This essay is an analysis of the rhetorical elements of a text. To complete the assignment, choose one text from the options and write a 650-750-word formal analysis essay in MLA format. Make sure to use concepts and terms covered in class. The essay is formal, so it’s important to format the essay accordingly. Include a specific and supportable thesis. The thesis statement should argue whether or not the author effectively uses elements of rhetoric to persuade the target audience. You may focus on any of the rhetorical elements discussed in the course, such as audience, situation, form, tone, fallacies, evidence, appeals, etc. For examples of similar essays, please review the sample essays available on Mêskanâs under Supplementary DocumentsSample Essays. In your introduction, you should introduce the text with a signal phrase, include a brief (i.e. – 1-2 sentences) summary of the text, and follow that summary with your thesis statement. Your introductory paragraphs should also describe the target audience of the text. While an analysis essay may include some summarization of the text, it is not a summary. Rather, the goal is to analyze the rhetorical elements of the text and argue whether or not these elements are effective in supporting the author’s arguments and purpose, and ultimately, if the author is successful at persuading the target audience. It’s important to support all of your claims with textual evidence. Claims that are unsupported are weaker and vague. Since the text options are all videos, they are innately multimodal, so it’s important to also consider the effectiveness of the multimodal features. For example, did the text/author skillfully use expression, tone, gestures, music, colour, and/or visual components to deliver the argument?
