Pick an article from below. Then, in an essay, analyze it rhetorically, using principles discussed in class. In the essay, show how the article succeeds, fails, or does something else entirely. Does the author use rhetoric in a way that works for the author’s approach to the argument? Use evidence from the article to support your analysis.

Pick an article from below. Then, in an essay, analyze it rhetorically, using principles discussed in class. In the essay, show how the article succeeds, fails, or does something else entirely. Does the author use rhetoric in a way that works for the author’s approach to the argument? Use evidence from the article to support your analysis.

The only rhetorical devices we will focus on in this paper are logos, pathos, and ethos. You must discuss at least two of those devices, but you may use all three.

Specifics: The analysis section of the paper should take up the majority of the essay. Here you are trying to analyze and explain how the argument was put together (which rhetorical strategies it uses). How are those strategies meant to impact the audience? In other words, how do the strategies attempt to influence the reader’s thoughts and feelings? How do the strategies relate to and support the overall argument?

The assignment is based on the premise that all writing is aimed at a specific audience for a specific purpose. Your task with this assignment is to determine the exact goal of the article and to explore, on paper, the strategies, “rhetoric devices” used by the writer to achieve this goal.

Articles:

“Sex Education in Schools Needs an Upgrade” by James Paterson

“Education Pays, but Perhaps Less Than You Thought” by Laurence Shaktin

“Stripped of More Than My Clothes” by Daria MonDesire

Minimum Requirements

For a C or above, your essay must:

Be 800 words long and formatted according to MLA guidelines
Introduce the text properly and summarize the text’s argument clearly and concisely
Focus on a thesis that identifies some elements of the text’s rhetorical strategy (how the argument is put together)
Can only use rhetorical strategies covered in class, which are logos, pathos, and ethos
Use quotations as evidence of your thesis and where appropriate in the summary
Explain how the rhetorical strategies work (how they are meant to impact the reader)
Explain how the rhetorical strategies support the text’s overall argument
Incorporate quotations properly and use in-text citations for them as needed
Use signal phrases to attribute ideas to the original author
Be written effectively and coherently, with few punctuation or grammatical errors
No outside sources or the Internet can be used to write the paper except for the article
Submit rough draft of essay to Upswing by 11/22. Here’s the link: https://hccs.upswing.io/ (Links to an external site.)
Final draft of essay due 11/27. Tutored essay from Upswing must be submitted with final draft (points deducted, if not).

Last Completed Projects