Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech
Trajectory of Rhetorical Analysis Assignment:The following assignment is a major writing assessment for English 1102. Read the attached assignment sheet carefully. Submit the completed assignment in the Desire2Learn assignment drop box via attachment. Do not cut and paste the assignment. Doing so will affect the assignment’s formatting. Contact me immediately if you should experience any difficulty submitting the assignment.
As a community of learners in English 1102, we have now become familiar with the identification and application of the rhetorical appeals. Additionally, we have studied the classical argument model in Chapters 1,2 & 6 of Read,Write, Connect, logical fallacies and the exigence associated with any given issue. In English 1102 we will build upon these newly developed skills by writing a rhetorical analysis essay. The assignment will challenge our ability to enhance our authoritative voices by critiquing an essay or article by assessing the writer’s effective or ineffective application of the rhetorical appeals.Due: September 17, 2015.
Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech:
The first option for this assignment is to utilize President Barack Obama’s Inauguration speech given on Monday, January 21, 2013. A video of President Obama’s Inauguration speech is available to you in the Desire2Learn “Week 4” content area. The guidelines for writing a rhetorical analysis of the Inauguration speech are the same as those indicated for the article or essay option.
Choosing an Article for Rhetorical Analysis:
The most important part of an effective rhetorical analysis is the essay or article you choose for the analysis. If you choose the front page article from the Huffington Post, you will have a more difficult time finding the writer’s use of the rhetorical appeals in this article than if you choose an editorial in the same publication. You want to choose articles or essays in which the writer speaks to a specific audience with a specific project in mind.
- The essay or article has been written within the past year.
- The writer speaks to a specific audience. Example: A student may choose an editorial in Sports Illustrated. The audience here would be sports fans. (This is just an example. I expect essays to come from other sources *not sports magazines, car magazines, or fashion magazines)
- The writer has a purpose in writing. Make sure to choose essays or articles in which the writer writes to his or her audience for a reason-and that reason should be easy to find.
- The writer uses recognizable appeals. Read the essay or article thoroughly before choosing it. You should conduct a preliminary analysis of the essay or article to make sure you will have something to write about.
- The essay or article has length. It is equally important to choose an essay or article that uses appeals as it is to make sure there are enough appeals to discuss.
- Internet Sources-Generally not encouraged. The only sources acceptable from the internet are actual credible newspapers, journals or other periodicals that appear in full-text and can be fully downloaded from the chosen web page. (A copy of the article or essay will be attached to the final draft of the assignment). Assignments missing a copy of the article or essay will not be accepted.
*Remember some essays may lack any one of these components commonly found in rhetoric. If your essay or article incorporates any of them answer the assignment questions accordingly. In any case where the essay article is lacking these common components it is acceptable and encouraged to discuss the article in terms of how it is effective or ineffective based on such missing factors.
Drafting the Rhetorical Analysis Essay:
Each of the following items should appear in your rhetorical analysis essay. Use the following guidelines as a check listforfulfilling the major requirements for the essay.
- 3-4 page double-spaced, with title.
- Essay or article with sufficient use of rhetorical appeals and meets the required length for submission.
- You should establish a thesis statement about the rhetorical strategies for the chosen argument. You will employ every rhetorical strategy within the range of your abilities in order to conduct your rhetorical analysis of the writer’s argument.
- Address the writer’s methods such as words and strategies to capture the audience. Is the exigence apparent to you as a reader? Is the issue portrayed as a topic that should interest readers? Discuss the arrangement of evidence or not enough use of credible information.
- Is the thesis of the essay or article in alignment with the actual message of the essay or article?
- Does the writer effectively establish his or her own credibility or authoritative voice?
- Have you discussed the writer’s stance or position on this particular issue? You may agree or disagree with the given opinion. It is O.K. Is the author’s stance expressed in a respectful manner-remember Kairos=Appropriateness.
- Did you analyze the essay or article by describing its strengths and weaknesses in terms of its use of and the appropriateness to the rhetorical situation and the use of artistic appeals (ethos, logos, pathos)?
- Have you explained the reasons for (in)effectiveness of the author’s argument in ways that help your readers see how the writer’s argument works (or does not work)?
- Attach a copy of the essay, article, or inauguration speech you have chosen to the final draft of the rhetorical analysis essay (provide the link to the article in an email to me in Desire2Learn).
- Submit the assignment on the designated due in our Desire2Learn classroom in the assignment drop box.
Answer Preview-Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech
