Week Seven

From the Week Seven, you do not have a discussion assignment. Instead you will spend the week drafting, revising and editing your 7.1 Rhetorical Analysis Paper and preparing your 7.2 Learning Reflection. Both are due at the end of the week.

7.1 Rhetorical Analysis Paper

Instructions:

For this paper, you will write a rhetorical analysis of one of the following readings from the back of your textbook. If you do not have the version of the textbook with Readings, then you can find these pieces online (linked below):

  1. “Corporate Ethics in the Era of Millennials,” by Paul Argenti, HTWA pp. 672-676

  2. “Hitting Bottom: Why America Should Outlaw Spanking,” by Emily Bazelon, HTWA pp. 681-84

  3. “Glutton Intolerance: What If a War on Obesity Only Makes the Problem Worse?,” by Daniel Engber, HTWA pp. 686-690

  4. “The Case for Locking Up Your Smartphone,” by Marcel O’Gorman, HTWA pp. 703-07

  5. “Is That Plastic in Your Trash a Hazard?,” by Michael Todd, HTWA pp. 723-26

NOTE: Each of the pieces listed above is reprinted in the back of your textbook. However, you may be able to find the original versions online. Be sure to properly cite the version you use.

Choose one of the above to be the subject of your 7.1 Rhetorical Analysis. Your rhetorical analysis paper should be between 750-1000 words in length (not including Works Cited). Be sure to cite the source material in the text of your paper (i.e., in-text citation) and on an end-of-paper source list (i.e., works cited entry) using MLA Documentation and Format (see chapter 53).

Your essay should be well-organized, polished, and formatted as an academic paper in MLA style, which has rules for headers, margins, spacing, etc. (see chapter 53 again).

You should share the Google Doc containing the final version of your 7.1 paper with me by 11:59 pm CT ("midnight") on Sunday of Week Seven. Be sure your permissions are set to "can comment." Name your Google Doc as follows: 7.1 Rhetorical Analysis <Your last name> (replacing <Your last name> with your actual last name). Share to shwilliams1@ualr.edu.

In your rhetorical analysis, you must provide a summary of the argument, a statement of the claim being made and an analysis of the rhetorical strategies used. Your rhetorical analysis should carefully examine whether the argument is effective or ineffective in achieving its purpose and make an argument of its own one way or the other. In developing your analysis, remember that you are not arguing for or against the claim being made by the argument; rather, you are evaluating whether the argument is effective or ineffective in persuading its audience to agree with said claim.

Steps in the Process

  1. Choose a specific argument text from the 5 options above. Conduct a critical (close) reading of the argument.

  2. Analyze the rhetorical strategies and features employed in the argument you chose. Be sure to find specific evidence in the text of ethos, logos, and pathos. Also, be sure to identify any logical fallacies and their effects on the overall argument. Consider how the argument aims to convince its intended audience.

  3. Using your critical read and analysis of the argument, compose your rhetorical analysis paper. Your rhetorical analysis paper is essentially an evaluative argument in which you: (a) argue (make a claim) that the argument is effective (or not); (b) base your claim on reasons (use of rhetorical strategies and features); and (c) support your reasons with evidence (specific details from the argument text itself).

As you critically read and analyze the argument you choose, these questions might guide you:

  • What is the subject?

  • Who is the intended audience?

  • What is the claim being made?

  • What reasons are the claim based on?

  • What evidence is presented to support those reasons?

  • What rhetorical appeals are used? How?

  • What are the author’s credentials, and how does she/he represent the information?

  • What values are shared with the audience?

  • How is the text organized?

  • How timely is the information?

  • Which fallacies are present, and how do they affect the message?

The rubric below will be used to grade your 7.1 Rhetorical Analysis Paper.

Rhetorical Analysis Rubric.pdf

7.2 Learning Reflection

Instructions:

Learning reflections give you the opportunity to think about what you have read, written, and learned leading up to and during a writing project. The exercise of reflecting on your learning, linking it to your own experience and prior learning, will help ensure that you are able to recall and use the information later, in future projects. Having these learning reflections after each project will also help you prepare your semester reflection at the end of term.

Address the following questions in your learning reflection for this project:

  • What did you learn about writing leading up to and during this project?

  • What course goals and objectives (see syllabus) were applicable to your learning and this project?

  • How might you use what you have learned in the future?

Do not ask these questions in your writing, but rather use them for brainstorming purposes.

Your learning reflection should be 2-3 paragraphs, well thought-out, and polished.

You should share the Google Doc containing your learning reflection with me by 11:59 pm CT ("midnight") on Sunday of Week Seven. Be sure your permissions are set to "can comment." Name your Google Doc as follows: 7.2 Learning Reflection <Your last name> (replacing <Your last name> with your actual last name). Share to shwilliams1@ualr.edu.

The rubric below will be used to grade your 7.2 Learning Reflection.

Learning Reflection 2 Rubric.pdf