ENG 319 3.W: Analysis Texts

Today’s Plan:

Let me review the assignment details I laid out on Monday:

Your first major assignment this semester will be a rhetorical analysis of a recent “text.” Generally a rhetorical analysis examines a text to identify how it establishes ethos (writer’s credibility, who are “we” [audience]), provides evidence (logos, both in terms of invented arguments, imagining and responding to counterarguments, referencing facts) and negotiates pathos (both what emotions is anticipates you hold entering the argument, and what emotions it attempts to engender). I shared an overview of this earlier in the course.
In addition to maybe thinking about these things, I would like to focus on whether the text appears democratic or demagogic. The paper will have to cite Miller in order to generate 3-4 rhetorical elements relevant to your text. Let me be clear: you have the freedom/responsibility to focus on parts of Miller that are relevant to your analysis (there is not one set of ideas that I feel every paper should discuss). Part of the challenge of this assignment is to figure out what in your text is worthy of / relevant to a rhetorical analysis.
I expect these papers will be between 1500 and 2000 words. Papers can be in either MLA or APA format (they do not need a title page, but do require a title). I’ll go over this kind of stuff a bit more later. (still not the time–let’s focus on the content of the paper today.

Let me clarify two things:

First, this paper is a rhetorical analysis of a text or a small group of texts. Your paper should address whatever characteristics/questions/concepts/ideas from the heuristics below that are relevant.
Second, your paper has to address Miller’s concept of democracy and demogoguery in some form, and has to cite from her work. Do not expect a reader has read her work. Summarize, contextualize, and frame it. Focus on quoting/paraphrasing/explicating a specific concept or two.
Third (I know I said two things, but writing is generative and I thought of a third): there’s multiple ways to organize/arrange this paper, depending on your analysis. For instance, you might find that your text consistently emphasizes how complicated decision are, working to create a democratic, participatory policy process. Cool, Miller would be pleased. This paper would likely open with a summary of Miller and then an analysis of each occurrence. But maybe you see three different but interesting things happening–then you would have three sections, each with a reference to Miller and then some analysis of a specific place (is this obvious? Should I bring in an example paper or do y’all get the overlap between this kind of analysis and a close, literary reading?)

Let’s talk about possible texts for analysis. Here’s a few recommendations I had the other day: