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Sample Touchstone 1.1
In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Directions
Step 1: Write a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
For the bulk of your assignment, you will want to include your analysis of the text. However, it will be beneficial to provide context for your reader. Consider the following when writing your essay:
Audience: Who was the original audience for this text?
Occasion: When/why was this text written?
Purpose: What is the author’s purpose? What does the author want the audience to learn?
Subject: What is this text about?
Tone: What is the tone? Is it formal? Celebratory? Casual? Somber?
Be sure to include the following:
1. Introduction
In your introduction, provide a brief overview of the article (consider the questions listed above). Consider the author’s purpose, and if the author is effective in achieving that purpose.
2. Thesis Statement
Your thesis statement is one sentence that provides an overview of your essay. A thesis statement is not a question, and is something that you will debate/argue in the paper. A thesis statement is never a question; instead, it is a declarative statement that states the central purpose of the essay. In a persuasive essay, such as this one, the thesis statement will state your main claim or central argument. For this essay, your thesis statement should state a clear claim about how the author uses rhetoric in the essay, and whether the essay is effective.
Sample Thesis Statement: In Smith’s article “On Recycling for the Future,” the author uses a combination of logical and emotional appeals to effectively convince the reader that all communities should promote and support recycling.
Note that this thesis states the author and the title, a position (the author is effective), and names some specific rhetorical devices.
3. Body of the Essay
In the body of your essay, find specific examples in the text to support your points. If you want to argue that the author is effective in using rhetorical questions, for example, then be sure to show the textual evidence in your paragraph. Direct quotes are often the best evidence. Identify the type of rhetorical device, and then explain how and to what effect the author uses this device. Identify the type of rhetorical device, and then explain how and to what effect the author uses this device.
4. Documentation
Remember that whenever we use information from a source, we must cite that source. As you include your quotes and examples from the essay, include your citation. You should also include complete citations following APA guidelines in a references section at the end of the paper. You are only required to use the one source, the article you are analyzing, but if you use other sources, be sure to cite these as well.
5. Conclusion
In any conclusion, we need to summarize our paper and include one of the following:
a call to action
a final appeal
a solution
Perhaps after reading and analyzing this article, we want to have a call to action because the author is so effective on the topic. On the other hand, we could include a solution that the author is not effective in his or her purpose.
Step 2: Reflection Questions
Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions:
We use rhetoric all the time, perhaps without even realizing it, to persuade our audience to accept our point of view. These speeches were all historical events, but we use rhetoric in our daily lives as well. How have you used rhetoric in the past week? (2-3 sentences)
As we go through our course discussing the power of persuasion and write our own persuasive documents, what rhetorical strategies will you use to persuade your audience? (2-3 sentences)
What difficulties did you face while reading the text and analyzing for rhetorical effectiveness? How did you overcome these difficulties? (2-3 sentences)