“Select an episode, scene, or technique from among the first four episodes of Serial. Write a short essay that
1) describes the host’s purpose, rhetorical situation, and argument
2) breaks down and categorizes the most significant elements of the podcast’s structure, outlook, or rhetoric and
3) comments on whether, why, and how the podcast is effective in its persuasion and what meaning is conveyed to the audience (its “take-away”). Ideally, these three things should work together: you should demonstrate how the details you focus on contribute to the piece’s larger purpose and significance.
Note: this assignment is not asking you to present your opinion or argument about the subject matter in the episode(s). Focus on what the author is saying. Here are some questions to consider (you do not need to answer all of them or put them in this order):
· What is the kairos (impetus) of this podcast?
· What context/situation are they responding to?
· Who is their primary audience and how can you tell?
· What assumptions does the author make? What are the consequences?
· What kinds of evidence do they use? Why?
· How do they use the capabilities of the medium to convey meaning?
· What kind of patterns appear in the text?
· What voice do they use/have and why do they use it? What is the impact of other voices?
· What kinds of binaries, contrasts, or counterarguments appear in the text and why?
· Are there any noteworthy rhetorical moves (e.g. humor, emotion, stats, experts etc.)?
Your essay should summarize the key points of the episode(s) being analyzed, but should not limit itself just to summary: you will need to explain your inferences about how/why those points were chosen by the author/host. The essay should be clear, focused, engaging, specific, and coherent. Don’t try to cover every possible detail; rather, try to dive deeply into smaller collection of examples. You will need to appropriately summarize, paraphrase, and quote from the text to justify your analysis. You do not need to use outside sources for this assignment, but if you do, they should be introduced and properly documented.
Please read the attached documents carefully and thoroughly.
The links to Serial episodes are in the “Course Contents.docx”. the Specific instructions for this analysis is in “Analytic Summary Assignment.docx”
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