prompt/Theme: a rhetorical analysis of a political argument; your subject may ta

prompt/Theme: a rhetorical analysis of a political argument; your subject may take the form of either an
official campaign website, a 5+minute speech, or a 30 second tv ad from a political candidate within the
past 10 years (nothing before 2013, and nothing that is used or assigned in class).
You will have to identify aspects of the rhetoric (I suggest between 2 and 4), explain how or why they
add to the overall effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the speech/ad, and argue how or why the ad/speech
succeeds or fails in addressing part of the rhetorical situation.
Tactics
Primary source focus
Identify rhetorical strategy, both written and visual
Analyze and argue effectiveness
This is not a research paper of any kind; the only source you should be using is the speech or ad itself.
The only exception to this rule is if you need specific background information about the candidate, issue,
or context, and in that case be sure your source is reliable in the academic sense (we’ll be getting to this,
but if you’re even a little not sure, then ASK!).
Logistics: 4+ pages, plus the Works Cited; the general formatting of the paper itself should follow MLA 9
guidelines (see the Little Seagull, MLA Handbook, or Purdue OWL).