Understanding rhetoric

Length: 2-2.5 pages
MLA Format
Word Document or Rich Text Format (RTF).

Objective:
Write an essay that shows your understanding of rhetoric.

Method:
We have learned to ask the question: "What point does this make?" This could apply to a visual image, essay, articles, blogs, and websites. We also analyze the point by addressing its rhetorical context; in other words, when making the point, how does an author/institution appeal to its audience, credibility, and argument?

For this paper, you are to look at the attention given to a recent popular news story. This could be political, entertainment, sports, etc.

As you write, begin with these steps:

- Go to Google News or a news source you frequent and google a topic for the most recent news. Study the various websites and choose at least three articles on the same topic to thoroughly analyze.
- Create an argument as to why the story is the continued focus of the media. Your introduction should give a brief overview or background of your topic that leads to your thesis.

- Your body paragraphs should consider who the audience is. How do the media get the attention of the audience? Watch out for writing, "anyone who's interested..." Instead, be specific about who you think the target audience is. Think of the use of pathos here.

- When writing about the ethos of a news site, question why an audience is interested in the source(s) writing the story. Are the sources or authors credible? How so? How is ethos being utilized?

- As you think about logos, what is the media presenting about either one of these stories? What type of evidence do they provide? What strategies do they use to maintain an audience's interest?
- Conclude with an overview of your ideas or wrap up your ideas that you have presented in your body paragraphs. You may include your final thoughts about the topic as well, but resist adding any new information that hasn't already been discussed.

When writing your argument, the focus is not on what you think about the story. It is not whether you have issues with domestic abuse, morality, single parenthood, or the rise and fall of sports figures. The question you need to answer is why there is such a continued interest with the particular story you choose and how/why do the sources continue to print the stories.