Writing

  Order Description   Format: This is a blog post, not an essay, so the organization can be informal—i.e., headings and bullet points—or short paragraphs. Please submit your blog post as a Word document and not a PDF, to allow for in-text commentary. Due Date: Friday, 6 October via Blackboard Drop Box by 11:59 p.m. Rationale The purpose of this exercise is to help you think further about how the arguments that surround us attempt to persuade. For the first assignment, you were asked to conduct a rhetorical analysis of a published argument. This time, we are asking you to construct a rhetorical piece designed to persuade in an informal blog format. You are expected to apply the rhetorical concepts you have learned thus far to persuade your intended audience or blogosphere. If you are unfamiliar with blogs, you may wish to review some examples of the genre before beginning. Directions Using the rhetorical triangle (presented in Lecture 1), you should identify your intended audience, and ensure that the message, tone, and context of your argument are appropriate for your blog post. Think about what your argument is designed/intended to do? Under what sort of conditions did it arise? To whom is the argument directed? Is the argument clear? Why or why not? Has it been successful? How do you know? How might others respond to the argument (positively and negatively)? What sorts of rebuttals do you anticipate? How have you used logos, pathos, and ethos together within your blog post to persuade? Is your argument overbalanced towards one of these appeals, or are all three represented equally? Resources Your textbook provides excellent, practical advice on assessing and producing persuasive acts, applying the five canons of rhetoric, and preparing/critiquing evidence-based claims, as does Kenneth Burke’s Dramatistic Pentad (presented in week 2) https://rhetorica.net/burke.htm. The checklists provided in the textbook will be useful tools for this exercise, as they will help you think about your chosen arguments multi-dimensionally. Marking Criteria The assignment will be marked according to how adequately the questions above are addressed within your blog post. Essentially, the more developed and balanced your argument is, rhetorically speaking, the better (within the word limit, of course!). You will also be assessed on how well you have incorporated rhetorical concepts learned to date—through the readings, textbook, and class sessions. This work should be a little more rhetorically advanced than the Rhetorical Analysis, utilising the feedback you received on that assignment, and will be evaluated with this in mind. Remember to think critically about how and to whom the argument is presented and how it is attempting to persuade.