*INSTRUCTIONS*
Unit 2 Essay Prompt
Evaluating the Rhetoric of a Text
friedrich nietzsche evaluation.jpg
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s thoughts on Evaluation: when we evaluate (or re-evaluate) what we value (or don’t value), we give it meaning and power in our society and culture. This, he says, is infinitely important to not only the reader or audience, but the creator of the text themselves. We, the evaluators, are giving the thing itself meaning and purpose when we speak, “this is important! I care about this! This is of some value to us, to our ancestors, and to our future!” Perhaps evaluation, then, can be a form of empowerment (or the opposite). In any case, evaluating a text creates a discussion, and that discussion, too, effects the value of any given text and whether or not we will heed its words in a week, a month, a year, or a decade.
Consider, then, the two main texts we have read in this unit: Gurba’s “Pendeja, You Ain’t No Steinbeck” and King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” One text is relatively recent, and one is considered recent history. Both of these texts have greatly influenced discussions around their topics (“who has the authority to write well, or poorly, on who’s lived experience” and “civil rights and the right to protest”). By continuing to discuss these topics, we give them value. But what about them, as pieces of “rhetoric”, is valuable (or not)?
For this essay, you will choose one (1) text – Gurba’s “Pendeja, You Ain’t No Steinbeck” or King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” – and perform a close reading that disassembles it into its parts or “rhetorical moves” and evaluates them based on their rhetorical effectiveness.
You should categorize these “moves” into the rhetorical appeals of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
You will then EVALUATE (argue and judge) the text’s overall effectiveness in convincing its audience of its purpose (what they should think about a given issue, what the audience should do about the problem).
You will do contextual research to inform your initial reading of the rhetorical appeals and rhetorical “moves” made in your chosen text in order to make a more well-rounded judgement on the effectiveness on the text, then and now.
When and how does the author appeal to Pathos (emotion or feeling)?
When and how does the author appeal to Ethos (trustworthiness/credibility)?
When and how does the author appeal to Logos (logical reasoning)?
Optional: When and how does the author use elements of the Rogerian Argument or Toulmin Method to strengthen the appeal to Ethos, Pathos, or Logos? (Consider Claims, Warrants, Common Ground, they say, I say structure, etc.)
What is your overall evaluation on the effectiveness of your chosen text? What CONTEXT helps inform your opinion?
Based on your examination of all three rhetorical appeals, how effective is the text at appealing to the audience and reaching the author’s goal? (Convincing the audience to think X and/or do Y.)
What contextual research helps inform your decision? The text may seem (in)effective to you, but what do current or past events, discussion/dialogue, or other authors seem to show about the text’s effectiveness for an audience or certain audiences?
You can answer these two main questions in any way or order you see fit, as long as you meet the requirements (see below)!
TEXTS (choose ONE):
Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Miriam Gurba “Pendeja, You Ain’t No Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-ass Social Justice Literature”
Goals for this essay (the skills you will develop):
Practice identifying and understanding an author’s use of rhetorical appeals (Ethos, Pathos, Logos) to further their goal of persuading an audience to agree with them or take action on an issue
Practice outlining and organizing an essay with a more complex thesis statement/argument
Write a more complex THESIS STATEMENT which identifies a topic or subject (the chosen text and it’s argument/purpose) and an argument about that topic or subject (an evaluation of the text’s persuasiveness that considers not only the moves or elements in the text itself, but opinions, facts, or events outside of the text itself)
Review using quotations or paraphrases from outside sources with the ICE method (Introduce, Cite, Explain)
Beginning to consider the rhetorical situation (Purpose, Author/Audience, Context, Text) in a controversy or argument
Researching this context, and effectively brining in secondary sources and voices to contextualize and explain a primary text (Gurba or King)
Developing deep and specific analysis skills by looking at the specific moves or parts of an argument more closely
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