Overview. Write a 3-4 page (double-spaced) argument addressed to a specific audience for a specific forum and purpose, using several of the rhetorical principles we’ve covered in this course along with some sort of image or visual representation of to make your point more compelling. Include a short description below your argument of your main claim, audience, forum, purpose and the most compelling rhetorical appeal you make.
Two samples from 2013–caveat: neither of them use a visual and both have more elaborate self-analyses than will be required of you.
Specifics. Begin by determining your forum and your audience, both of which should fit your purpose: if you want to urge your senator to vote on a specific bill, you wouldn’t write a speech for your peers in the quad. If you want to raise public support for the bill, you wouldn’t write a private letter to your senator—in that case, you might want to address your peers in the quad or write an opinion piece for the paper. Etc. Your style should also fit your forum, your purpose, and your audience.
Once you have a good sense of this rhetorical situation, write a 3-4 page argument, in which you
- make a specific claim and support it using the various rhetorical principles we’ve covered in this course.
- make use of several rhetorical principles and at least one consciously deployed rhetorical figure to make your argument as persuasive as possible
- include a visual component to your argument, perhaps a visualization of statistics in a chart or table, an infographic, or simply a powerful image that helps to make your case.
- offer an appropriate conclusion designed to move your audience to take the desired action or assume the desired attitude.
- include a Works Cited at the end to document any sources you cite.
Immediately following your argument and Works Cited, include a self-analysis, which should include, in bullet-pointed order:
- Your main claim
- Your audience and forum
- Your purpose (what do you want your audience to do or believe?)
- What you consider the most compelling appeal you make in the piece
Minimum Requirements
This final assignment is worth 15% of your final grade.
For a C or above, each argument will:
- Be 3-4 pages, typed, double-spaced; have 1 inch margins and name, class, date at the top left corner of the first page with title centered two lines below the date
- Make a strong argument using several rhetorical principles we’ve covered in this class
- Be written effectively and coherently, with very few grammatical errors
- Include a visual component that helps make the argument
- Be documented correctly
- Include the requisite self-analysis
- Have been peer reviewed on Canvas
- Be submitted on time on Canvas, along with a link to or attachment of the text you’re analyzing