Background

Rhetorical analysis involves critical thinking about how – and how well – an author presents an argument and persuades his or her audience. This week, you are going to practice analyzing rhetoric by examining the rhetorical appeals an author has used to persuade readers and by determining whether or not they were effective.

Directions for the Discussion Question Response

Be sure to review the Rhetorical Analysis Resources in the Week Two module prior to beginning this discussion. These resources will help you identify rhetorical appeals and analyze how they are being used.

Using the same article you summarized in the Summary/Response assignment identify at least two rhetorical appeals the authors use to persuade their readers of the argument. To show your understanding of these rhetorical appeals, clearly explain how the appeals are being used by paraphrasing or quoting examples directly from the text. Refer directly to the appeals by name.

After you have explained how the authors use two rhetorical appeals, analyze how effective you think the authors are in persuading the audience with these appeals, and why or why not. Alternatively, you might argue that the appeal is not effective because it is out of date or fails to relate to the audience’s experience, for instance. Whatever argument you make about the author’s use of rhetorical appeals, whether effective or not, you need to support your points with evidence from the article.