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Discussion: Analyzing a Text

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Required Reading: Rules for Writers, 4 and 5.

Optional Reading: Chapter 6.

Hello Class,

For the discussion this week, please engage in an exploration of the rhetorical strategies used by Robinson. You may discuss several questions over the course of the week, or you might respond to any of these questions in a developed paragraph or mini-essay. (This could conceivably be a section of the draft of your Rhetorical Analysis.) You might ask the class your own questions about what the author might be doing in the text or ask questions from the chapters in Rules for Writers. (See exploratory questions below.)

Feel free to respond to one thread if you choose. (You may engage in one extended conversation), as long as each response is in depth and fulfills the requirement outlined in the Discussion Forum Guidelines.)

Please continue this discussion over the weekend. This may be helpful in preparing your essay.

Some questions to think about when analyzing a writer's methods. (Responding to all these questions in your journal will prepare you well for writing the rhetorical analysis.):

Who is the audience?

What is the purpose of the essay? To explain? To inform? To anger? Persuade? Amuse? Motivate? Sadden? Ridicule? Anger? Is there more than one purpose? Does the purpose shift at all throughout the text?

What is the tone of the essay? How does the writer establish that tone? Do you think that the tone is appropriate for the author's intended purpose and audience?

What kind of support does the author use to support his claims? Narrative example? Statistical evidence? Logical argument? Expert opinion? Are these strategies effective for the writer’s purpose?

How does the writer arrange his/her ideas? What are the patterns of arrangement?
Particular to general? Broad to specific? Spatial? Chronological? Alternating? Block?

Are there any particularly vivid images that stand out? What effect do these images have

on the writers' purpose?

Are devices of comparison used to convey or enhance meaning? Which tropes--similes,
metaphors, personification, hyperbole, etc. does the writer use? When does he/she use them? Why?

Does the writer use devices of humor? Puns? Irony? Sarcasm? Understatement?
Parody? Is the effect comic relief? Pleasure? Ridicule?