In an essay of at least 500 words, break down and critically analyze the rhetorical style/structure of Sara Clemence’s “My Fellow Americans, Let’s Be Better Tourists (it is also available as a PDF here). Examine such issues as audience (who is Clemence’s audience [typical NY Times reader?], how does she try to situate and persuade her audience, and why does she employ a certain type of rhetorical style to do so?), use of Aristotelian appeals (what kind of ethos does Clemence construct for herself in the essay and why; how does she employ pathos-based and logos-based moves to try to engage the audience?), use of rhetorical moves (what moves does she favor and to what ends?), and essay structure and tone (why does she position material in certain places; what kind of overarching sensibilities/attitudes does she subscribe to throughout and how does she intend the audience to receive these?). You are not required to cover all of these issues; quite frankly, in an essay of 500 words, you would not be able to even if you tried. Limit yourself to one or perhaps two of these categories (if you choose two, make sure that you develop a tight bridge between one and the other, i.e. audience and use of logos; rhetorical moves and ethos; so on), and spend your entire essay critically analyzing the relationship between your analytical focus(es) and the overall rhetorical style/structure of Clemence’s essay. Create a controlling idea (thesis) for the entire piece, and controlling ideas (topic sentences) for the body paragraphs. Moreover, include an introduction, at least two body paragraphs of four to five sentences each, and a conclusion. Make certain to develop your ideas with support sentences and specific details (you should cite and comment on material from the Clemence’s essay in order to further your analysis).
Considerations:
As with other major assignments, the document must be submitted in doc or pdf format.
Do not write a summary of Clemence’s article. I’ve read it; I do not need a summary. Make sure that your essay–from start to finish–is based in analysis of some of the Clemence’s rhetoric (see the prompt for possible analytical approaches).
Do not craft an essay agreeing or disagreeing with Clemence’s position. Whether you like or dislike her contentions has little bearing on the objectives of the assignment. Focus your analytical attention, instead, on aspects of her rhetoric (again, see the prompt for possible analytical approaches).
Note: This article was chosen for no other reason than its conduciveness to the purpose (rhetorical analysis) of the assignment.
