Closely read/re-read and analyze the article, “Reading, Writing, and Empathy…How Denmark Is a Leader by Sara Miller Llana. (Make notes in the article about the author’s key points, types of evidence presented, audience, purpose, style, patterns, word choice, etc..) ProQuest __ SIRS Issues Researcher _ Reading, Writing and Empathy_ How Denmark Is a Leader….html Also, read a sample student essay here as an example: Rhetorical analysis_sample essay 1.pdf
2. Open your introduction with an engaging hook, introduce the topic/article and its relevance, and provide your thesis. Your thesis statement should reflect your stance or interpretation of the article–how effective the writer is in convincing the audience. (For instance, the extent to which you think the author/article presents a fair/meaningful/useful characterization or portrayal of empathy as an essential character trait to be taught/developed in this age of rapid technological change.)
3. Make sure you write an arguable and focused thesis statement, which you will justify and prove in your body paragraphs with evidence and examples from the text. Rather than focusing on whether you agree or not with the authors arguments, your essay should mostly examine the way in which writer has chosen to write it–closely analyzing the rhetorical strategies that the author used to communicate his/her main point or message and influence his/her readers. In your body paragraphs, address, illustrate, and explain the following rhetorical elements (in any order you deem best) regarding the author/article:
a. (one paragraph) A Synopsis or summary of the article (assume you are introducing the article to your audience who has not read it)–restate objectively in your own words the author’s topic and main viewpoint/claim, overview of key supporting points, and concluding idea. Write the summary in your own words and avoid direct quotes.
b. (1-2 paragraphs) Author’s Claim and Appeals: what key question or issue appears most important to the writer in this article? What central claim(s) is/are made? What opposing or contrasting viewpoints are addressed? What types of reasons, evidence, and/or examples are presented? In other words, does the writer primarily support his/her argument through one or more of the following types of appeals: (i) logos to appeal to readers’ sense of reason or logic–such as by drawing from statistics, facts, and logical reasoning, (ii) pathos to appeal to readers’ emotions–such as by drawing on personal experiences to evoke certain feelings, and/or (iii) ethos to appeal to the readers’ trust–such as by referencing the writer’s own status or authority? What strengths and/or weaknesses do you find in the author’s reasoning or evidence? Use direct quotes from the article to illustrate.
c. (one paragraph). Writer’s Credibility and Tone: For credibility, what about the author’s professional and/or personal background may contribute to his/her authority or expertise on the topic? (Note that if an article does not include an author’s biographical information, you should google or otherwise research an author’s professional background to help determine authority and credibility on the topic.). Within the article itself, how does the writer establish herself/himself as being fair-minded and rational about the topic? For the writer’s attitude/tone, what suggests his/her emotional state about the topic (such as angry, annoyed, desperate, distrustful, sad, worried, concerned, empathetic, confident, reassuring, hopeful, etc.) and/or intellectual state (such as curious, skeptical, solution-focused, etc.) and what direct quotes from the article suggests this?
d. (one paragraph) Writer’s Audience and Purpose: For audience, who is the main type of audience/demographic that the author seems to have in mind in writing this article and what in the article suggests this? (Note, there may likely be more than one target audience–a primary and a secondary audience.) What assumptions are reasonable to make about the knowledge, values, attitudes, and prior experiences this target audience is likely to bring to the text? What questions do they hope to find answered? For purpose, what is the writers motivation and objective in appealing to this intended target audience (e.g., to persuade, educate, entertain, complicate ideas, raise awareness, call to action, etc.)? In other words, what is the author’s purpose or main takeaway that the writer hopes his/her audience will leave with after reading his/her article? Again, include some direct quotes from the article to illustrate. Finally, explain the degree to which you believe the writer’s article effectively achieves his/her intended purpose with his/her target audience.
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