Rhetorical Analysis

Due Friday at 11:59PM on Moodle (post to Moodle forum; include name in word doc)

In one or two sentences each, begin to introduce your reader (your classmates) to your thinking on the questions below. You will have the opportunity to expand upon these ideas in the body of the paper in the following week.

• Why did you choose this scene of I Am Not Your Negro? (Use 1-2 quotes you’ve started to free-write about in class + revisit the film [on Moodle] to find the scene the quote is from to understand the visual context for the quote)
• Why is it relevant to you? (explain in your own words!)
• What is the argument/commentary being presented on this issue? (explain in your own words!)
• What rhetorical appeals are utilized to make the persuasive argument effective? (you must write about at least one rhetorical appeal [ethos, pathos, or logos])
• Who is the message intended for, and how you know? (this is a question of audience, one of our key terms)
• Why is this message circulating now, and how is it relevant to the needs of our society? (this is a question both of Kairos and context; you may have to do some research and think about the “historical context” the film is coming out in. Hint: the film makes this pretty self-evident what it is responding to and it is probably apparent that we are still living within a similar historical context as Baldwin was when he was writing in the 60’s)

Instructions for peer review:

Due by Sunday at 11:59PM in Moodle forums.

Instructions: Please go to the correct forum, start a “new topic”, and upload your attachment as a word doc (once you’ve started a new topic, find the “advanced” button which will give you the option to upload an attachment). Use the “reply” feature to respond to your peer’s work.

Respond to TWO of your peers work (chosen in class) addressing the following in 2-3 sentences each:

• First impressions: do you think your peer’s argument (at least in its early stages) is interesting, compelling, or effective?

• Suggestions: where do you think your peer can go moving forward with their paper? What promise does it hold for future discussion?

• Critique: is your peer using key terms correctly and effectively? If not, what constructive feedback can you give them?