English 100T, Fall 2015
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Assignment
Length: Five paragraphs; at least two full pagesPurpose: To analyze the rhetorical situation of an essayAudience: Your instructor and classmates (an academic audience)Genre: Academic essayDirections:1. Pick one of the following essays from 50 Essays:
a. “Graduation” by Maya Angelou (pages 20-32)
b. “A Woman’s Beauty: Put-Down or Power Source” by Susan Sontag (pages 386-389)c. “Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherjee (pages 290-294)2. Read the essay very carefully. Then write a five-paragraph essay about the essay you selected.
a. Paragraph One: Introduction
i. Introduce the essay you will be writing about.
1. Include the author’s name and the title of the essay.2. Give a brief (no more than two sentences) description of what the essay is about
ii. End your introduction with a thesis statement
1. Your thesis should indicate the three elements of the rhetorical situation you intend toanalyze2. Your thesis should indicate why it is important to consider these elements (what peoplecan expect to learn by reading your essay)3. Example: By examining Carr as an author, exploring the context in which he wrote, andconsidering the message he conveys through his essay, his audience can arrive at adeeper understanding of how technology influences the intellectual experiences ofpeople in the United States.
b. Paragraphs Two through Four: Main Body
i. You must write three paragraphs in the Main Body of your essay. Each paragraph shouldaddress one part of the rhetorical situation (purpose, audience, message, context, or author).ii. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that indicates the rhetorical element you willbe discussing.iii. Each paragraph should include supporting details from the essay you are analyzing.1. You must include two short quotations (no more than one sentence each).
2. Your quotations must be properly cited in MLA format.
iv. Questions to consider in the Main Body of the essay (depending on the topics of yourparagraphs):
1. What is the essay’s context? What does the essay tell us about the values of the societyin which it was created? How do you know?2. Who is the author? Why should we trust the author? How do you know the author iscredible? What qualifies the author to write about the topic? Is the author an expert?How do you know?3. What is the author’s purpose? How do you know?4. Who is the essay’s intended audience? How do you know?