English 1301 – analysis assignment

 
Your Assignment:
Compose a one-paragraph rhetorical analysis of  Stephen Marche’s “Why You Should Stop Yelling at Your Kids” (which is  linked to below). The purpose of your analysis is to identify one of the more important rhetorical appeals (ethos OR logos OR pathos, not two of them, not three of them) the  author employs in order to achieve his purpose with his audience. This  paragraph, if done effectively, will be lengthy, probably in the  400-500-word range. Yes, that is long, but paragraphs in academic  writing tend to be long. The idea is that you begin with a claim, offer  examples to support that claim, and analyze each example to show how it  supports your claim–so this will take a good deal of words to  accomplish. You will apply the MEAL Plan to guide the development and  structure of your analysis.

Requirements:

Formatted to MLA Guidelines     

Fit into One Paragraph
400-500 words long (or longer if needed to bring readers to your conclusion)
Saved and posted as a DOC or DOCX file
Applies the MEAL Plan:     

MAIN IDEA: Begin with a topic sentence that 

names the author or speaker
names the title of the article or speech
identifies the audience
identifies ONE rhetorical appeal that the paragraph will analyze
identifies the purpose that the rhetorical appeal helps the author or speaker achieve         

For example: In her Parents magazine article  “The Life and Times of a Blueberry,” Harper Oxford gains credibility  and trust from from parents by accurately and fairly representing ideas  she opposes and by providing a number of credible sources to persuade  readers to stop wasting food.
Notice that this example names the author, the article title, the appeal that will be analyzed (two aspects of ethos), and the author’s purpose.

EXAMPLES: Provides readers three representative (that means, “best”) examples of the rhetorical appeal identified in the topic sentence
ANALYSIS: Analyzes each example to show       

(a) how exactly it works as an appeal to whatever appeal your topic sentence presents
(b) what role that example plays in the author’s or speaker’s overall purpose (which you identified in the topic sentence)

Applies the quotation sandwich to introduce and quote examples
Uses transitions and other guideposts to create a flow of ideas.  Crafts the paragraph in such a way that the flow of ideas, from first  sentence to last, is never impeded, in such a way that readers never  pause to figure out where they are and how they got there.
Applies the rules of Edited American English