Rhetoric in Everyday Life Annotations

Due Dates:
• Proposal: September 8
• First Annotation: September 15
• Peer Review Draft: September 18
• Peer Review Responses: September 22
• Final Draft: September 29
Final Draft Length: 7 annotations, approximately 1000 words
Percentage of Final Grade: 16% total (160 points total)

OVERVIEW
In this assignment, you will observe how rhetoric operates in our everyday world, even when the
people (or objects) practicing rhetoric are not conscious of using rhetoric.

You will be analyzing a single (primarily) visual text for this assignment—e.g., a TV show episode,
movie, webcast, music video, news broadcast, etc. All your annotations must refer to the same text.
If you choose a TV show, you should choose one episode of the show, rather than taking examples
from different episodes in the series. Scenes where one character gives a monologue or is being
persuasive are often good choices for this assignment.

CONTENT OF PAPER
Note, this assignment is not a traditional “essay” with an introduction, paragraphs, transitions etc. It
consists of a brief introductory paragraph followed by 7 annotations, which are bulleted lists of
information (see the example annotations at the end of this document).

Your paper should start with a brief summary of the text you are analyzing. This summary should
give the reader the relevant information they need to understand the context of your quotes in your
annotations. The summary should be no more than 100 words long.

Your paper should then have 7 annotations (see the list of categories below and how many
annotations should come from each category). Each annotation should be at least 150 words and
have the following information:
1. A concise (as in, not much longer than a Tweet) definition of the term or concept in
your own words.
2. An example of the term in action from your chosen text. The example for each concept
need not be something someone said, but can reflect the rhetoric of our material world
(i.e., fashion, architecture, and so on). But be specific. This section is usually relatively
short. Also, “silly” examples are welcome here as long as you can defend them well in
your explanation.
3. An explanation of how the example you chose illustrates the term or concept. Tie
specific elements of the example to the exact words of your definition. Focus on
analyzing the example rather than summarizing it here.

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REQUIRED ANNOTATION CATEGORIES
• 1 Annotation: A method of appeal (Ethos, Logos, or Pathos), Enthymeme, or Syllogism
o Appeals:
http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Persuasive%20Appeals/Persuasive%20Appeals.htm
o Enthymeme: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/E/enthymeme.htm
o Syllogism: https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Categorical_Syllogism
• 2 Annotations: Figures of speech or reasoning
o Figures of speech (or diction): Review “Flowers” on right side of Forest of Rhetoric
Site.
▪ Also consider reviewing them by Strategy:
http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/Figures-Groupings.htm
▪ If you need a shorter list to start, try this page:
https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/schemes.html
o Figures of reasoning (or thought):
http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/Groupings/of%20Reasoning.htm
• 2 Annotations: Fallacies
o https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fallacies/#CorFal (the core fallacies section is a
good place to start)
• 2 Annotations: Common or special topics of invention
http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Canons/Invention/topics_of_invention/topics.htm

FORMAT
• Font. Use 12 pt. Times New Roman or a similar font. Double-space.
• Document design. Include page numbers. Use headings (section titles like I have in this
document) to label each group of annotations (e.g., Figures of Speech, Topics of Invention,
etc.). Include a header on the first page with your name and the title.
• Length. Your final draft should be approximately 1000 words long (though it might be
slightly longer or shorter.)

PROJECT STEPS
1. Proposal (30 points) – Submit a brief (~150 word) proposal to the assignment on Canvas.
The proposal should: 1) Identify the video or text that you will be analyzing, 2) Explain why
it is a good text for a rhetorical analysis, 3) Name 3 of the rhetorical concepts you think
you’ll be able to use for the analysis (you may choose to use other concepts in your final
paper).
2. First Annotation (30 points) – Submit a single annotation to the assignment on Canvas. This
annotation should have all three required parts (the term definition, the example from the
text, and the explanation).
3. Peer Review Draft (20 points) – Submit a developed complete first draft to the peer review
assignment on Canvas. This draft should have at least the initial summary and 3 annotations.
4. Peer Review Responses (15 points each) – Submit responses to two of your peers’ drafts
using the peer review assignment on Canvas.

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 5. Final Draft (50 points) – Submit a final draft to the assignment on Canvas. This should
include the initial summary of the text and all 7 annotations. It should also be effectively
copy edited at this point.

GRADING
The first proposal, first annotation draft, peer review draft, and peer review responses will all be
graded as credit/no credit. If you fulfill the expectations of each step, you will earn full credit for
that stage of the assignment.

The final draft will be graded on an A/B/C/F scale.

• A-level (100%) papers have an introduction paragraph and 7 complete annotations. The
introduction paragraph clearly situates the visual text being analyzed and will provide
sufficient information for the reader to understand the examples in the annotations. Each
annotation is complete, including an accurate definition of a rhetorical concept in the
author’s own words, a specific example of that concept from the text being analyzed, and a
detailed analysis of the example that clearly ties the example to the definition of the concept.
There must also be an appropriate number of annotations from the four required categories.
Finally, the writing style of the paper is clear and succinct throughout.
• B-level (85%) papers have an introduction and 5-6 complete annotations. The complete
annotations fulfill all of the requirements listed in the description of A-level papers above.
B-level papers may also include 1-2 incomplete annotations that do not meet the
requirements listed above. Finally, the writing style of the paper is clear and succinct
throughout.
• C-level (70%) papers have at least 4 complete annotations. The complete annotations fulfill
all of the requirements listed in the description of A-level papers above. C-level papers may
also include 1-3 incomplete annotations that do not meet the requirements listed above.
Finally, the writing style of C-level papers may not be fully clear or succinct. These papers
may need additional editing to clearly convey their ideas.
• F-level (50%) papers have at least 2 complete annotations. The complete annotations fulfill
all of the requirements listed in the description of A-level papers above. F-level papers must
at least 4 total annotations (including both complete and incomplete annotations). Finally,
the writing style of F-level papers may be unclear. These papers typically need additional
editing to clearly convey their ideas.
• Papers with fewer than 2 complete annotations will receive no credit (0%).

EXAMPLE ANNOTATIONS
These example annotations are taken from Season 1, Episode 1 of The Newsroom. In this episode, the
main character, Will McAvoy, is doing a speaking event at a college. During the Question and
Answer session for the event, a female student asks the panel to explain “Why America is the
greatest country in the world.” First, McAvoy tries to dodge the question. When he is pushed for an
answer, he ultimately explains why he thinks that America is not the greatest country. A full
transcript of the speech can be found at:

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https://web.archive.org/web/20141026072347/http://www.gq.com/entertainment/tv/blogs/the-
stream/2012/06/how-to-write-a-monologue-like-aaron-sorkin.html1.

Please note, the use of this speech for the example annotations is not an endorsement of McAvoy’s
arguments. Instead, the speech was chosen because it is a relatively accessible example with clear
rhetorical devices.

Other important notes: You will not be allowed to choose this speech for your paper. You should
not use all the same rhetorical devices as I do below—choose ones well-fit to the video you are
analyzing instead. Finally, while I only include four annotations here, your paper will need to have
seven.

Annotation 1: Enthymeme
• Definition: An enthymeme is a shortened syllogism where one premise is not stated directly.
Traditionally, syllogisms have been used to show a complete logical argument. Enthymemes
are more common in speech where it is assumed that we have common, shared knowledge.
• Example: “… there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest
country in the world. We're seventh in literacy, twenty-seventh in math, twenty-second in
science, forty-ninth in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, …”
• Explanation: McAvoy uses enthymemes throughout his argument. He regularly states that
America is not the greatest country or that it used to be the greatest, and then provides
specific data points without naming the premises that link this data to the conclusion. In the
example above, there are multiple potential unnamed premises. Perhaps he is saying that
America should be first in each of these measurements. Or maybe he is arguing that it
should be first in at least one of these measurements for it to be considered to be the best
country. For example, a full syllogism might say, “The country with the highest life
expectancy is the best, and America is forty ninth in life expectancy; therefore America is not
the greatest country in the world now.” In either case, the premise is unstated, thus making
the argument enthymemic.

Annotation 2: Figure of Speech: Antithesis

• Definition: Antithesis is demonstrating and expressing contrary ideas in a single sentence. It
is typically used to draw out a difference in meaning that the speaker wants to explore.
• Example: “We waged wars on poverty, not poor people.”
• Explanation: Here McAvoy is trying to demonstrate the America used to be the greatest
country in the world. He is making an argument about the moral standing of the country
and, ultimately, he links that morality to the place of news in citizens’ daily lives. In this
sentence, he is using antithesis to differentiate between poverty and poor people. He is
arguing that the proper/moral approach is to combat poverty, to try to fix that social ill. He
is contrasting that to a current view that he sees as combating poor people, as punishing
people for being poor. Therefore, he is using the figure of Antithesis to create a
differentiation between actions directed at poverty and at poor people.

Annotation 3: Ad Hominem Fallacy

1 I had to use the Web Archive version here because the original GQ article is no longer available.

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 • Definition: An ad hominem fallacy claims that negative aspects of the speaker negates their
arguments. It is generally used to shut down an opposing view point by attacking the other
speaker. It is a fallacy because it does not actually disprove their views.
• Example: “And you—sorority girl—yeah—just in case you accidentally wander into a voting
booth one day, there are some things you should know…”
• Explanation: In this example, McAvoy calls the student asking the question a “sorority girl.”
This is also built on a prejudiced generalization of sorority members as uninformed, which
suggests that the student did not know what she was talking about when she asked her
question. In short, McAvoy shuts down the student’s implicit argument by attacking her as
an uninformed person who shouldn’t be trusted in these kind of matters. This direct attack
on her character furthers his own argument that sets himself up as the smart, informed
person among the dumb masses. Of course, McAvoy is making a poor argument here as he
is basing it on a stereotype and has no idea of the student’s knowledge on the matter.

Annotation 4: Topic of Invention: Antecedent and Consequence

• Definition: Basically, this topic of invention encourages us to think of the things that
naturally flow from an initial situation. It differs from Cause and Effect in that it focuses
more on a temporal relationship or assumed consequence rather than a specific, logical
effect.
• Example: “The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one—America is not
the greatest country in the world anymore.”
• Explanation: McAvoy uses an Antecedent and Consequence approach here by suggesting
that knowledge of the problem will help to fix the problem. There is more of a natural flow
here than we would see in a pure Cause and Effect structure. Rather he is suggesting more
broadly that, by assuming America isn’t the greatest country, we will, collectively, be inclined
to work to see it become the greatest country.