“The Art of Persuasion: A Rhetorical Analysis of Lewis Raven Wallace’s ‘The View from Somewhere’”

English 101
Rhetorical Analysis Essay : Writing Guidelines and Information
Overview:  For this essay, you will write a rhetorical analysis of one of the assigned texts.  A rhetorical analysis focuses  on HOW a text presents an argument. Essentially you are analyzing the choices an author makes and judging the effectiveness of those choices.
Basic Requirements: 
The essay should be at least 900 words in length.
Make sure that you have a strong, argumentative thesis statement that clearly lays out what you will discuss in your paper.
Use the scholarly tone for writing a formal paper.
Support your argument with evidence from the text.
Include proper MLA in-text citations and Work(s) Cited page.  Written using MLA format for a formal essay. 
Note:  All work submitted must be original. If you need help understanding plagiarism, please check out some of the material under content or ask me directly.  You can not submit work that has previously been submitted for another class. 
Texts for Rhetorical Analysis: 
Choose one of the following texts from the assigned reading list:
Lewis Raven Wallace’s “The View from Somewhere” (in Chapter 33 of Let’s Talk)
B. “Toastie” Oaster, “How Place Names Impact the Way We See Landscape”
Jodi Kantor, Karen Wiese, and Grace Ashford, “The Amazon that Customers Don’t See” (in Chapter 31 of Let’s Talk)
Swift, “A Modest Proposal”  
Using one of the above texts, construct an argument  concerning whether or not the author is successful in presenting his/her message.     To do this, the first point you must establish is what you consider the purpose of the text.  (You will likely include this in your introduction) Then decide if the text is successful in presenting its message.  Why or why not? What rhetorical techniques does the author use to achieve their goal?  What choices does the author/speaker make in order to reach the audience. 
What steps should you take?
Carefully examine the text (read, listen, or watch – depending on the text).
Determine the context (who, when, where, and why).  This basic information is often presented in the introduction of your essay.  Who is giving the author/speaker?  Who is the audience? When is the speech given?  Where is the speech given?  Why is the speech given?/ What is the purpose of the text/speech ?  What does the speaker/author hope to achieve?
Decide if you think the text is successful.  Did the author/speaker successful achieve his or her purpose?  This will be the foundation of your thesis.  The success (or lack thereof) of the piece is the backbone of your argument.
Examine the CHOICES the author/speaker makes.  Here are some examples of choices: Does the author use ethos?  Does the author use pathos? Does the author use logos?  What word choices does the author make?  What examples does the author give?  Then, consider the effects of these choices on the audience. This is the information that will make up the body paragraphs. How do the author’s choices contribute to the success (or failure) of the text?  Make sure to find quotes/ specific evidence of these choices to use in your paper.    https://nerd.wwnorton.com/nerd/228913/r/goto/cfi/238!/4?control=control-toc