Rhetorical Analysis Essay Assignment Sheet
When writing a rhetorical analysis, it is your job to determine the writer/speaker’s effectiveness
given their particular rhetorical situation. You are NOT giving your opinion on the subject matter (AIDS,
for example) or telling me if you agree/disagree with what the author says. What you ARE doing is
arguing whether or not you feel the writer’s use of rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos) are
effective for the writer’s audience.
Your THESIS for this paper should answer the question, “Is Fisher’s use of rhetorical appeals
effective given the rhetorical situation?” In order to answer this question, you should set your paper up
in the following way:
1) Introduction Paragraph: describe the rhetorical situation of Fisher’s speech, with special
attention paid to who the speaker’s audience is and the history surrounding the speech. End
your introduction with your thesis, which states your argument and answers the question
above. Your thesis is an argument—you must clearly state whether or not Fisher’s appeals
effectively convince her audience.
2) Body Paragraphs: Your body paragraphs need to answer the following questions:
a. How does the writer use logos in the speech? Is the writer’s use of logos effective
and/or appropriate for the rhetorical situation and for the given audience? Why/why
not? Cite specific examples from the text.
b. How does the writer use pathos in the speech? Is the writer’s use of pathos effective
and/or appropriate for the rhetorical situation and for the given audience? Why/why
not? Cite specific examples from the text.
c. How does the writer establish his or her credibility? Give SPECIFIC examples (quotes)
that show the writer is establishing him/herself as an authority, or is providing a fair and
balanced argument. Explain why this is effective/not effective for the rhetorical
situation and the given audience.
3) Conclusion: Restate your thesis. Summarize your main points and explain why your argument is
important. This is the last thing I will read before I give you a grade. This is NOT a throw-away
paragraph.
Format:
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Typed, Times New Roman, size 12, double-spaced, 1 inch margins
Correct heading
Correct header that includes your last name and page number (must also be in Times New
Roman size 12)
Interesting title
No 1st or 2nd person
3-4 pages in length
Includes a work cited page that correctly lists your speech
All quotes are appropriately introduced and cited within the body of the paper
Concise, academic language: no “huge,” “giant,” “bad,” “good”, “stuff” or “things”
Timeline for Essay:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
11/4
-Introduce essay
assignment and
rubric
-Begin work on
outline
11/5
-Go to library to
get Wide Reading
Selection 2
-Work on outline
in class
11/6
-MLA format and
integrating quotes
workshop
11/9
-MLA Format and
integrating quotes
quiz
11/11
-Rough Draft due
-Peer Review Day
11/12
-Those Crazy
Pronouns!
workshop
11/13
-Those Crazy
Pronouns!
workshop
continued
11/8
-Outline due
-Finish MLA
format and
integrating quotes
workshop; review
Works Cited pages
11/14
-Final copy of
Rhetorical
Analysis essays
due
-Wide Reading
day?
11/18
-Half of Wide
Reading
annotations due
- Begin
Frankenstein
11/15
-Those Crazy
Pronouns! quiz
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Rubric
Criteria
Content:
 Effectively and accurately explains rhetorical situation _____/15
 Effectively identifies examples of logos, pathos, and ethos
______/6
 Explains effectiveness of rhetorical appeals in relation to the
rhetorical situation ______/40
 Uses clear, well-explained quotes from the text to illustrate
rhetorical appeals ______/34
 Thesis: clear, concise, addresses the overall effectiveness of the
speech given the rhetorical situation ______/5
Organization:
 Introduction and conclusion are present and effective; thesis is in
the correct position ______/10
 Paragraph unity and coherence: everything in the paragraph fits
together and appropriate transitions are used between examples
______/20
 Precise topic sentences begin every paragraph ______/10
MLA/Use of Sources*
 PERFECT work cited page ______/5
 Effective quotation integration _______/10
 Correct in-text citation format _______/5
 All material that needs to be cited is cited ______/5
*Any instances of egregious plagiarism will result in an automatic 0 for
the entire assignment
Style/Voice
 Concise language that avoids throw-away words (good, bad)
______/5
 Maintains an academic tone/avoids slang and clichés ______/10
 Contains NO 1st or 2nd person references ______/10
MUGS (mechanics, usage, grammar, and spelling)
 Author uses spell check and grammar check functions on Word
 No fragments, run-ons, or comma splices
 Comma usage PERFECTION
 Does not begin sentences with coordinating conjunctions
 Uses the parenthetical expression “however” in an appropriate
way
Total
Points
Possible
100
40
25
25
10
200
Your Points