Assignment #6

Frankly, my feelings on rhetorical analysis aren’t that positive. I don’t see why anybody would care on what strategies and appeals to emotion are used to convince the reader and/or audience that the author’s argument is either effective or ineffective. I have never read an actual rhetorical analysis. I don’t see where people need them to judge an author’s argument. I am not saying that rhetoric isn’t used, because that is most definitely not the case as rhetoric is all around us and it is second nature to us that we hardly even recognize it.

When writing my paper, I was all burned out because I thought it was going to be extremely difficult. But when Mr. Keeley suggested that I find a quote that uses rhetoric and then I simply ask myself the question on why this quotation is effective at convincing my audience that the argument is successful. This made my paper that much easier to write. I would go over my paper asking myself that why question and that would not only help me lengthen my paper as well as give it a more in depth analysis. At the end, my paper was longer than the requirements and I had to edit parts out that either weren’t as strong or that didn’t apply best to the argument.

Some things that I gained from this assignment that I more than likely wouldn’t have learned elsewhere was recognizing what exactly rhetoric is and how it is used to convince various audiences on different persuasive topics. I was able to use this skill to write my paper.

This assignment has helped me recognize all of the rhetoric that is going on in the world. With the election coming up, various parties are trying to persuade the audience (or potential voters) who are the best candidates for leading and guiding our country. This also applies in ads, whether they be on the television, internet, or anywhere else people are trying to sell products to potential consumers. If I want a job, I need to do my best to persuade my employer that I am the best person for the job and I need to appeal to certain emotions the person that is interviewing me to sell myself. By studying the most effective ways of rhetoric, I have a better chance at landing a job that I am interested in and would love to have. I also see rhetoric often used in the media. If a news station like a university more than another, they will promote them on commercials or even on their newscasts. This is seen in Utah with KSL and ABC 4. KSL likes Brigham Young University while ABC 4 is most interested in the University of Utah. This persuades viewers to like the university that is being advertised more by their favorite news station.

However, all in all I thought that this assignment wasn’t that helpful to me. I think that another assignment could better help me throughout my college years. But I am glad to have finished it and looking head to the research paper or whatever assignment is coming up next.