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In this assignment, worth 15% of your overall course mark, you will write a rhetorical analysis essay on one of the essays we have read for the class in Unit 2. Because our text gives an example of a rhetorical analysis of “Denaturalizing ‘Natural Disasters,’”  you may not choose this essay. As a reminder, here are the essays you can choose from:

 

· "The UnAtomic Age" (page 203)

· "Stop Killing the Good Guys" (page 231)   

· "'He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not...': Uncertainty Can Increase Romantic Attraction" (page 336)

· "Others Sometimes Know Us Better Than We Know Ourselves" (page 329)

· "The Psychology of Eating Animals" (page 300)

· “The Colonial Courts and Settler Justice” (PDF file on Blackboard LEARN)

· “Canada 150 and the Truth about Reconciliation” (PDF file on Blackboard LEARN)

Using the  essay structure/questions shown below, analyze the writing strategies used by the author.

Checklist and Structure for Rhetorical Analysis

Paragraph One

 

1. __ Introduce the essay and author by name, noting how current the essay is as well

 

2. __ Why was it written: to inform, to explain or to persuade?

 

3. __ For what audience do you think was it written? How do you know this?

 

4. __ What you know about the author? Is the author an expert about the topic of the essay; how do you know?

 

5. ___ State your thesis here: what points will you make in the rest of this essay about the essay you are analyzing?  

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph Two (About the Introduction)

 

1. __ What is the writer’s thesis or central question?

 

2. __ How does the writer justify his reason for the essay?

 

3. __ How does the author propose to add to the field of knowledge  in this area? If so, how?

 

 

4. __ In the opening of the essay, does the author manage to create interest in the topic? If so, how? If not, what do you think is lacking?

 

Paragraph Three (About the Main Supporting Points)

 

1. __ What are the essay’s main supporting points?

 

2. __ Are the main supporting points identifiable in topic sentences?(see p. 11 to review topic sentences)

 

3. __ How well are the main supporting points supported? Is the supporting detail specific and relevant?

 

 

Paragraph Four (Rhetorical Strategies)

 

1. __ What rhetorical pattern is dominant (for example: compare/contrast, definition, cause/effect, narration, process analysis, examples, cost-benefit analysis – see p. 14/15 in the textbook)? What other rhetorical patterns are present?

 

2. __ Is there a stress on either analysis or synthesis in the essay (see p. 124 in the textbook)?

 

3. __ What kinds of evidence does the author use (personal experience, experts, studies, facts and statistics, anecdotal, precedents)?

 

4. __ What kinds of sources does the author use? Books? Journals? Websites? Other?

 

 

Paragraph Five (Language, Tone and Stylistic Features)

 

1. __ What level of language is used (academic, formal, informal, conversational)? What, if any, stylistic features are used (analogies, metaphors, imagery)?

 

2. __ Does the author express a bias (or is the author’s tone objective)? If there is a bias, what is it?

 

3. __ What (if any) ethical appeals or argumentative strategies does the author use?

 

4. __ What (if any) emotional appeals or argumentative strategies does the author use?

 

 

Paragraph Six (Conclusion)

 

1. __ What is the primary purpose of the conclusion (for example: reinforce the thesis, summarize main supporting points, offer solutions)?

 

2. __ What makes the conclusion effective or ineffective?