Assignment Overview
As you are surely aware of by now, throughout this quarter, we are exploring the concept of rhetoric — considering what it is, what it does, and (perhaps most importantly) how it does what it does. As the readings and the discussions in groups and dialectical journals this quarter demonstrate, so much of rhetoric’s purpose and effectiveness is shaped and defined by its context. For this project, you will be focusing on those elements and analyzing not only the rhetoric of a text, but its rhetorical context as well.
For this project, you will pick a rhetorical text (broadly defined) and write a 1500-1800 word analysis that considers both rhetoric of the text and the context out of which it emerges. That is, you will pick a moment of rhetoric in action and then analyze what the rhetoric doing, how it’s doing it, for whom, and why.
Helpful Things to Consider
- As mentioned above, the term “text” here can be broadly defined. So, you can certainly choose an article, an advertisement, or another type of traditional text. However, you can also choose a performance, a protest, a speech, a video or a tweet, a post, or a meme. Whatever you choose for your focus, you should be able to demonstrate how it is situated within a specific rhetorical context–how it is making an argument, responding to external influences, appealing to an audience, and has a specific purpose.
- In your analysis, it will help you to think about all of the factors involved in this moment of rhetoric:
- Who is the speaker/creator? (Rhetor)
- What is the purpose? (Argument/Claim)
- What are they responding to? (Exigence) How does timing come into play? (Kairos) Who is the rhetoric directed toward? (Audience)
- How is the rhetoric working? (Appeals)
- Through what means is the rhetoric being conveyed? Why? (Delivery)
- Who is affected by the rhetoric? (Stakeholders) How? (Power/Effects)
- You should include outside research for this project (especially when identifying and analyzing the context out of which this rhetoric emerged and how it is working); figure around 2-3 sources. *You can use whichever citation style you are most comfortable with (MLA, APA, Chicaco, etc.), but it should be consistent throughout.
If you’re looking for things to write about, you might want to check out this helpful page here: https://americanrhetoric.com/. (Totally optional, though.)
Rhetorical Context Analysis Proposal
For your proposal (included in your participation notebook for week 5 or in a separate file in your individual folder), write a paragraph or two that considers and answers the following questions:
What specific moment of rhetoric are you planning on writing about? When did this happen? Who was involved? What led up to the moment that the rhetoric was used? What was the purpose of the rhetoric? Why do you plan to write about it? Why are you interested in it? What about it specifically do you want to understand more? What concerns do you have about writing about this specific rhetorical context?
(If you’re looking for things to write about, you might want to check out this helpful website, American Rhetoric, for possibilities.)
Rhetorical Context Analysis Rough Draft
Due on Sunday, February 19 in your individual Google Drive folders
Because it helps to write things over time, and because I want to ensure that you have enough written in order to receive feedback from your peers during your group discussion, you have a rough draft of your Rhetorical Context Analysis due at the end of Week 6.
Similar to the way we approached the Concept Paper, this can be a very rough draft. You should have enough completed to discuss with your small groups and get feedback on, but it doesn’t need to be complete. (Figure at least 3-4 pages of material to work with.) In fact, this would be a great opportunity for you to ask for suggestions for development from your peers. If you would like to have a complete draft by this time, that is also okay. Again, the purpose of this is to ensure that you are working on your writing over time, rather than waiting until the last minute to complete it.
Credit for rough drafts is based on having some material complete (roughly 3 or 4 pages).
If you would like feedback on your draft, you need to ask for it. I won’t be going through and leaving comments on everyone’s drafts, but I am happy to offer feedback and/or talk about your draft with you if you’d like. Just let me know!
Additional Work Option
By popular demand: an additional work option for the Rhetorical Context Analysis!
For the additional work for this assignment, I’m asking you to write a 600-900 word (roughly 2-3 pages) response to the text you analyzed. Your response should come from your perspective, directly address the text and its context, and leave your reader with a sense that you are attempting to continue the conversation. Depending on the text you’re responding to, you may want to back your claims up with additional sources. Whether you are agreeing, disagreeing, or merely complicating the position of your original text, you should have something interesting, meaningful, insightful, entertaining, or compelling to say.
