Rhetorical Analysis Essay In this essay you will perform an analysis of the rhet

Rhetorical Analysis Essay
In this essay you will perform an analysis of the rhetorical dimensions of Jennifer Silva’s
“Working-Class Youth and the Betrayal of the Future” (from the scholarly volume The Working
Classes and Higher Education: Inequality of Access, Opportunity and Outcome, edited by Amy E.
Stich and Carrie Freie, Routledge Press, 2015).
Preparing to Analyze and Write
I. Review Silva’s article and Chapter 5 of The Panther Guide, paying close attention to the
definition of the key terms (pgs. 61–63).
II. Next, sketch out the rhetorical situation of her article. Take notes on the following:
What is Silva’s situated ethos? In other words, what do we know about her that gives her
credibility to speak on this subject?
What is the exigence that seemingly spurred Silva to write? What does she seem concerned
about and inspired to discuss?
What is Silva’s purpose? What does she want her audience to realize, think about, and do
in response?
Who appears to be Silva’s primary audience? What kind of audience will an academic
book like The Working Classes and Higher Education: Inequality of Access, Opportunity
and Outcome attract? How do you see yourself in relation to that primary audience?
What is the article’s situated kairos? Is it still timley and relevant? Do Silva’s insights,
evidence, and argument still apply?
III. Now, looking closely at the article itself, identify no fewer than four of the following
rhetorical strategies that Silva uses (again, refer to The Panther Guide Ch. 5 pgs. 61–63 for further
definitions):
Invented ethos: how does Silva tell the audience that she sould be trusted as a researcher?
Invented kairos: does she signal to the audience that her argument is timely and relevant?
Pathos appeals: whether by Silva or her interviewees, is there an attempt to move the
audience emotionally? And what emotions are being stirred?
Logos appeals of:
• Arrangement: how does the order Silva uses to present the different
components of the article help her communicate her main point? Do you notice
that the order of the presentation guides the audience to a conclusion in any
particular way?
• Examples: how are the chosen testimonies and cases used to illustrate the
article’s main point?
• Causal reasoning: how does Silva lead the audience to see a relationship
between causes and effects in this situation?
Style:
• Register: how would you describe how well Silva’s language meets the
expectations of her particular (academic) audience? And what about the
language in the extended quotations from the young adults she interviewed?
What is the effect of the difference in these two registers?
• Identification: what does Silva do to create a connection to her audience?
The Essay
The Long Introduction. Remember you are writing to an audience that hasn’t read the article. You
need to make them understand what you’re going to analyze.
The essay should therefore first introduce Silva’s chapter to your audience via a short
summary and a description of its rhetorical situation. In other words, first through the
summary, what is she trying to show her audience? And given the rhetorical situation—
including the type of article it is and the likely audience—within what affordances and
constraints? (paragraphs)
An outline of the rhetorical features you noticed and will analyze should follow. Here it also
helps to explain why your audience should care about the article’s rhetorical dimensions.
Why, in other words, should they care about rhetoric in general, and Silva’s in particular? (1
paragraph)
This long introduction will prepare your audience to understand the more detailed analysis that will
make up the bulk of the essay.
The Analysis. For each rhetorical dimension you analyze, there are three steps:
1) name and describe the rhetorical feature
2) show examples of that rhetorical feature in Silva’s writing through a combination of
quotation and paraphrase
3) explain the impact of that particular rhetorical decision on the audience’s thinking,
perceptions, and understanding in the course of your analysis
Always do all three steps to complete the analysis: define, demonstrate, analyze the impact on the
audience.
Because these rhetorical dimensions all work together, your analysis of particular dimensions might
build as you go.
The Conclusion. In summary, what general impressions of how Silva operated as a rhetorician
should your audience take away from your analysis?
Length and style: Five complete pages minimum.
Twenty points (and 20% of final course grade) credited for effort as demonstrated by: 1)
scope and depth of the analysis 2) clarity of presentation of both Silva’s chapter, its rhetorical
situation and its rhetorical dimensions 3) demonstration of academic ethos by following format
and presenting writing that is mostly free of mechanical errors.