WP 2
PROMPT
For this project, you will examine multiple texts and the arguments made within them about the notion of ethos . In addition, you will synthesize these competing arguments about ethos into a single definition. We will use this synthesized understanding of ethos as the lens for this assignment, and we will apply it to the arguments made by a single individual about a current social, political, economic, or cultural issue. By applying this lens, your goal is to develop an argument that demonstrates whether the selected individual should or should not be perceived as a credible speaker on the issue.
Minimun of 6 sources
2 important figures
9 pages MLA
1.
Introduction
Relevant to credibility
Provide reader with understanding of what you hope to achieve in essay
statement of purpose and thesis
2.
BODY (1)
LITERATURE REVIEW o exploring Aristotle’s, Fox’s, McIntyre and McKee’s, and Metzger and
Flanagin’s respective arguments about ethos.
o Using chronological order, you will review these different notions of credibility, emphasizing how Aristotle’s definition of ethos has been maintained but also modified over two millennia o pinpoint key characteristics of each rhetor’s definition of ethos.
Create own definition of ethos o Feature modern understanding, definition that minimizes political or ideological bias
3.
BODY (2)
CHOSEN FIGURES o introduce the selected figure/organization, emphasizing this individual’s/group’s significance within American society (or its contextrelevant society).
o using a combination of texts generated by this figure since the beginning of
2015 (speeches, interviews, written arguments, and social media postings), provide a brief account of that person’s attitude toward relevant social, cultural, economic, and/or political issues addressed in those texts o From there, apply the previously established definition of ethos to develop your own argument, one that contends that this figure should OR should
not be defined or characterized as credible. Use textual evidence from the figure’s arguments to support your work.
4.
CONCLUSION
you are expected to consider why everyday Americans should be concerned with this topic o Are there certain deficiencies or shortcomings with certain lenses in use in
American society today—how?
Why should Americans be more concerned with issues involving credibility?
