Rhetorical Analysis Essay

/in /by

essay Outcomes

  • Develop clear cogent analyses and convincing arguments about rhetorical choices
  • Identify and articulate genre expectations, situating the text at hand within a larger conversation in a particular rhetorical situation, with a particular audience
  • Select credible and pertinent material from readings and outside texts to support a point or argument and illustrate awareness of viewpoints and competing arguments
  • Situate, integrate, and contextualize different types of evidence effectively while distinguishing the writer’s voice from those of sources.
  • Demonstrate effective organization and style – for a particular purpose, within a particular genre, to a particular audience
  • Develop understanding of and mastery of rhetorical choices within genre conventions, and develops an awareness of how writers must make careful decisions based on purpose, audience and argument to execute project/writing professionally across writing situations
  • Rewrite and edit language, style, tone, and sentence structure according to genre and audience expectations
  • Practice applying citation conventions systematically in your own work
  • Plan and execute a revision process that does not rely only on direction from the instructor, developing ownership of both process and product to revise purposefully

Assignment

Consider this assignment an opportunity to further explore and expand a line of analysis that you began with your Critical Reading exercises(Attached below) and then develop that analysis into a more complete and complex argument. You will now write a more expansive rhetorical analysis of your primary text. Your rhetorical analysis can delve into message, audience, rhetor, historical and/or social context or even a combination of these aspects.

Include secondary sources to strengthen your argument as part of the academic discourse community. Show that you can situate and integrate credible sources into your argument so that it exists as part of an ongoing dialogue among multiple parties involving the text being analyzed. Your task is not to only restate what these sources have said, but to engage and provide insightful responses as a member of this academic discourse community.

Basic Requirements

  • Length: 1500-1800 words, typed, double-spaced, and presented in MLA format.
  • A minimum of three (3) secondary sources (from Travel Writing Bibliography below)
    not including the primary text being analyzed, must be used to develop the essay. A works cited page with source annotations will be required as part of the final draft.

Additional Guidelines:

  • Rhetorical analysis is different from the more familiar literary analysis you are used to performing. Your essay should not just focus on what your chosen fairy tale means, but HOW the text communicates this meaning to a particular audience, for a specific purpose.
  • Your RA thesis should make an arguable claim (one that another well-informed person could reasonably disagree with).
  • to discuss every single aspect of your chosen tale’s rhetorical situation in only 1500-1800 words. You will need to choose specific rhetorical strategies and/or genre conventions to connect to specific aspects of the tale’s rhetorical situation–particularly audience and/or context.
  • I strongly encourage you to choose ONE essay to focus your attention on. If you really, really want to compare two essays, come talk to me in office hours for approval.
  • You should use the critical essays listed in our Travel Writing Bibliography for at least one or two of your secondary sources. You may need to conduct some basic research to find additional sources that are directly relevant to your specific arguments. Ask for research help as soon as you know you need it–do not wait until the last minute to find your sources!

Travel Writing Bibliography

"Our Prices Start at $11.99. As Our First Client, Use Coupon Code GET15 to claim 15% Discount This Month!!":

Get started