1252 eng mod 2

ENG1252MOD2INFO1.pdf

Module 2 Assignment: Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Overview:

As the main goal of this class is to practice argumentative writing, we will read arguments by

published authors to better understand how argumentative writing works. In a sense, what we

read will serve as models for our own argumentative writing, showing us both how the argument

is done well and how it could be improved. We will analyze these texts rhetorically, which will

challenge us to take note of each author’s use of rhetoric, which is often described as an art form.

For this assignment, you will prepare a rhetorical analysis essay based on the instructions below.

Please save your file in .doc or .docx format. Your response should be complete and your final

document should be one and a half to two (1 ½ -2) full, double-spaced pages in length

(minimum) and should comply with MLA writing requirements.

*Students are encouraged to visit the following website before completing writing assignments.

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

*To view the grading rubric for this assignment, click on the name of the assignment and click

"View Rubric"

Instructions:

A Rhetorical Analysis Essay requires you to apply your critical reading skills in order to “break

down” a text. The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to articulate HOW the author writes, rather than

WHAT the author actually wrote. To do this, you will analyze the rhetorical situation and

strategies the author uses to achieve the purpose of the writing.

In this assignment, you need to:

1. Choose one of the short written texts from Open Essays.

2. Select a text that you believe will allow you to comment upon many aspects of the author’s craft.

3. Actively read the text multiple times.

4. Apply the rhetorical situation; assertions, reasoning, and evidence; and rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos) that we have learned about in the eText, taking note of significant moments when the author’s use of rhetoric is especially apparent, ineffective, or effective.

5. Develop a working thesis. (Remember, you are focusing on HOW the author writes, not WHAT she writes. Your thesis should be arguable, specific, and supportable. Your thesis should be a judgment on how effective the author’s text is based on her use of rhetorical strategies. Your thesis should not have anything to do with how you personally feel about the author’s topic.)

6. Organize your ideas.

7. Develop topic sentences for all body paragraphs that do at least these two things:

a. Provide the main point of that paragraph

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature_and_Literacy/Book%3A_88_Open_Essays_-_A_Reader_for_Students_of_Composition_and_Rhetoric_(Wangler_and_Ulrich)/Open_Essays

b. Relate back to the thesis (overall judgment of the article) clearly

8. Locate, use, cite, and comment upon some specific passages and moments from your chosen text in your essay in order to support the claims you make about the rhetorical strategies the author uses and the effectiveness of the author’s text.

9. Include a brief summary of your selected article in the introduction.

10. Keep in mind that your essay must be coherent and cohesive; tie all the points you choose to make (topic sentences) together with a main claim (thesis).

11. Make sure you have STRONG introduction and conclusion paragraphs.

12. Include a Works Cited page with your text cited correctly in MLA format.

13. Do not use any other source than your selected text.

Writing and Submission Instructions:

1. Save your document with your “Last Name Assignment Title” (EX: Smith Analysis).

2. Assignments must use MLA document formatting and citations, including your full name, the course number, and the assignment title in the upper-left corner; page numbers; and a title. See the following MLA sample essays: https://style.mla.org/formatting- papers/ and https://libguides.csudh.edu/citation/mla

3. Assignments must fulfill all requirements and be proofread to be graded.

4. Rough and final drafts must have at least one and a half to two (1 ½ -2) pages of double-spaced essay text.

If you have any questions, please ask your professor.

https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/

https://libguides.csudh.edu/citation/mla

ENG1252_RhetoricalEssayExample2.docx

Last Name 3

Student Example 2

Professor Christina Clarke

ENG 1252

5/6/2021

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Fear is a tool that has been used to change people’s behavior over human history. Arash Javanbakht points out the historical and present use of fear, especially by politicians, and how it pushes people into tribalism in his article “The Politics of Fear: How It Manipulates Us to Tribalism.” Javanbakht uses his knowledge of human history, using various informative techniques, to contrast and demonstrate how the social media and political climate have further perpetuated tribalism and created fear amongst each due to differences.

Javanbakht is speaking to the public who are concerned about the separation of political parties, races, and other groupings that have been created over time. He wants his readers to understand how old and instinctual fear is. He feels that tribalism is an important part of human history and explains how people have learned from the experience of their predecessors to gain an evolutionary advantage.

Javanbakht utilizes ethos early in the article by sharing that he is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist specializing in fear and trauma. He demonstrates his deep knowledge of tribalism and its relationship to fear. This gives him credibility with the audience.

Javanbakht asserts that “Fear is uninformed.” He mentions an example of a soldier who explains that it is easier to kill someone from afar because they do not seem human and are easier to fear. He reasons that humans are inherently fearful of the unknown and unfamiliar. For evidence, Javanbakht suggests that if people could spend time with other groups, they would see that other groups are made up of people with random personalities much like their own group. Javanbakht’s tone is clearly not on the side of the politicians or media and recognizes that the political agenda is to separate the people into groups to use fear to control them. He refers to the media as “disaster pornographers”, who use fear to avoid logic. He then challenges the integrity of the media further by calling them “political reality shows.” He uses logic by explaining that the numbers do not support the claims from most media outlets concerning the number of crimes committed by undocumented illegal immigrants versus the overall crimes committed. The essay was summed up with an appeal to pathos. Javanbakht calls out the shameful examples of vandalized temples and harassment on social media.

Throughout the entirety of Arash Javanbakht’s article, pathos, ethos, and logos play a huge role in the effect of the article, as pathos and logos target the emotional and logistical side of a reader. Effectively, the author was able to portray the concept that social media and politicians can create separate groups by using fear and inevitably changing their behavior.

Works Cited

Javanbakht, Arash. “41: The Politics of Fear: How It Manipulates Us to Tribalism.” Humanities LibreTexts, Libretexts, 15 June 2020, human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature_and_Literacy/Book%3A_88_Open_Essays_-_A_Reader_for_Students_of_Composition_and_Rhetoric_(Wangler_and_Ulrich)/Open_Essays/41%3A_The_Politics_of_Fear%3A_How_It_Manipulates_Us_to_Tribalism_(Javanbakht).

Module2AssignmentRhetoricalAnalysisEssay1.docx

Module 2 Assignment: Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Overview:

As the main goal of this class is to practice argumentative writing, we will read arguments by published authors to better understand how argumentative writing works. In a sense, what we read will serve as models for our own argumentative writing, showing us both how the argument is done well and how it could be improved. We will analyze these texts rhetorically, which will challenge us to take note of each author’s use of rhetoric, which is often described as an art form. For this assignment, you will prepare a rhetorical analysis essay based on the instructions below. Please save your file in .doc or .docx format. Your response should be complete and your final document should be one and a half to two (1 ½ -2) full, double-spaced pages in length (minimum) and should comply with MLA writing requirements.

*Students are encouraged to visit the following website before completing writing assignments. Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html

*To view the grading rubric for this assignment, click on the name of the assignment and click "View Rubric"

Instructions:

A Rhetorical Analysis Essay requires you to apply your critical reading skills in order to “break down” a text. The goal of a rhetorical analysis is to articulate HOW the author writes, rather than WHAT the author actually wrote. To do this, you will analyze the rhetorical situation and strategies the author uses to achieve the purpose of the writing.

In this assignment, you need to:

1. Choose one of the short written texts from Open Essays.

2. Select a text that you believe will allow you to comment upon many aspects of the author’s craft.

3. Actively read the text multiple times.

4. Apply the rhetorical situation; assertions, reasoning, and evidence; and rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos) that we have learned about in the eText, taking note of significant moments when the author’s use of rhetoric is especially apparent, ineffective, or effective.

5. Develop a working thesis. ( Remember, you are focusing on HOW the author writes, not WHAT she writes. Your thesis should be arguable, specific, and supportable. Your thesis should be a judgment on how effective the author’s text is based on her use of rhetorical strategies. Your thesis should not have anything to do with how you personally feel about the author’s topic.)

6. Organize your ideas.

7. Develop topic sentences for all body paragraphs that do at least these two things:

a. Provide the main point of that paragraph

b. Relate back to the thesis (overall judgment of the article) clearly

8. Locate, use, cite, and comment upon some specific passages and moments from your chosen text in your essay in order to support the claims you make about the rhetorical strategies the author uses and the effectiveness of the author’s text.

9. Include a brief summary of your selected article in the introduction.

10. Keep in mind that your essay must be coherent and cohesive; tie all the points you choose to make (topic sentences) together with a main claim (thesis).

11. Make sure you have STRONG introduction and conclusion paragraphs.

12. Include a Works Cited page with your text cited correctly in MLA format.

13. Do not use any other source than your selected text.

Writing and Submission Instructions:

1. Save your document with your “Last Name Assignment Title” (EX: Smith Analysis).

2. Assignments must use MLA document formatting and citations, including your full name, the course number, and the assignment title in the upper-left corner; page numbers; and a title. See the following MLA sample essays: https://style.mla.org/formatting-papers/ and https://libguides.csudh.edu/citation/mla