For this project, you will rhetorically analyze two argumentative pieces of nonfiction that address a pressing and relevant social issue (also referred to as “texts”). By analyzing these texts’ use of rhetorical strategies and appeals, you will develop a complex understanding of how these texts function and advance their argument. Your texts may be written, visual, aural, or any other kind of multimodal argumentation.
Your rhetorical analysis must advance a claim about how these texts function as persuasive arguments and the degree to which their arguments are effective or ineffective for their intended audience. That is, this paper must have a thesis claim about the effectiveness of the arguments and consistently support the thesis through textual evidence and analysis. Your paper should explain how the arguments are made— not just what the arguments are. You must address ethos, pathos, logos, and Kairos, which are concepts we will cover in class.
The texts you are working with will NOT be included in the paper. The reader is relying on you to adequately summarize and contextualize the texts you are using.
Brainstorming Questions
Here are some ideas for choosing and analyzing different texts for this assignment (this is not an exhaustive list):
Compare news articles from two different news sources about the same topic/event
Compare trailers of the same documentary/movie that were adapted for different audiences
Compare PSAs on the same issue
Compare parodies—for example, a real political speech and an SNL skit of the politician
Compare two political ads for the same election (from the same politician or two different politicians). What rhetorical strategies do the candidates implement?
- Compare two songs that depict an event, issue, or topic from different standpoints