Argument Analysis. Questions about Elissa. Questions about Will

Questions about Elissa  1) Is it clear what issue Elissa is arguing?  Where does she frame the issue, in the intro, the end of paragraph three, elsewhere?  Is it clear what the two sides are?  Is the underlying rationale for each position clear?  2) What kind of ethos does Elissa project?  Is she knowledgeable, credible, fair-minded, honest?  Does she have any sort of attitude?  3) What kinds of evidence does she provide?  How effective is it?  Does her use of sources add a lot?  4) Who is Elissa’s target audience?  While one could say that she is addressing a large audience, is there one subgroup that seems more susceptible to persuasion?  And note: in this case, as is often the case, such a subgroup may be more identifiable as a mindset rather than a particular group of people.  5) How would you describe Elissa’s tone?  Is there anything about her tone or diction that particularly helps or hurts her efforts?  Does she sound authoritative?  6) How does Elissa organize her essay?  Does she use any organizing principle or scheme?  Is her argument easy or hard to follow?    Questions about Will  1) Who do think is Will’s target audience?  While one could say that he is addressing a large audience, is there one subgroup that seems more susceptible to persuasion?  And note: in this case, as is often the case, such a subgroup may be more identifiable as a mindset rather than a particular group of people.  2) And for that matter, what exactly is he trying to persuade this audience to do or think?  How does he frame the issue and stake his claim?  3) Is there anything about Will’s tone that helps or hurts his effort?  He uses both second and first person, and addresses his audience directly: is this helpful?  Does he sound authoritative?  Does he sound like a know-it-all?  4) Related to question three, what kind of ethos does he project?  Is he knowledgeable, credible, fair-minded, honest?  Does he have any sort of attitude?  5) In what ways does Will contextualize the issue?  6) Does Will make any assumptions about what the audience knows or believes that are problematical?  7) How is Will’s essay organized?  Is there a background section?  Is his main argument easy or hard to follow?  Can you describe how he organizes it?   Questions about Rohan  1) What exactly is the issue that Rohan is arguing?  Where does he frame the issue or make it clear?  Is it at the end of paragraph one?  End of paragraph two?  Elsewhere?  What stand is he taking?  2) Who is Rohan’s target audience?  Who is he trying to persuade of what?  If it is not clear at the beginning of the essay, does it become moreso by the end?  3) How does Rohan structure his argument?  Does he use any organizing principle?  What about his use of directives, that is, places where he tells the reader what the essay will or will not do or what is to come next?   4) What about Rohan’s tone?  Does he sound authoritative?  Would you describe his tone as formal or scholarly, or is it more casual and slang-y, or both?  5) Does Rohan’s use of sources add to his argument overall?  How about the evidence he provides: does it make sense?  Is it clear why he goes into signifyin’ and a linguistic analysis of AAVE?