{"id":58,"date":"2015-08-24T21:50:14","date_gmt":"2015-08-24T21:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/davis\/?page_id=58"},"modified":"2016-08-18T16:46:14","modified_gmt":"2016-08-18T16:46:14","slug":"321analysis-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/davis\/courses\/rhe-321\/rhe-321-assignments\/321analysis-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

First select a written text in any medium that you or others find persuasive<\/strong>, compelling<\/strong>–could be an op-ed in the\u00a0Daily Texan<\/i>, the transcript of a political speech (it’s an election year!),\u00a0a blog you follow, or on a news analysis website (foxnews.com, salon.com, slashdot.org, etc.).\u00a0Creators Syndicate<\/a>\u00a0has some good stuff, too, as does the Huffington Post<\/a>. Be sure it’s substantial enough to support a careful analysis; also be sure it\u2019s an argument meant to persuade you<\/strong>, and not simply an “objective” report of an event. Then analyze this text according to the rhetorical principles we’ve studied in this course so far. \u00a0NOTE: you are looking for a persuasive piece–not a report of a robbery, but an argument about why it happened or why the perp is also a victim, or whatever.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meme:\u00a0<\/strong>Using makeameme (makeameme.org<\/a>) Pixlr (https:\/\/pixlr.com\/<\/a>), imageflip (https:\/\/imgflip.com\/<\/a>), or some other photo editor, create a visual meme for facebook, twitter, or Instagram using an image with a quote on top that makes the main or most compelling claim of the argument you\u2019re assessing in a snappy, provocative way.\u00a0Save to your box account and share with group in class for feedback.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example I made in 5 minutes with Imgflip:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Morpheus-meme\"<\/a><\/p>\n

or this one I lifted from facebook:<\/p>\n

\"LGBT<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Written Analysis<\/strong>: Your purpose in this 2-3 page piece is to offer a rhetorical analysis of your chosen text, not to\u00a0take<\/i>\u00a0a position on the issue to which it responds: your job is not to advocate or evaluate but to analyze and describe.<\/p>\n

It’s important to remember that an analysis involves more than a summary of a writer\u2019s argument. Whereas a summary emphasizes the text’s content or what the text says\u2014central claims, key evidence, and a recap of the conclusion\u2014an analysis\u00a0also<\/i>\u00a0examines how an argument is put together and what specific rhetorical choices have been made.<\/p>\n

Specific Details for Written Analysis<\/p>\n

Begin by introducing the article you’ll be analyzing, offering important information about the situation or occasion to which it responds, enough for your audience to follow your analysis. State the full name of the author and the full title of the article, if possible creating a link from your text to that article, and putting the rest of the source information in a Works Cited section below your artifact in MLA format.<\/p>\n

Spend the majority of your allotted space analyzing\u00a0how\u00a0the argument works rhetorically, what makes it persuasive. You should discern and describe (identify and\u00a0explain how each works to benefit the argument<\/strong>) each of the following:<\/p>\n