Locating and Analyzing Written Rhetoric (Homework + 20 Min Discussion)

Locating and Analyzing Written Rhetoric (Homework + 20 min discussion) Objective: To transfer the student’s rhetorical analysis skills from the familiar area of multi-modal media to the written form. Materials: An assigned text or texts (that seeks to persuade) Session 1: 1.) For homework, have students read two (opposing) short editorials about a controversial topic and analyze their rhetorical techniques. Directly opposing op-ed pieces are particularly effective for this activity, and can be related to a very local, or even campus-wide, issue. Given its newsworthiness and salience, the campus weapons carry debate might be a particularly fruitful topic. 2.) Have students write a brief analysis of the pieces. Were the pieces effective in persuading you? Why or why not? Provide examples of how each rhetorical technique discussed in class was used in the editorial. How well do the techniques work in congress with one another? Was there too much or too little of any technique? How were the techniques organized in terms of their sequence? For example, did the author(s) break up sections of pathos with some logos and ethos, or were each of the rhetorical techniques conveyed separately? How could the rhetorical techniques have been tuned toward the preferences and vulnerabilities of the intended audience?

Session 2: 1.) In class, pair students and have them discuss the editorials in “lightning rounds.” After pairs converse about each question for 90 seconds- 2 minutes, return to a full- class discussion in which students volunteer their best thoughts for another 2 minutes. 2.) Potential guiding questions include: Who was the intended audience? What was the purpose of the editorial(s)? What was the author trying to achieve? Would the editorial have to be written differently to be persuasive as an essay? What’s the difference between what the two are trying to achieve and whom they are addressing? Additional questions to consider might include: Which techniques did the author employ? Which were persuasive and which weren’t? Why?