Agenda
- The drafting process; Workshop drafts (breakout groups / or as a class??)
- Getting started on our online portfolios
First things…
DISCUSSION PAGE: Please free-write for 15 minutes on the drafting process. What did you find easy to write, and what did you find challenging? If you had to pick one or two things you want guidance on before you enter into your final draft, what would they be? Post those thoughts here.
DISCUSSION PAGE: Please copy and paste your THESIS statement on this discussion page.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE DRAFTING PROCESS & the Rhetorical Analysis Essay
SUGGESTION: Maybe take some personal notes here that you can use in your cover letter for your final draft of you REA.
- Introduction: Does the writer…
Engage reader’s interest in the issue of the article – this is often called a “hook”
Present the rhetorical situation of the article
Indicate your interest and investment – this could be optional in the introduction OR you might put this elsewhere in your essay where you think it is appropriate AND supports your analysis.
Present a thesis with three–four rhetorical points about the article you will analyze in depth.
SAMPLE: In this essay, I aim to demonstrate how AUTHOR effectively convinces her/his/their audience of TOPIC/ARGUMENT by examining her/his/their use of X, Y and Z (emotional stories) and to suggest how these features might affect her/his/their audience. …
- Summary of Text being analyzed: Does the writer…
Briefly present the claim and main points of the article you are analyzing to help readers understand your analysis.
[NOTE: You may choose to include your summary in your introduction.]
- Rhetorical Analysis: Does the writer…
Explain, develop, and discuss the rhetorical points in wrote about in your thesis, examining the author’s rhetorical strategies.
Use examples and quotations from the article’s argument you are analyzing to make your points clear to your readers.
TIP: If you are having trouble organizing your thoughts, it is perfectly fine to take each topic (logos/ethos/pathos) and address them in separate paragraphs. You can have a paragraph that addresses logos (as you see it), then one that addresses the “ethos” features, and then one that addresses the “pathos” features.
ALSO REMEMBER, you need not address the rhetorical features in the order they appear in the text you are examining. For example, if you see Tan moving from logos to ethos, then back to logos, then on to pathos, and then back to ethos, you need NOT construct your analysis in an order that mirrors her. For example, you can address the “pathos” features of her essay as a group.
AND, when presenting evidence from the text (Tan, Saleem, Jordan, etc) look for whether or not you have evaluated the effect of the evidence on the audience/reader and how you think this feature function in the text/narrative.
EXAMPLE: A major feature of Tan’s narrative is her extensive use of pathos (appeal to emotions) to illuminate her narrative and guide her reader into the story itself, as if the reader were standing right beside her mother. The effect of this is……
- Conclusion: Does the writer…
Wrap up your analysis
Perhaps mention the importance of this article’s contribution to the public conversation on this issue.
The Digital Portfolio
We’re going to get our portfolios going!
Be prepared to follow along as we create our Portfolio sites from a template. Though I will be providing a template for you top work with, you may – after we get set-up – choose another template to your liking if you find the selected one uninteresting for you. Let’s begin!
Please go to CUNY ACADEMIC COMMONS and sign in if you are not.
