This is a sample assignment from Cal State Long Beach

Essay One Prompt

Rhetorical Analysis
Readings associated with this assignment:
Carl Sagans "You Are Here"
Brian Greene: Is our universe the only universe?
Brooke Gladstones "News You Can't Use" (pages 47-56)
Cory Doctorow on copyright and piracy / transcript
Web 2.0 Summit 2011: Chris Poole, "High Order Bit" / transcript
danah boyd's "whats in a name?"
For the past four weeks weve been examining how writers use certain techniques to make their
writing more persuasive, allowing us to evaluate arguments more effectively and respond
critically. In the first major assignment of the semester, the editors of Everyones an Author need
your help. They are in the process of deciding which texts to include in the next edition and
would like feedback from you, their target audience. Your job is to conduct a rhetorical analysis
of any of the texts up to week five, first summarizing the text and then explaining why its
inclusion is vital for the success of the textbook.
This assignment challenges you to (1) thoroughly comprehend a text and translate its meaning
to readers who have read the text but need reminders of its meaning and (2) to analyze the
ways a writer presents arguments, asking you to develop personae crafted to fit each particular
rhetorical occasion. Your analysis should go beyond stating your opinion (I liked it) and
summarizing the text (like a one-dimensional book, film, or music review). It should have a
carefully crafted central focus that reflects your thinking about why this reading should be
included in the next edition of Everyones an Author. This assignment does not ask you to agree
or disagree with the writer, but to analyze how that writer is making a point. Do not spend a lot of
space explaining what the text says; you should instead focus on the ways the text says it.
Developing rhetorical skills is necessary for examining texts in the scholarly and professional
world, determining why/how a text is effective, influential, and persuasive. Rather than thinking
about audience as only the instructor, you must learn to address a readership that values and
expects fresh ideas and insights, informed claims with supporting textual evidence, rigorous
reading of texts, challenges to commonplace thinking and a demonstrated ability to use
appropriate documentation systems.

This is a sample assignment from Cal State Long Beach

We have been examining readings that possess alternative organization strategies, therefore
this assignment is not to be organized in the dreaded five paragraph essay format. Instead, a
successful rhetorical analysis will be measured by how well the questions below are addressed.
I will not accept an essay that is only a summary of the text; it must consider all of these points:

Identify the main claim(s) in the text, being objective rather than critical. In other words, try to
distill the original idea without adding editorial comments.
Identify the audience, purpose, and claim(s) of the writer. How effectively does the writer employ
rhetorical strategies to achieve his/her purpose and why might the writer choose those
strategies for this particular audience?
Locate their arguments in a rhetorical situation. What constraints and resources exist for the
author?
Based on the points you considered above, should this text be included in the next edition of
Everyones an Author?
Your essay will be graded on how well you explore each of these points and meet the following
technical requirements:

1200 words.
No major or distracting grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors.
Standard MLA formatting.
Hard copy due in my mailbox (MHB 413) with peer-review sheet attached no later than 3:00 PM
on 9/28. This is the copy I will grade.
Public electronic copy due in the Discussion Forum of Composition II no later than 11:59 PM on
9/28.
Respond to a colleague during the in-class peer-review for 5% of the overall grade for Essay
One.
Respond to a colleague from the other section of Composition II for 5% of the overall grade for
Essay One no later than 7:30 AM on 10/1. Write a 250-word response answering the following
question: what was the most intriguing thing said and why?
Both the peer-review sheet and reply are mandatory. It is a good idea to scan or take a clear
photograph of the peer-review sheet because if you lose your only copy you will have to find a
colleague willing to fill out another one. If any portion is late, Essay One will be considered late.