Rhetorical+Analysis+Essay


 * Speech Rhetorical Analysis **

You must choose a famous speech to analyze. If you don’t have one in mind, you can start browsing the American Rhetoric website. They have transcripts of the most famous speeches in history. Make sure you choose someone/a topic that is interesting to you. You will also want to make sure that a transcript is available of the speech. It is also helpful to have video/audio available, but that is not always possible.

THE ONLY SPEECH YOU CANNOT DO IS MLK, Jr's I Have a Dream Speech. It's been analyzed so many times, it's too easy to cheat.

Analysis: (minimum one paragraph PER bullet)
 * Besides an intro/conclusion, you will need to address the following:
 * Brief **background** of the speaker and the speech, **the purpose** of the speech and a **brief summary.**
 * Locate and analyze the **Ethos, Pathos, Logos** used in the speech.
 * Locate and analyze the **rhetorical devices** used in the speech.
 * **Evaluate the speaker’s effectiveness**: Based on the use of rhetorical devices, was the speech effective? Did it accomplish its goal?
 * **Extra Credit:** Analyze the speaker’s public speaking ability: volume, inflection, enunciation, rate, eye contact, gestures, visual aids, etc.

Here's a link to a sample rhetorical analysis of MLK's Jr's I Have A Dream Speech. It doesn't exactly follow the format, but it's a good example of analyzing devices.

All sources, even the one you obtained the speech from, must be cited in MLA format. If you are not familiar with MLA format, you need to check out the resources located on Purdue’s OWL website AND Easybib.

This paper must be submitted via Google Docs to ebuckhold@constps.org AND to Turn It In (we'll sign up for this Thursday) by midnight on Sunday, March 23rd.

Here are the instructions for creating an account, adding a class, and submitting your paper to TurnItIn.com. This must also be done by Sunday at midnight.