Environmental Literature: Food---TED talk rhetorical analysis

Grade Level: Middle School and High School

TedTalks Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet:

(Adapted from: https://depaul.digication.com/forrest_wrd_103/Appeals_Worksheet)

Birke Baehr-What’s wrong with our food system?

               

Graham Hill-Why I’m a weekday vegetarian

Malcolm Gladwell-Choice, happiness, and spaghetti sauce

Goals: The goal of a rhetorical and visual analysis is not only to analyze what a writer is arguing concerning a focused issue/topic, but to analyze how the writer and creator of the visual is presenting the argument. You’ll do this by analyzing the use of rhetorical strategies.  Using a text with a strong visual component, you will provide an objective analysis of the strengths and weaknesses in the writer’s use of ethos, logos, and pathos within his or her textual and visual argument(s).

Purpose:

• In two to three sentences, identify what the purpose is of the TedTalks presentation. What is the speaker attempting to communicate to the audience, and what is he/she hoping to achieve through this communication?

Ethos deals primarily with credibility.

• Examine the author’s reputation, authority, and/or expertise.
• Should we put any stock in what he/she is saying? Why or why not?
• These factors as well as the argument being made will either improve or detract from the writer’s credibility:
• Identify at least 3 elements that contribute to the ethos of the writer/speaker.

Logos is concerned with the logic of the writer’s argument. 

• In considering the writer’s use of logos, you will analyze issues such as the quality and quantity of supporting evidence. 
• You may also want to consider any bias that the writer might have toward the subject and the effect of that bias upon the argument being presented. 
• Is the writer’s reasoning sound? How have they structured the arc of the presentation? In short, you will want to address any weaknesses and/or strengths in the logic of the argument. 
• Identify at least 3 pieces of evidence regarding the logos of this presentation.

Pathos deals with emotion.  

• You should identify any attempts on the part of the writer to evoke a particular emotion from the audience. 
• Additionally, you will want to consider whether or not appealing to emotion is an effective strategy for the argument being discussed.
• Identify at least 3 examples of how the presenter is appealing to his/her audience’s emotions within his/her presentation.