Rhetorical Analysis Practice

Paper instructions

In your upcoming paper (prompt here), you’ll be applying the concepts we’ve been learning about, namely inductive and deductive reasoning, fallacies (introduced next week), assumptions, and other critical reading concepts to analyze how a real, live article makes its point. It can be hard to make the leap from reading the abstract theory to practically applying those ideas to a specific piece of writing, so we’ll practice that skill here. We’ll all use the same article so that you all can learn from each other.

To prepare, read “The Reign of Recycling” by John Tierney, pp. 109-13.

In your post, analyze the rhetoric of the author. That means, tell us how the author makes their point. The guiding questions are:

What is the author’s aim?
How does the author attempt to achieve that aim?
Are they likely to be successful in achieving that aim?
To help you, the text book offers its own descriptions of Tierney’s reasoning as annotations in the margins. Feel free to use these ideas to help you develop your own—but use your own words to do so! See if you can identify examples of either deductive or inductive reasoning, or both, in the text, and integrate description of the reasoning into your response.

Aim for about 350 words in your post.

All of the assignments in Week 1 will help you prepare for this essay, and we will be spending most of Week 2 only on this assignment so there is nothing extra you need to do to prepare for this essay right now. That said, I know it is helpful to understand where you are headed, so to that end, here is the prompt for the upcoming essay.

Context:

We have been exploring the basic concepts of critical thinking, concepts that you might already know and practice, but are now learning names for. In this assignment, you will show your expanding familiarity with the concepts of critical thinking by reading an opinionated article critically and analyzing the author’s strategies.

Prompt:
Write a rhetorical analysis on ONE text of your choosing from Part Four of Part Five of the textbook, pp. 411-628, and analyze not so much what is said but how it is said.

Guiding questions:

What is the author’s aim in writing this piece?
What rhetorical methods do they employ to attempt to achieve that aim?
Are they likely to succeed?

You will definitely want to include these core elements in your paper:

Rhetorical context: Who is the author? Where was the piece published? When was the piece written, and why was it written at that time? (This information is available in the blurb that precedes each article in the textbook. Conduct any additional research as necessary.)
Purpose: What does the author intend to do with this piece of writing?
Summary: What is the argument?

In your analysis, you will then analyze the author’s different rhetorical strategies, which might include any of the following (you do not necessarily need to address all points):

What kind of reasoning (inductive, deductive)?
Is the reasoning sound or credible?
Are there fallacies?
What evidence is used?
Is any evidence ignored?
Are all points of view considered?
What examples or case studies does the author use?
Are there other examples that might be considered?
Appeals: to emotion (pathos)? to logic (logos)? to authority (ethos)?
Tone and style: What sense does the author give you of his or her credibility? What is his or her attitude toward the subject? What feeling does the language give? Are there words or terms that are used that are contested?
Your analysis should be aimed at someone who has not read the piece. Therefore, you will need to include some summary of the original argument.

The paper should be no less than 1500 words and no more than 2000 words.

Other guidelines:

You should not analyze every item in the list above. Instead, choose the author’s rhetorical strategies that are the most notable and revealing.
The thesis of this paper should answer the primary questions: What is the purpose of this piece of writing, and does it succeed in its aim? It is important that your thesis evaluates the success of the article in accomplishing its aim.
Since this is the culmination of the Concepts of Critical Thinking unit, be sure that your essay demonstrates your understanding of deductive and inductive reasoning, fallacies, etc.
Do include an introduction and a conclusion, well-structured paragraphs, ample evidence and analysis.
Double-space your paper, and include a list of Works Cited in MLA format.