This assignment aims to analyze a persuasive message(s)
using principles from the theory and research literature on persuasion. You
must use sources beyond the course textbooks to identify the message strategies
and conceptual rationale. For instance, you might analyze a persuasive message
that uses direct mail to solicit funds to support a charity. You might explore
a website that asks voters to support some cause. You might analyze newspaper
or television advertisements for a politician running for public office. You
might study a sales presentation to sell a product, etc. There are many
possible persuasive messages to choose from, but you should think about your
choice in terms of the materials we have covered in the course. If you
have any questions about the appropriateness of your selection, I am happy to
discuss and make suggestions.
Your paper should be at least ten pages long, including
references. This paper may fulfill Fulbright College’s “Senior
Writing Requirement” for Communication and Interdisciplinary Studies
majors. However, you may choose to write the paper even if
you are not using it to meet the Senior Writing Requirement (e.g., you want to
use Option #1 in the grading requirements).
The persuasive message(s) you analyze must illustrate what
Gass and Seiter identify as a “pure case” of persuasion. In your
paper, you should identify and describe the persuasive message(s) you selected
to analyze. Second, you should discuss the persuasive strategies in the
message(s) by applying theories and research from the scholarly literature.
The paper must be researched from materials beyond the required course
readings. Finally, you should draw any conclusions that you think are
important. You should look at the attached rubric and ask whether your
paper meets the criteria listed. Your paper must contain or refer to the
persuasive message(s) you selected in considerable detail. Here is a general
framework for your paper (you may modify this as appropriate):
Page #1: Title Page (Should identify what your paper
is about)
Page #2: Introduction (to what your paper is about, is
this a “pure” instance of persuasion, a thesis statement)
Pages #3-#8+: Identify 3-4 persuasive strategies
employed in the message (or messages) and provide a brief review of some of the
relevant research on each strategy)
Page #9: Summary and conclusions
Page #10 & #11: A Bibliography listing the
sources you cited in your paper. You may use any standard
Style Manuals for guidance in formatting your paper. I encourage you to
look closely at the Gass and Seiter Book as a model for constructing sentences
and citing research.
The overall paper grade has two parts. First, your persuasive message analysis
is evaluated based on its sophistication, richness, creativity, and application
of the research literature. Second, your paper is graded based on writing
style and clarity
