Relationship to Course Objectives

In this unit, you will explore various parts of the writing process, use Groundwork Assignments to generate and develop ideas, learn to determine your rhetorical situation, analyze the rhetoric of other authors, and use a slide show presentation platform to present a rhetorical analysis.

Major Writing Assignment 1

Introduction & Prompt

Create a slide show presentation in which you analyze the rhetoric used in ONE of the selections below.

Rep. John Lewis Edmund Pettus Bridge Address YouTube Video (no captions available) | Rep. John Lewis – Edmund Pettus Bridge Address (includes audio and transcript)

Jon Stewart – Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

Be sure to identify and analyze the overall message(s), purpose, audience, context, and appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos. What types of appeals are made throughout the video? How do the words, delivery, tone, and body language combine to influence the viewer?

• Keep in mind that a rhetorical analysis focuses more on HOW the content creator makes a statement, rather than the statement itself, so try to avoid simply summarizing what happens in the video. Your essay must include a Works Cited page with entries for the video, our textbook, and any other materials referenced in your essay.

For this Unit, the MA should be submitted in a presentation format, such as .ppt, .pptx, or a .pdf if created in Google Docs. (Use PowerPoint or Google Docs to create the final draft.)

Required Slides (use more than once slide when needed)

• Title Slide

Introduction with thesis statement

Message

Purpose

Context (should include a reference to a background article on the speaker and/or video)

Intended Audience

Style

1. Appeals to Ethos
2. Appeals to Logos
3. Appeals to Pathos
4. Conclusion
5. Works Cited
6. Elements of Major Assignment 1
7. Topic: Analyze the rhetoric used in a movie video
8. Process: Using GA 2, assigned readings, and class discussions, draft your rhetorical analysis plan. You will have the opportunity to receive feedback for revision from your peers as well as me. Using the feedback from your audience, revise your presentation, focusing especially on content, clarity, and organization.
9. Audience: For this first assignment, your audience is your instructor and your peers. The language used should befit a collegiate environment.
10. Purpose: The purpose of the piece is to explore rhetoric through the vehicle of a rhetorical analysis.
11. Format: The format for the final draft should be a rhetorical analysis presentation, including a slide show with a Works Cited slide.
12. Works Cited: You will need to create an MLA Works Cited slide with entries for the video and a resource giving background on the speaker, occasion, etc.

Unit 1 Groundwork Assignments

For this unit, each GA should be submitted as a .doc, .docx, or a .pdf.

1. Groundwork Assignment 1:

Download the handout Gambino Analysis (see Week 1 Feedback discussion or the GA 1 dropbox).

1. After watching “This Is America” by Childish Gambino, complete the handout to the best of your ability. Use your group discussions with classmates to expand your notes and analysis.

Submit your completed handout as a Word Document in the D2L dropbox.

1. Groundwork Assignment 2:

View the video choices on the assignment sheet and Week 2 Feedback discussion.

1. Then select the video (from the choices provided in the discussion) that you want to work with for MA 1 and begin the rough draft of MA 1. Your analysis must be presented as a slide show saved in the PDF format. (You may work in PowerPoint or Google Slides, but you must save your work as a pdf to upload to the dropbox.)

Find a news or web article online that offers more background on the occasion or the speaker in the video. You will include some of this information on the Context slide.

1. Your analysis must include the following slides: Title Slide, Introduction with Thesis statement, Message, Purpose, Content, Intended Audience, Style, Ethos, Logos, Pathos, Conclusion, Works Cited.

The Works Cited slide must use an MLA Works Cited entry. You must have full entries for the website where you found the video as well as the article you used for background.

1. Each slide should have at least some analysis in the corresponding area of rhetoric.