How effectively does the writer of your chosen text convey the main idea of the text? In what ways do ethos, logos, and pathos affect the author’s ability to persuade the audience? You must discuss all three strategies.

Rhetorical Analysis

For your first paper, your assignment is to write a rhetorical analysis of a text of your choice. Be sure to select something complex enough to allow you to write a thoughtful and insightful analysis.

By definition, the act of analysis is breaking something into its component parts and examining the ways in which those parts contribute to the whole. Textual analysis often involves extracting and creating meaning. Rhetorical analysis is something more specific. Rhetoric involves all the available means of persuasion. So as you write a rhetorical analysis, you are not analyzing only the meaning of the text; you are analyzing the effectiveness of the text by examining the different strategies that the author uses to persuade their audience.

1. How effectively does the writer of your chosen text convey the main idea of the text? In what ways do ethos, logos, and pathos affect the author’s ability to persuade the audience? You must discuss all three strategies. For this topic, you must include thoughtful analysis of direct quotations from the text of your choice.

A draft of this paper of at least 900 words .

Formatting Requirements

Use MLA format to document all sources.

Typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman.

You need a header with your last name and the page number on every page.

Include a word count at the end of your paper (before the Works Cited list)

The Works Cited list should be the last page of your paper and does not count toward the total number of words.

Checklist for Paper 1

I. Content

____ A. Development of ideas

____ B. Support

___ direct quotes

___ detailed analysis and discussion of support

____ C. Discussion of rhetorical strategies (ethos, logos, pathos)

____ D. Discussion of social context and ideologies

II. Structure

____ A. Title is captivating

____ B. Introduction provides sufficient background and/or context

____ C. Thesis statement (main idea for the whole paper) is clear and specific

____ D. Topic Sentences for body

paragraphs are focused and clear

____ E. Conclusion emphasizes the significance of your discussion

____ F. Unity (paragraphs are focused)

____ G. Coherence (using effective transitions)

III. Style

____ A. Complexity and variety of sentence structure

____ B. Diction and tone are appropriate for an academic audience

____ C. Clarity

IV. Grammar and Punctuation

As you proofread, you may want to look for these common errors:

___ Verb tense

___ Subject-verb agreement

___ Fragments

___Point of View

___Comma splices

___Run-ons

___ Apostrophes

___ Comma use

V. Formatting

__ 12-points Times New Roman, double-spaced

__ Heading (Your name, professor’s name, class, date)

__ MLA in-text citation

__ MLA Works Cited List

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