Analyzing
A Position
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Workshop handouts
for this assignment
Instructor evaluation sheet
for this assignment
In this speech you will
perform a rhetorical analysis of one article from the Conversations reader
(please exclude fiction articles and the first four articles we will read
together). You will have specific presentation goals well as rhetorical goals.
The rhetorical goals will make up the content of the speech, the presentation
goals will help you formulate the speech and deliver it. After you select
your article, you must examine it thoroughly.
Your rhetorical goal is
to analyze an argument by identifying:
- The Author - Who is
speaking? From what perspective do they speak? What information do we gain
by knowing about the author? What Persona is adopted?
- The Audience - To whom
does the author wish to speak? To whom is the author actually speaking?
- The Situation or Exigence
in which the article is written - What is occurring (going on in the world)
to provoke the writing?
- The Purpose of the
Article - Why has the article been written? What is it that the author is
trying to accomplish?
- The Major Claim - What
is the central claim of your specific article? Is it a fact, value, or policy
claim or some combination of these?
- The Major Supporting
Arguments - What claims and arguments prop up and contribute to the central
claim of the article?
- Argument Structure
- How is the material organized? Where is emphasis provided?
- Tone - What is the
author's attitude toward the subject and toward the audience?
Please notice these goals
call for you to describe a text. You are NOT to present an evaluation of the
article; that will come later. For now, your job is to take apart your one
article and faithfully represent it as it has been written.
Presentation Goals:
- Clearly identify the
purpose of your speech, without relying upon saying "The purpose of
this speech is to … ".
- Focus on maintaining
a comfortable posture and using comfortable gestures.
- Analyze the audience
to whom you are speaking. While you will not directly tell us about your
audience analysis in your speech, the work that you have done here should
be apparent in your speech construction and delivery.
The Details:
- This speech is to be
3 to 5 minutes long.
- You will use a key
word outline for your presentation.
- No visual aid is required
for this speech.
On the final presentation
day, please bring three things:
- All your materials
from the first workshop (answers and sheet)
- The outline and workshop
sheet from the second workshop
- The final outline of
the speech (2 copies).
