This 3-4 page rhetorical analysis paper asks you to apply analytic approaches th

by Caaltu · May 29, 2024

This 3-4 page rhetorical analysis paper asks you to apply analytic approaches that we have discussed over the past week (including linguistic, visual, metaphoric, and cultural lenses) to a piece of health writing of your choice. This text could take a range of forms depending on your interests, including a scientific research article, science journalism, health promotion materials, a science textbook, a pharmaceutical advertisement, etc. By the end of the day on Thurs, you will submit 2 ideas of texts you are interested in analyzing and we will discuss possibilities and limitations.
As we have discussed, rhetorical analysis involves trying to understand the purpose of a text, it’s intended audience, the context in which it was written and published, and the call it answers or problem it attempts to solve. Rhetorical analysis also considers the organization of a text and the appeals authors make to their audience in order to connect with them, inform them, and persuade them to share a particular point of view or come to a specific conclusion. In addition, rhetorical analysis pays attention to the author or authors, including their presence in a text (e.g., language, style). You might not use all the different strategies for analysis that we have discussed so far, but it is important that your analysis ties specific rhetorical strategies (ie hedging, visual design, word choice, organization) to the goals, audience, and context of the health writing.
The Pragmatic:
Use Times New Roman, 12 pt font double-spaced
Include a single-spaced header with your name, my name, the course, and the date on the first page of the paper
Internally cite direct quotes from the text using MLA format
3 pages means 3 FULL pages. Papers that do not meet the page requirement will be treated under the course late work policy (see syllabus) until a full draft is submitted
Organization: I recommend trying to organize your paper to integrate close-reading of specific examples from the text and analysis that ties those examples to the text’s larger goals and context.
You should also include:
An introduction that establishes the stakes of your analysis (Why is this text important/worth analyzing ? What might your analysis tell us about health writing?)
An argument about the rhetorical strategies of the text that ties text them to its broader context (ie audience, author, historical moment)
Paragraphs with clear topic sentences and transitions. These should focus on a specific rhetorical feature or related features and provide examples and analysis of those features.
A conclusion that considers the implications of your analysis and future directions for research (What might the effects of your findings be? What questions has this project raised for you?)