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4 pages/≈1100 words
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MLA
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Literature & Language
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English (U.S.)
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Rhetorical Analysis of How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?

Essay Instructions:

EN 100Rhetorical Analysis Writing Workshop1. Is the writer’s summary of the article clear and concise? Do you get a good sense of the article by reading this summary? Discuss any weaknesses or missing components of this summary. Are there unanswered questions about the article that the writer fails to address? 2. What is the main point or thesis to the draft? (Remember, the thesis statement should identify what the author’s rhetorical purpose is, whether or not he/she achieved this successfully, and how he/she did/did not achieve this purpose.) If this type of thesis is not visible, can you see ideas that can be developed to fit these criteria for a successful thesis statement?3. What examples of rhetoric does the writer supply? Are there direct quotations present in the draft? Paraphrases/summaries/references to the article? Identify the examples of rhetoric and the types of textual support given by the writer. 4. Specific details and examples make an analysis more effective. Are there 2 or 3 examples of specific details supplied by the writer? Discuss places where you would like to see more details or references to the text. 5. Has the writer taken into consideration the rhetorical situation (writer, writer’s purpose, writer’s audience, topic, and context)? How is this evident (or not)? Provide suggestions for ways to incorporate the rhetorical situation, if appropriate. 6. What is the most interesting aspect of this sketch? Explain to the author why this part is particularly interesting.7. Being as kind as possible, point out the three weakest aspects of the paper. List the three parts and explain how the writer can improve them.
8. Visit the writer’s chosen article inside They Say, I Say. Glance through the article, coming up with a brief rhetorical analysis of your own. Give suggestions for the writer for his/her analysis based on your quick interpretation of the article.9. Finally, discuss your overall response to the sketch—what works, what doesn’t work, whether the piece has a “voice,” or if the analysis is effective. Try to say something that you haven’t yet, including concrete suggestions for development/improvement.
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Revision CHECKLISTfor Rhetorical AnalysisRhetorical Analysis: How does the author's style contribute to his/her overall purpose?IntroI have addressed the topic and prompt directly in my introduction.I have included the author’s full name, title of the article, and a short summary of the article. I refer to the author by LAST NAME ONLY after this first mention of him/her.I have mentioned purpose and audience in the intro.I have a THESIS statement with a "blueprint" (allude to body paragraph topics in order) and a precise opinion to what the author is suggesting in the passage (whether the author’s argument is effective/ineffective).Body paragraphsMy topic sentences each mention an element of the rhetorical situation and connect to the thesis.I have developed paragraphs that include direct assertions about the author's style, specific textual references (yet not lengthy quotations from the text, not over two written lines), and evaluations of how and why these examples develop the specific purpose. I have five relevant examples in each paragraph, including at least two quotationsI have cited summary, paraphrase, and quotations from the text using MLA format (author’s last name, space, page number in parentheses). I have “sandwiched” each example from the text with my own voice (introducing the example, including it, connecting it back to my thesis).I have ended the paragraph by wrapping-up the rhetorical device in my own voice.ConclusionI have a strong conclusion, one that is not simply repetitive of the thesis but has final insights about the writer's overall attitude toward the topic and what is being suggested. My conclusion gives a sense of finality through an epiphany or clincher statement.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

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How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us? - A Rhetorical Analysis
In "How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?" Gerald, Birkenstein, and Durst offer a bird's eye overview of select articles addressing questions of equality, social justice, political divisions, and confidence in the U.S. context. The covered articles, nine, include: "The "Other Side" Is Not Dumb" (212-218), "Why America Is Self-Segregating?" (219-229), "The New Jim Crow" (230-250), "Hillbilly Elegy," (251-268) "Minority Student Clubs: Segregation or Integration?" (269-278), "Why Rural America Voted for Trump?" (279-285), "A Tax System Stacked against the 99 Percent" (286-295), and "Howard University Commencement Speech" (296-314). Gerald, Birkenstein, and Durst open "How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?" with a particularly interesting hook, a common and powerful rhetorical device to grab the reader's attention:
"Can we talk?" The late, great comedian Joan Rivers often began her TV shows by asking the audience that question, and it became her trademark line. Audiences knew to expect funny, snarky, sometimes outrageous jokes and stories from her, and it helped her to establish a close, almost intimate connection with viewers. But today in the United States, the question "Can we talk?" has taken on a far less humorous meaning, because increasingly the answer is "No." (Gerald, Birkenstein and Durst 209)
This opening, establishing a proper ground for readers to expect what is to come, speaks to the U.S. collective mind by using a very popular TV show. From a rhetorical standpoint, engaging readers early on is one most effective ways writers engage readers and, for that matter, introduce a writing piece's main argument. Interestingly, instead of stating explicitly what readers should expect, Gerald, Birkenstein, and Durst offer a real-world scone example on the current state of the U.S. divisiveness, citing an article, "'Go to Hell!' A Divided America Struggles to Heal after Ugly The election" by Jason Szep, a reporter at Reuters, in order to support the article's main argument in subsequent paragraphs (209-210). Shortly after, Gerald, Birkenstein, and Durst state the article's main argument, i.e., Thesis, in a clear and succinct statement:
The readings in this chapter offer a genuine and much-needed attempt to break down those differences—probably not to the point where we can all agree on the burning issues of the day, but at least to where we can once again live and work together comfortably and productively. (210)
In subsequent paragraphs, Gerald, Birkenstein, and Durst offer a succinct summary of each article mentioned above, in chapter 16.
The summaries are, essentially, (very) condensed reviews of each article. That is, Gerald, Birkenstein, and Durst offer what could amount to shortened reviews of each article in order to introduce readers to each article's content and main argument. There are, however, interesting variations in the ways each article is summarized, presented, and quoted. Indeed, some articles are presented in as a few lines as four lines or less (e.g., "The "Other Side" Is Not Dumb" and "Hillbilly Elegy"), and some articles are presented in much mor...
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