rhetorical effectiveness at achieving the author’s purpose based on the text’s context, audience, and use of appeals.
B. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
C. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.