Martin Luther King Jr.

Outlining your presentation & analysis Term Project Rubric posted on Blackboard (100 pts)

◦ Outline 10 pts ◦ 5-6 min Presentation of tentative findings 25 pts ◦ Paper 65 pts

Next week: one-on-one meeting time ◦ Work on your outline/analysis ◦ Get in presentation overview shape

Presentations begin Tuesday, 4/25 ◦ ALL MUST BE READY ◦ Informal overview designed to assist you ◦ Peers/I offer feedback in advance of due date

Final paper due via email (Word doc): Thurs., 5/4 [email protected] ◦ Your “last name & pub address criticism” as subject

Your Analysis 1. Introduction (1-1.5 pgs)

2. Description of your artifact

& its context (1.5-2 pgs)

3. Method (1/2 pg)

4. Findings (2 pgs)

5. Discussion of the contributions of your analysis to rhetorical theory (2-3 pgs)

Introduction Orient the reader to your topic ◦ General to specific

Articulate your thesis:

“In this essay, I explore the functions of President Trumps inaugural address. I argue there are three main functions: (1) to reclaim government from the elite, (2) to condemn the status quo, and (3) to rally populist support for his agenda.

What’s the RQ?

Generate interest in the topic by telling readers why this is important to think about

Description of the Artifact Acquaint readers with your artifact ◦ Assume readers have no knowledge

Give readers the info they need to follow your analysis

Overview the major arguments made, significant features of the rhetor’s delivery, the occasion, & context

Locate your artifact within a larger social, cultural, political and/or economic environment ◦ CONTEXT IS KEY!

Method Describe your method of analysis ◦ “Rhetorical analysis is a qualitative research method used

for investigating and explaining symbolic acts and artifacts in order to understand rhetorical processes.”

Overview your steps:

First, I read/watched the speech …

Then, I coded for presented and suggested elements.

Finally, I developed ___ themes/arguments and compared my findings with extant communication literature.

I now present my ___ findings.

“Coding” Artifact’s Presented Elements Suggestion

Observable data Rhetorical (your inferences)

Major arguments Stands for/symbolizes…

Types of evidence Stands for/symbolizes…

Particular terms Stands for/symbolizes…

Metaphors, symbols, imagery Stands for/symbolizes…

Findings Your main arguments

Explain the presented elements & suggested elements

Develop thematic title, subtitles to organize the section

Incorporate literature to explain your findings ◦ at least 5 scholarly references are required

Researching the Literature: access the UTA library site ◦ “Academic Search Complete”

◦ “LexisNexis Academic”

Discussion (Conclusion) End your essay with a discussion of the contributions your analysis makes to rhetoric

Move away from your specific artifact & apply your insights more generally ◦ Suggest to readers how your analysis of answers

a larger problem

Suggest what future communication studies can do with your findings

Evaluation Criteria on Blackboard

Essays rely on: ◦ Justification, “Am I supporting my points with evidence

readers can refer to themselves?” ◦ Data from the speech like quotations, major themes/key

words/metaphors/delivery components like crying or voice & movement

◦ Scholarly theories, definitions, concepts (5 source minimum)

◦ Reasonable inference, “Are my points (suggested elements) supported with observable data (the presented elements)?

◦ Coherence, “Do my points transition coherently? Do my points support my thesis?”