Essay about Speech

RHET 1302

Essay #1: Rhetorical Analysis

Submit: Upload online through the TurnItIn assignment button

The submission button will not be visible until the week before the assignment is due

You will also upload your draft this way

Length: 3-4 FULL pages with Works Cited (Works Cited does not count towards page total)

Sources: One speech

Points: Final (100 points), Full Draft (20 points)

Purpose: Rhetoric is the art of effective communication, or as Aristotle stated, “the ability to see or

identify in any given circumstance the available means of persuasion.” In Rhetoric, we focus on “how”

people are communicating rather than simply what they are saying. This assignment asks you examine

the text of a speech and analyze HOW it conveys its message. Your purpose for writing this essay is not

to talk about what the speech is actually about but instead to focus on the literary and rhetorical

techniques the speech uses to convince the audience of its purpose.

Audience: Your audience for this assignment is your instructor and your classmates. Therefore, your tone

should be academic and more formal than if you were speaking to a friend.

Speech Parameters: Read the speeches posted in the Essay #1 folder. Please feel free to choose one of

the speeches given on the list. Notice how many of them are college commencement speeches—that’s

because that kind of speech lends itself very well to this kind of assignment. If you want to select your

own speech, then here are some guidelines:

 Speech should be recent (from the last 5 years or so)

 Length should be about 15-20 minutes (5 minutes is way too short)

 Find the transcript of the speech online (you can watch it, but you will need the text too)

 Do not choose an old clichéd speech (like from MLK, JFK, Lincoln, etc.)

 Do not choose a TED Talk (you need a more formal speech than a talk) If you select a speech that is not on the list in eLearning, just run it by me before you start writing so we

can make sure that you can be successful with your choice. Remember, throughout the semester, the

responsibility rests on you to select material to work on that you are actually interested in. When you are

more invested in your topic, then you write a better paper.

In your paper, you need to accomplish the following things:

1. Discuss how the speech uses rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, ethos) 2. Analyze how the speech uses rhetorical strategies (like metaphor, repetition, symbolism, etc.) 3. Determine whether the speech is effective or ineffective at achieving its purpose based on the

specific evidence of the rhetorical appeals and strategies. Your thesis statement should be tied to

whether or not you think the speech ultimately does or does not succeed at convincing its

audience of its main points. Make sure you provide specific evidence (direct quotations) from the

text of the speech. Remember to consider the context of your speech—who is the intended

audience and for what occasion was it written?

Important Things to Consider: Your paper must be in MLA format. This means that when you quote

something from your speech, it must be in quotations marks and have an in-text citation to document

where you got it from. Use the MLA Help button posted in eLearning. Remember the 1:3 ratio. For

every 1 line of quoted material, you need approximately 3 lines of explanation. Without the proper

citations, you are committing plagiarism—so, make sure you document your work appropriately.