Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Details

Purpose: This assignment is designed to help you develop sensitivity to rhetorical situations and strategies in order to interpret and communicate persuasive messages more effectively. It also aims to help you practice essential skills in academic writing: critical thinking, summarizing, analyzing, and evaluating.

Task: Read a short argumentative text that deals with a current, somewhat controversial issue and critically analyze the text by answering the following questions.

• Who is the author?
• What is the purpose of writing? What is the argument?
• Who is the author’s intended audience? (Be specific)
• How does the author present his/her argument? What kinds of persuasive strategies, appeals, and language does he/she use to present the argument?
• How effective are the persuasive strategies used?

You may use the contents from Rhetorical Analysis Chart in your paper

Guided Assignments: In order to guide you in the process of analysis, we will read and analyze "Why the School Day Should Start Later for Teenagers?", using the following materials:

• Analysis of Rhetorical Situations
• Identifying Persuasive Strategies (also assigned for your target article)
• Rhetorical Analysis Chart (also assigned for your target article) 

Independent Assignment: You may choose ONE of the articles below as your target article for analysis and go through the same process as above

• Article 1 (Gun Control) from Kristof, N. (2012, December 16). Do we have the courage to stop this? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?_r=0
• Article 2 (Single Sex Schooling) from Kimmel, M. (2013, August 9). Don't segregate boys and girls in classrooms. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/09/opinion/kimmel-single-sex-classes/ 
• Article 3 (Pro-Reality TV) from Poniewozik, J. (2003, February 12). Why reality TV is good for us. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,421047,00.html 
• Article 4 (Pro-Standardized Testing) from Augustine, N. R. (2013, August 1). High marks for standardized tests. The Washington Post. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com
• Article 5 (Anti-Standardized Testing) from Heuvel, K. (2013, April 30). High stakes, no prep: these tests are designed to fail. The Washington Post. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com

Note: You must analyze your chosen text. Do NOT merely summarize or argue for/against the issue presented in the text you analyze. Outside sources can be used, though not required, to support their arguments. All sources used must be documented in APA style.

Formatting: Essays should be 3-4 pages, Times New Roman, Size 12, Double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides. (Paper size: 8 1/2 x 11-inches) with APA-formatting.

Deadlines: 1st draft (named as "111_RA_NetID_1") is due April 10 and the second draft (named as "111_RA_NetID_2") is due April 15 on your Google Drive.

References:
Sample essay 1 (a general student sample)
Sample essay 2 (previous ESL 111 student sample with annotations)
Sample outline
Grading rubric