Rhetorical Analysis (Persuasive Content Analysis)
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
FULL DIRECTIONS FOR PAPER #2:
Paper #2
Length: 4-6 Pages (not including any Works Cited page)
Analysis
Your assignment is to choose some work that attempts to persuade its audience and to evaluate how effectively it achieves its goal by analyzing its composition, its craftsmanship, and/or its rhetorical strategies–i.e. its use of pathos (how it appeals to emotions), logos (how it appeals to logic/reason), and/or ethos (how it connects to its audience, what salient stylistic features it uses, and how it shows both credibility and character).
Your analysis should also have some more specific focus or angle: you may want to determine what the work is persuading its audience to believe or do and then analyze how effectively it persuades the audience to this end–or, you may wish to analyze the subtext of a work and what is not explicitly apparent (or intentional)--or, you may wish to interpret the meaning of a more creative work and then analyze how some feature(s) of it express this meaning. You may wish to view something through a peculiar “lens”, like analyzing aspects of feminism or capitalism or Catholicism or alcoholism or existentialism in the work.
INTRODUCTION
Introduce your subject of study, provide some context and background information about it, identify the angle or focus of your analysis, and state your thesis.
BODY
Each body paragraph should develop its own main point of analysis, which should include a clear topic sentence; ample evidence/examples from the work that are precisely described and/or quoted; an insightful examination of the evidence/examples and what they suggest, reveal, or mean; and a clear overall connection to your thesis and position
CONCLUSION
Your Conclusion should move beyond mere summary and restatement of your thesis and end your paper on a strong and memorable note. You may wish to address why this is so important or relevant to contemporary readers, if there are any ethical implications to your subject of study and what currency it has, incite your audience to some sort of action or deeper awareness about larger concerns, show the application this may have to other areas, etc. How you end your paper is up to you, but one goal of the paper is to end with a strong conclusion that sort of answers the “So what” and “Why should I care” questions sometime float around (See Graff & Birkenstein, regarding this).
Here are some good, past examples of paper topics:
Films:
Analyzing the theological symbolism in Chad Stahelski’s John Wick films
Analyzing how men are misrepresented in Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie
Analyzing how and to what effect camera work is used in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List
Songs:
Analyzing stages of addiction in the Eagles’ “Hotel California”
Analyzing how and to what effect Taylor Swift uses cliches and stereotypes in “The Man”
Analyzing suicide ideation in Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”
Poems:
Analyzing how anxiety and its coping strategies in Ada Limon’s “Late Summer after a Panic Attack”
Analyzing African American beauty standards in Allison Joseph’s “Apologies to My Hair: A Black Woman’s Sonnet”
Analyzing immigrant acclimation in Frany Choi’s “We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had”
Essays:
Analyzing Zora Neale Hurston’s use of figurative language in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
Analyzing the logical fallacy in Amy Cunnigham’s “Why Women Smile”
Analyzing how Sallie Tisdale betrays her argument in “We Do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story”
Analyzing Annie Dillard’s ethos in “Transfiguration”
Analyzing how sensory details correspond to colonialism in George Orwell’s “Marrakech”
Advertisements:
Analyzing how Nike capitalizes upon a divided country in the 2020 “You Can’t Stop Us” advertisement
Analyzing masculinity and femininity in the Long Long Man commercial series
Analyzing how Moms Demand Action instill fear in their audience
Fiction:
Analyzing Flannery O’Connor’s complex characterization in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
Analyzing pop culture references reinforcing theme of racism in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
Analyzing how absurdity mirrors colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Analyzing Chinese symbolism in Ken Liu’s “The Paper Menagerie”
Art:
Analyzing how Eldzier Cortor depicts African American status in Room IV
Analyzing women’s ironic representation in John Sloan’s Renganeschi’s Saturday Night
Analyzing the ultimate pathos in Michalenago’s Pieta
Whatever you choose is up to you, but you must be able to directly observe and study your subject of study because this assignment depends upon direct observation, close examination, and contemplation. Please limit any research you may conduct.
Paper #2
Length: 4-6 Pages (not including any Works Cited page)
Analysis
Your assignment is to choose some work that attempts to persuade its audience and to evaluate how effectively it achieves its goal by analyzing its composition, its craftsmanship, and/or its rhetorical strategies–i.e. its use of pathos (how it appeals to emotions), logos (how it appeals to logic/reason), and/or ethos (how it connects to its audience, what salient stylistic features it uses, and how it shows both credibility and character).
Your analysis should also have some more specific focus or angle: you may want to determine what the work is persuading its audience to believe or do and then analyze how effectively it persuades the audience to this end–or, you may wish to analyze the subtext of a work and what is not explicitly apparent (or intentional)--or, you may wish to interpret the meaning of a more creative work and then analyze how some feature(s) of it express this meaning. You may wish to view something through a peculiar “lens”, like analyzing aspects of feminism or capitalism or Catholicism or alcoholism or existentialism in the work.
INTRODUCTION
Introduce your subject of study, provide some context and background information about it, identify the angle or focus of your analysis, and state your thesis.
BODY
Each body paragraph should develop its own main point of analysis, which should include a clear topic sentence; ample evidence/examples from the work that are precisely described and/or quoted; an insightful examination of the evidence/examples and what they suggest, reveal, or mean; and a clear overall connection to your thesis and position
CONCLUSION
Your Conclusion should move beyond mere summary and restatement of your thesis and end your paper on a strong and memorable note. You may wish to address why this is so important or relevant to contemporary readers, if there are any ethical implications to your subject of study and what currency it has, incite your audience to some sort of action or deeper awareness about larger concerns, show the application this may have to other areas, etc. How you end your paper is up to you, but one goal of the paper is to end with a strong conclusion that sort of answers the “So what” and “Why should I care” questions sometime float around (See Graff & Birkenstein, regarding this).
Here are some good, past examples of paper topics:
Films:
Analyzing the theological symbolism in Chad Stahelski’s John Wick films
Analyzing how men are misrepresented in Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie
Analyzing how and to what effect camera work is used in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List
Songs:
Analyzing stages of addiction in the Eagles’ “Hotel California”
Analyzing how and to what effect Taylor Swift uses cliches and stereotypes in “The Man”
Analyzing suicide ideation in Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”
Poems:
Analyzing how anxiety and its coping strategies in Ada Limon’s “Late Summer after a Panic Attack”
Analyzing African American beauty standards in Allison Joseph’s “Apologies to My Hair: A Black Woman’s Sonnet”
Analyzing immigrant acclimation in Frany Choi’s “We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had”
Essays:
Analyzing Zora Neale Hurston’s use of figurative language in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me”
Analyzing the logical fallacy in Amy Cunnigham’s “Why Women Smile”
Analyzing how Sallie Tisdale betrays her argument in “We Do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story”
Analyzing Annie Dillard’s ethos in “Transfiguration”
Analyzing how sensory details correspond to colonialism in George Orwell’s “Marrakech”
Advertisements:
Analyzing how Nike capitalizes upon a divided country in the 2020 “You Can’t Stop Us” advertisement
Analyzing masculinity and femininity in the Long Long Man commercial series
Analyzing how Moms Demand Action instill fear in their audience
Fiction:
Analyzing Flannery O’Connor’s complex characterization in “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
Analyzing pop culture references reinforcing theme of racism in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
Analyzing how absurdity mirrors colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Analyzing Chinese symbolism in Ken Liu’s “The Paper Menagerie”
Art:
Analyzing how Eldzier Cortor depicts African American status in Room IV
Analyzing women’s ironic representation in John Sloan’s Renganeschi’s Saturday Night
Analyzing the ultimate pathos in Michalenago’s Pieta
Whatever you choose is up to you, but you must be able to directly observe and study your subject of study because this assignment depends upon direct observation, close examination, and contemplation. Please limit any research you may conduct.