The purpose of this essay is to examine the rhetorical features of your selected text. Choose a topic that is long
enough and contains enough of the persuasive elements discussed in Chapter 4 to make a substantial analysis:
Contemporary Argument: Analyze a persuasive argument published within the last three years. This
could be an argument you found while researching your topic for Essays 1-3 or a completely different
topic. Choose a newspaper editorial, a post on a well-known blog, or some other source. It must be at
least 500 words, and it must take a strong stance on an issue and make a clear persuasive argument.
Do not choose a source that is primarily meant to be informative.
Here are some example newspaper editorials that would work for this assignment:
Hey, Computer Scientists! Stop Hating on the Humanities
A Math Problem for Pi Day
Laura Bush: Separating Children from Their Parents at the Border ‘Breaks My Heart’
Separate and Unequal: Indian Schools, a Nation’s Neglect
For $1 Per Big Mac, a Truly Livable Salary for Millions
Background Checks Are Not the Answer to Gun Violence
The Children Left Behind After Mass Shootings
Developing Your Analysis
Rhetorical Situation. Establish the rhetorical situation of the argument by considering the author’s
background, purpose, and audience, as well as the topic and context of the argument. Refer to your textbook,
pages 92-97, for specific questions you might choose to address in your description of the rhetorical situation.
Means of Persuasion. Analyze the author’s use of ethos, pathos, and logos. The body of the essay should
include a detailed description of the author’s appeals to character/authority, emotion, and reason. Be sure to
cite specific examples and explain how they are intended to affect the audience. If one of the means of
persuasion is missing from your argument, this absence should also be addressed.
Other Rhetorical Strategies (optional). Consider the other rhetorical features of the text, such as thesis,
organization, and the specific stylistic techniques discussed on pages 100-1. Incorporate your discussion of
these features, where applicable, into the introduction or body of the paper.
Visual/Multimodal Argument (optional): If applicable, analyze the author/creator’s use of visual rhetoric
and other multimedia elements such as music. Feel free to include screen shots or other correctly documented
multimedia elements in your essay
Assessment. Evaluate the effectiveness of your chosen text. Discuss whether its persuasive strategies are
successful for the intended audience.