For this assignment, you will write a 1000-1250 word essay in which you will describe and evaluate the rhetorical features of one of the following essays:
1. Carl Sagan’s “Does Truth Matter?”
2. Arthur C. Clarke’s “Is There Life After Television?”
3. Ray Bradbury’s “Day After Tomorrow”
4. Isaac Asimov’s “The Relativity of Wrong”
You will find all of these documents in the uploaded documents choose one.
Before delving into your examination, you should craft an introduction which both summarizes the argument of your chosen essay and frames your subjective response to it. Much of your analysis will depend upon your personal reactions to an author’s propositions and sentiments. You may, however, find it an effective compositional maneuver to save your assessment of an argument’s efficacy for your concluding remarks. The body of your paper should focus on nuanced descriptions of your chosen essay’s rhetorical features. Describe how your author’s appeals to character, emotion, and facts operate and to what extent they produce a desired result. You might consider organizing your paper in a three-part structure based on the modes of persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos). You do not need to use Aristotelian language, and other organizational strategies might also be effective. Consider how your author presents (or conspicuously omits) facts and the relationships between them. Consider how and why the author’s language evokes an emotional response within you or, conversely, make note of passages which attempt and subsequently fail to do so. Consider how the author establishes his credibility within the confines of the essay itself. It may also be worth considering whether or not the author’s reputation (insofar as you may be aware of it) has an impact on his/her presentation of himself/herself as well-informed, trustworthy, and respectable.
ESSAY REQUIREMENTS THE PAPER SHOULD INCLUDE:
1. An effective summary of your chosen essay and a thoughtful, considered analysis of it.
2. A clear, concise organizational strategy which supports and arranges your writing in a sensible and consistent way.
3. Clear transitions between sentences and paragraphs.
4. Relatively few grammatical/mechanical errors. No spelling errors whatsoever.
5. A conclusion which does not simply restate observations made earlier in the paper.
6. Sparing and considerate use of pronouns and other vague language.
7. Developmentally speaking, paragraphs of adequate length (6-8 sentences).
Formatting:
All text in your document should be formatted as follows:
1. Times New Roman font, 12 point.
2. Double spaced, 1” margins.
3. .doc and .docx formats only.
In the upper left-hand corner of your fist page, please write your name, the date, and the assignment. Also, be sure that your pages are numbered.
Questions to Keep in Mind:
1. Who is the writer? Who is the intended audience? What is the subject?
2. What is the essay’s thesis statement? What argument is the author making?
3. How is the thesis supported?
4. What specific appeals does the essay employ? How do they work individually and in tandem with one another?
5. Does the essay’s argument agree or contrast with popular opinions on the conversation in which it engages?
6. Did you have an emotional response to the essay? Why? What was the nature of it and which passages of the text was it explicitly connected with?
7. Are the essay’s various appeals effective? Why or why not?
