AGENDA

MAIN OBJECTIVE: ANALYZING THE

STRUCTURE OF OUR CH. 21 ARGUMENT AND

PLANNING THE STRUCTURE OF OUR

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

WRITING PROMPT

DISCUSSION

OUTLINING YOUR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

PRESENTATION – INTRODUCTION

CLOSING

HW: FINISH OUTLINE, COMPOSE INTRO

DEADLINES

TUESDAY, NOV. 12

1) RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

2) BASIC OUTLINE – RESEARCH PAPER

TOPIC

TENTATIVE, WORKING CLAIM

SECTION A SUBTOPIC

SECTION B SUBTOPIC

SECTION C SUBTOPIC

WRITING PROMPT

READ THE ANN ROIPHE RHETORICAL

ANALYSIS. WHAT CAN YOU LEARN ABOUT

ANALYZING AN ARGUMENT’S STRUCTURE BY

READING THIS PIECE?

RHETORICAL

ANALYSIS

HOW TO STRUCTURE AND OUTLINE YOUR

ESSAY

INTRODUCTION

A. __Contextualize the essay: discuss its context, give a little background on the issue, paint a quick picture of the cultural climate into which the argument was introduced.

B. __Introduce the author and essay: mention the essay’s title and discuss briefly the author’s background, occupation, other writings, etc.

C. __Describe/summarize briefly the essay’s subject/gist

D. __Identify briefly the author’s main claims/goals

E. __Identify briefly the author’s intended audience

F. __State thesis: How persuasive or unpersuasive you find this argument, listing briefly some of its greatest strengths and weaknesses

AN INTRO CAN LOOK

LIKE THIS:

“Anne Roiphe’s “Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow”

first appeared in the magazine New York in 1972. In this

essay Roiphe aims to convince her readers that women must

put faith in the idea that they are equal to men, not superior:

“Women who want equality must be prepared to give it and

believe in it…” (Roiphe). Personal anecdotes, contrast, and

comparison are techniques Roiphe skillfully uses to create a

strong, convincing essay.

AUDIENCE

(This can be part of a single introduction paragraph, or it can

be broken into a separate paragraph that is still part of the

introduction section. We haven’t talked a lot about audience

yet, so listen up (-:

__Identify author’s intended audience – the likely readers of

the publication.

__Describe how else we know – from the essay’s subject

matter, argument, etc. – that this is the likely intended

audience.

__Discuss why the author likely chose this audience and how

you know this.

WHAT THIS CAN LOOK

LIKE:

(Second paragraph)

“Judging by the author’s persuasive pleas, this article is

written mainly to people who do not already share the

author’s views entirely or in part. The Journal, Social

Research, Is primarily written to scholars and learned

individuals, but I think the general population just does not

have enough information on wild species and/or the direness

of their situations to feel greatly motivated to act. Here, he

could have supplied more information for the less

knowledgeable majority, though it is not really necessary

because of the journal’s target audience.”

DISCUSS THE

STRUCTURE OF THE

ESSAY

Provide a roadmap of the of the essay’s organization and/or logic for your readers.

__Do so by describing how the essay opens, how it unfolds, and how it concludes.

__Also, you can describe any major shifts in the argument’s reasoning.

__Evaluate the argument’s structure. In other words, you can comment on how the structure of the essay itself might persuade (or fail to persuade) the audience.

(Some of you are already doing this, especially if your claim says that the author is successful with one part of the essay but not another part)

WHAT THIS CAN LOOK

LIKE:

“Roiphe begins her essay with a personal anecdote describing the “horrifying” realization that she married a man exactly like her father. This technique immediately establishes the essay as informal and personal. It is a great way to capture the reader’s interest…”

“Shortly after capturing the reader’s interest with the introductory anecdote, Roiphe begins using contrast…”

“About midway through the essay, Roiphe makes a transition from contrast to comparison…”

“More important than the functions of the techniques she uses independently is how Roiphe uses them together…It is obvious that Roiphe purposely used the techniques in a planned way. This allowed her to create a specifically designed essay that helped convince her readers…”

DISCUSS THE

STRUCTURE OF THE

ESSAY

__Provide a roadmap of the of the essay’s organization

and/or logic for your readers.

__Do so by describing how the essay opens, how it unfolds,

and how it concludes.

__Also, you can describe any major shifts in the argument’s

reasoning.

__Evaluate the argument’s structure. In other words, you can

comment on how the structure of the essay itself might

persuade (or fail to persuade) the audience.

(Some of you are already doing this, especially if your claim

says that the author is successful with one part of the essay

but not another part)

WHAT THIS CAN LOOK

LIKE…

“Roiphe begins her essay with a personal anecdote describing the “horrifying” realization that she married a man exactly like her father. This technique immediately establishes the essay as informal and personal. It is a great way to capture the reader’s interest…”

“Shortly after capturing the reader’s interest with the introductory anecdote, Roiphe begins using contrast…”

“About midway through the essay, Roiphe makes a transition from contrast to comparison…”

“More important than the functions of the techniques she uses independently is how Roiphe uses them together…It is obvious that Roiphe purposely used the techniques in a planned way. This allowed her to create a specifically designed essay that helped convince her readers…”

DISCUSS THE

STRUCTURE OF THE

ESSAY

__Provide a roadmap of the of the essay’s organization

and/or logic for your readers.

__Do so by describing how the essay opens, how it unfolds,

and how it concludes.

__Also, you can describe any major shifts in the argument’s

reasoning.

__Evaluate the argument’s structure. In other words, you can

comment on how the structure of the essay itself might

persuade (or fail to persuade) the audience.

(Some of you are already doing this, especially if your claim

says that the author is successful with one part of the essay

but not another part)

WHAT THIS CAN LOOK

LIKE…

“Roiphe begins her essay with a personal anecdote describing the “horrifying” realization that she married a man exactly like her father. This technique immediately establishes the essay as informal and personal. It is a great way to capture the reader’s interest…”

“Shortly after capturing the reader’s interest with the introductory anecdote, Roiphe begins using contrast…”

“About midway through the essay, Roiphe makes a transition from contrast to comparison…”

“More important than the functions of the techniques she uses independently is how Roiphe uses them together…It is obvious that Roiphe purposely used the techniques in a planned way. This allowed her to create a specifically designed essay that helped convince her readers…”

DISCUSS THE

STRUCTURE OF THE

ESSAY

__Provide a roadmap of the of the essay’s organization

and/or logic for your readers.

__Do so by describing how the essay opens, how it unfolds,

and how it concludes.

__Also, you can describe any major shifts in the argument’s

reasoning.

__Evaluate the argument’s structure. In other words, you can

comment on how the structure of the essay itself might

persuade (or fail to persuade) the audience.

(Some of you are already doing this, especially if your claim

says that the author is successful with one part of the essay

but not another part)

WHAT THIS CAN LOOK

LIKE…

“Roiphe begins her essay with a personal anecdote describing the “horrifying” realization that she married a man exactly like her father. This technique immediately establishes the essay as informal and personal. It is a great way to capture the reader’s interest…”

“Shortly after capturing the reader’s interest with the introductory anecdote, Roiphe begins using contrast…”

“About midway through the essay, Roiphe makes a transition from contrast to comparison…”

“More important than the functions of the techniques she uses independently is how Roiphe uses them together…It is obvious that Roiphe purposely used the techniques in a planned way. This allowed her to create a specifically designed essay that helped convince her readers…”

STRENGTHS AND

WEAKNESSES

After discussing the chronological

structure of your essay, you will

discuss first the strengths of the

essay you are analyzing, and then its

weaknesses.

STRENGTHS

From Milena Ateya:

“The author earns the reader’s

respect because of his knowledge and

through his logical presentation of the

issue.”

“The author also emphasizes the

danger of the slippery slope of

censorship…”

WEAKNESSES

From Milena Ateya:

“Overall, however, Bok’s work lacks

the kinds of evidence that statistics,

interviews with students, and other

representative examples of

controversial conduct could provide.”

“Throughout, Bok’s personal feelings

are implied but not stated directly.”