Homework 2 Argument and Persuasion (TCC)

Please choose ONE of the following documentaries to focus on for your Rhetorical Analysis Essay assignment.  It would be a good idea to preview all films (I have linked to the trailers posted on youtube) in order to select the one that most appeals to you.  Most of these can be located on Netflix; several of them are available through a streaming database in our library; some are available in DVD form at the Reserves desk of TCC Library.

* on Netflix; DVD on Reserve at TCC Library and Streaming evideo available through TCC Library.

Fed Up  (Links to an external site.)

(sugar as a cause of obesity)

Once you have already selected and viewed your documentary film at least once, you will (1) have to have summarize its rhetorical situation (author, audience, message, context), (2) review the film and take notes observing the rhetorical strategies used in the film.

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS WORKSHEET
RHETORICAL SITUATION
Title
Authors/Filmmakers
Exigence (Purpose…there can be more
than one purpose to a text)
• Actual Purpose: this is the
purpose you believe the author
had in mind when he/she
created the text.
• Stated Purpose: If different
from above, is the purpose
according to the text itself.
Message (Thesis)
Type of Argument
Audiences:
• Intended audience: this is the
audience for whom the text
says it is intended.
• Unintended: this is more like
the actual audience, since the
author cannot control who
reads/sees their text.
Rhetorical Strategy
Establishing ethos through visual
elements
Establishing ethos through audio
track
Example from the Film
Effect on Audience
Establishing ethos generally
Appealing to logos through
expert testimony
Appealing to logos through
qualitative data
Appealing to logos generally
Appealing to pathos through
visual elements
Appealing to pathos through
audio track
Appealing to pathos more
generally
Logical Fallacies?
OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS
What is/are the viewpoint(s) that the film is
arguing with?
How are the opposing viewpoints dealt with?
OTHER STRATEGIES
Speaker/Narration
Tone (of speakers, of narrator, of the film)
Organization/Sequence of argument
Types of evidence and how it is presented
Camera Use (angles, close ups, etc.)
CRITICAL RESPONSE
In the box below, write a short paragraph that responds critically to the source. If you disagree in some
way with the source, explain exactly how and why. If you largely agree with the source, explain why
but also discuss the limits of its argument: Why might someone legitimately disagree with it? Under
what conditions might the argument not apply?
Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer
Your Title: A Strong Cup of “Hot Coffee” Will Wake You Up
The title of your essay is the first point of contact you have with your reader. What sort of title would describe your paper
and distinguish it from other papers written on the same essay?
Your Introduction: DETAILING THE RHETORICAL SITUATION
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How would you describe the rhetorical situation? What will you say about the writer, the subject, the context,
the audience, and the principal aim/purpose of the text? Are there any aims subordinate to the principal aim?
How would you summarize the essay in one or two sentences? (Try not to digress into a lengthy paraphrase of
the piece.) What is the writer’s claim?
Did you find the “text” to be effective or ineffective? What features of substance and style will you focus on in
the body of your essay, and why do you consider them so important to text’s rhetorical effect? (This is your
THESIS.)
THESIS = X by Y is in/effective argument because of A, B, and C.
Hot Coffee by Susan Saladoff is effective argument because of its inclusion of expert testimony,
examples of media bias, and emotional accounts from civil justice victims.
Your Essay’s Body: Evaluation and Analysis of Text’s Use of Appeals in the development of its
content and its style.
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How does the writer develop the discourse, and why has she/he chosen these methods of development?
How has the writer arranged the discourse, and why has he/she chosen this pattern of arrangement over
others? (Make specific reference to the introduction, the thesis, the body, and the conclusion if you think it is
important.)
If the essay is persuasive, which of the persuasive appeals (logos, ethos, or pathos) predominates, and how do
these appeals strengthen or weaken the argument?
Are there any fallacies or other weaknesses in the argument? How do they affect the reader’s response to the
work? What kinds of assumptions are at work here? Are they fair assumptions? What are the particular
strengths of the argument? How does the writer establish common ground?
Does the writer make effective use of concession, refutation, and/or counter-argument?
Which of the following features of style do you consider most important to the discourse and why?
o language (including level of diction and tone of voice)
o figurative language, symbolism, allusion (biblical, historical etc.), irony
o humor
o number and length of paragraphs
o length and style of sentences
o rhythm and repetition
How do these particular features of style enable the writer to achieve her/his purpose?
POINT
FIRST SPECIFIC
TEXTUAL
EXAMPLE
SECOND
SPECIFIC
TEXTUAL
EXAMPLE
The film’s argument is effective because of expert testimony
Joanne Doroshow, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Democracy
Joan Claybrook, former President, Public Citizen
EXPLANATION
OF HOW THE
EXAMPLE
PROVES YOUR
POINT
The experts in this film, in particular the two examples provided, make a compelling
logical argument by breaking down a complex issue into easily understandable and
relatable terms.
POINT
FIRST SPECIFIC
TEXTUAL
EXAMPLE
SECOND
SPECIFIC
TEXTUAL
EXAMPLE
EXPLANATION
OF HOW THE
EXAMPLE
PROVES YOUR
POINT
The film’s argument is effective because of examples of media bias
“Man on the street” style interviews with random people that serve to expose the
public’s misunderstanding of the Stella Liebeck case.
Montage of media footage in the wake of the Liebeck decision, including footage
from the Weird Al Yankovic video “I’ll Sue Ya”.
These examples help provide a snapshot of a culture where people believe that tort
reform is used to improve the civil justice system, while in reality in is often used to
restrict their access to it.
POINT
The film’s argument is effective because of personal stories from tort reform
victims
FIRST SPECIFIC
TEXTUAL
EXAMPLE
SECOND
SPECIFIC
TEXTUAL
EXAMPLE
EXPLANATION
OF HOW THE
EXAMPLE
PROVES YOUR
POINT
Lisa and Mike Gourley recounting the outcome of their medical malpractice suit
and how damage caps in their state impacted them and their son, Colin.
Jamie Leigh Jones recounting the story of her rape in Iraq and how forced
arbitration restricted her ability to seek retribution.
The film uses these intimate accounts to appeal to pathos and trigger the audience
make a personal connection with the issue of tort reform, by demonstrating its
effects on innocent people.
Your Conclusion: “Hot Coffee” is very compelling in its argument. The film’s use of experts to
appeal to logos, and its emotionally charged appeal to pathos through personal accounts of
victims effectively persuades the audience that tort reform is a vital issue.
Use your conclusion to comment on the effect and effectiveness of the essay as a whole. How well does the writer achieve
the purpose, appeal to the audience, and demonstrate the effect of style on content?
Note the following conventions of analysis:
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Analyze a text in the simple present tense
Enclose essay titles inside quotation marks
Refer to yourself as “the reader” or “the audience”
Support your claims with textual evidence (direct quotations and paraphrases)