Assignment 1: Environmental Literature: Rhetorical Analysis

Grade Level: High School

Assignment 1: Rhetorical Analysis

Rough Draft Due-Imitation: Monday November 25th
Rough Draft Due-Analysis: Wednesday November 27th

While the term "rhetorical analysis" is, at first, rather intimidating for many people, it is easily understood (at least at its most basic) when broken down and defined.

Rhetoric: The art of persuasion
Analysis: The breaking down of something into its parts and interpreting how those parts fit together.

A rhetorical analysis examines how a text works—how its words, its structure, its ideas connect—or don't connect—with a given audience. For this assignment I want you to choose one of the readings you’ve encountered this semester and to break it down to its structural components. Rather than merely summarizing what the author is saying a rhetorical analysis analyzes how the author conveys his or her thesis through specific structural decisions.

Instead of a traditional rhetorical analysis you will be writing an imitation of a piece we’ve read in this class then writing a two page analysis of your imitation. You will need to include both your thesis and the thesis of the original work. You will need to write about which of the author’s strategies you employed to imitate their writing style and you will need to exhibit an understanding of how those strategies furthered both your thesis and the thesis of the original text.

Directions:
-Choose a reading that you’ve enjoyed in this course
-Examine that reading closely. What is the author’s thesis? How does he or she make his or her argument stylistically? How does the essay/poem/story’s structure reflect its purpose?
-Write your own creative piece integrating rhetorical strategies you notice the original author using to convey your own ideas about home, place, or the environment.
- Your imitation does not need to relate to the content to the original piece (but you do need to use a similar writing style)
-Write a short (2 page) paper which includes both your thesis (purpose) and the thesis (purpose) of the original text, analyzing how both you and the original author used the same rhetorical strategies to convey your ideas

Evaluation Criteria:

Your imitation should:
-Effectively uses at least three rhetorical strategies (example: diction, imagery, symbolism, voice) from the original text
-Use the same form as the original text
-Echo the original text in tone and structure (I should be able to tell immediately which piece you’re imitating because of the stylistic similarities)

Your analysis paper should:
-Includes both original author’s claim/argument/thesis and your own claim/argument/thesis in the introduction of the paper

(Example: In "The Clan of the One Breasted Women" Terry Tempest Williams argues that the way we treat the environment, reflects our treatment of other people. In my essay,______, I argue___________.)

-Forecast the content of your analysis paper in your introduction (This will function like a thesis for your paper)

(Example: Through our use of first person plural narration, symbolism, and surreal imagery, Terry Tempest Williams and I convey our separate ideas about environmental injustice using similar rhetoric. )
-Focuses on one rhetorical device per paragraph, analyzing how that device functions both your piece and the original author’s work
-Connects each rhetorical device/rhetorical strategy to both your thesis and the author’s thesis
-Exhibit an understanding of the more nuanced aspects of argument through your ability to connect the form and the content of both your imitation and the original text

Peer Response Questions (Keep for reference, by knowing what your peers will look for when they respond to your paper, you will better understand what I am looking for in your analysis paper):

For the analysis paper:

Introduction:
-Highlight/label the thesis of the writer’s (your classmate’s) poem/essay
-Highlight/label the thesis of the author’s poem/essay
-Highlight/label the forecasting thesis of the paper
-Does the introduction clearly include all THREE of these things?

The body:
-Does the writer (your classmate) organize all their paragraphs around the one specific rhetorical device? (Label the focus of each paragraph)
-Does the writer (your classmate) connect each device back to the thesis (theses) of both texts? If not, how could they form these connections?
-Does the author focus on HOW both poems are written? (Label places where the writer could delve deeper into form/structure of both pieces)
-Does the writer (your classmate) connect form and content? (If not how could they?)
-Circle examples of passive voice (is, was…). What verbs could the writer (your classmate) use instead?
-Circle any places where the writer (your classmate) is summarizing and not analyzing--suggest ways the writer could make the writing analysis rather than summary.