Your First Writing Assignment: A Rhetorical Analysis

Due: Sunday, 7 September by midnight.

1. If you haven't set up your google email account and been subscribed to the class email discussion list, you will need to complete these steps before you do this assignment. You know you have been added to the class email list, because you should have received a welcome message from it. If you haven't received a welcome message at your gmail account, please get in touch with me ASAP. Remember: my email is prof.brandon@gmail.com and my phone is 804-885-3727.

2. Write a short introduction of yourself and send it to the class email list. In your introduction, give some details about yourself, your plans, and your life. You send a post to the class discussion list by sending an email from your gmail account to:

eng112Fall2008reynolds@googlegroups.com

2. Read the introductions posted by your classmates. Find places where you "connect" to another student author, and send a follow up email--again to the list--in which you briefly explain your connection. What you are doing is attempting to build connection or to get the sender to identify with you. In terms of rhetoric, you are building ethos. Southerners play this game of connection whenever they get together. Little do they know, they are practicing a simple form of building ethos.

• While I would like you to read the introductions from all your classmates, please *don't* write a response to every classmate, pick and choose those to whom you have some connection on which to build.

3. Do an analysis of three rhetorical situations. To do this analysis, begin by identifying three simple, separate rhetorical situations and write about them. As you write about each rhetorical situation, analyze them by using the terms from the reading this week. [Note: You can find the reading for this first week in the posts below this one.] [Hint: keep the messages you analyze relatively short and simple. For instance: you might analyze an advertisement from a magazine or new paper.]

Begin each analysis by recording the message being sent, and then answer the following magic questions:

• Who was the author?
• Who was the audience?
• What did the author hope to accomplish? (That is, "What was the author's rhetorical purpose?")
• What appeals did the author use in crafting her message?
• Did the author use logos? If so, how?
• Did the author use pathos? If so, how?
• Did the author use ethos? If so, how?
• Was the author's message successful? In other words, "Did the author's message do everything they hoped it would do?
• What were the sources of noise? That is, "What prevented the audience from understanding and acting/believing/knowing in the way he author intended?

What you are doing here is learning to break down and understand some of the nuances of the rhetoric which surrounds you. As you develop and practice this skill, you will learn how others succeed (and don't succeed) in their efforts to communicate. Each time you observe and analyze, you are learning new techniques, recognizing new sources of noise, what what works in what rhetorical situation, and what to avoid in your own communication.

Post your rhetorical analysis to the class email list. If you create these in a word processor, copy and paste your analysis into the body of an email you send to the list. Don't forget to sign your work with your name. [One of the skills you are picking up is getting used to taking public "ownership" of your opinions and ideas.

• For each of the three rhetorical situations you analyze, record the message or exchange and then answer each of the questions above. This combination of message and your answers to the question constitutes your Rhetorical Analysis of the message/rhetorical situation.

Before someone panics with the number of emails bombarding their new inbox, let me clarify my expectations of what you should read. 1) Read all the introductions looking for connections (and potential group members). 2) Look for folks who are turning in their work early and not at the last minute. This is usually a decent index to how reliable they will be in turning in their part of the group work on time. 3) Read the rhetorical analysis of folks who you think might make good potential group members and with whom you've made a connection. 4) I will post commentary on a few of the rhetorical analysis, read this, as it will help you revise your own and write better ones in the future. Stay tuned to the blog. I will post a couple of examples of rhetorical analysis I consider good and solid work.

A Note for Those Joining 112 from One of My Previous Classes: No, you can't use a rhetorical analysis you produced for a previous class with me. The idea is to practice learning how to do better analysis. The only way you can do this is to, well, practice. Take this chance to show the new folks how it's done. By the way, welcome back. I appreciate the confidence you've shown in my teaching by taking a second class. As you can see, there will be some repeated material, but--believe me--there will be new skills and knowledge to learn.

As always, please write the class discussion list or me with questions, etc.

Steve