ASSIGNMENT 3
Prompt, Rubric, Template Phrases & Sample Paper
Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies – Prompt & Assignment Options 2
Option 1: Rhetorical Analysis of Food Inc 2
Option 2: present your own analysis/argument 3
Option 3: Applying Strategies (Creative Project) plus Self-Analysis 4
RUBRIC/Peer Review ASSIGNMENT 3 5
Template Sentences for Paper 3 6
Tackling Food Inc. & the Strategies paper – some Notes 7
Sample Student Paper 8
Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies – Prompt & Assignment Options
Option 1: write a 6 page rhetorical analysis of Kenner’s Food Inc., as described below
Option 2: write a shorter, 3 page rhetorical analysis of Kenner’s Food Inc., plus a 3 page analysis/argument from the “Option 2” section described below.
Option 3: write a shorter, 3 page rhetorical analysis of Kenner’s Food Inc., plus a creative text from the “Option 3: Applying Strategies” section described below.
Option 1: Rhetorical Analysis of Food Inc.
Food Inc.is a documentary by Robert Kenner about the politics of industrial food production. The documentary features interviews with writers Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, as well as farmers and "environmental entrepreneurs." The film aims to “lift the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA.” The filmmaker suggests that careful examination of our food system reveals shocking truths about what we eat, how it’s produced, and who we have become as a nation.
For this paper you will analyze rhetorical strategies in Food Inc. You will describe, analyze and explain these strategies, and discuss how they advance the film’s arguments.
Criteria for Evaluation
Successful papers will:
1. accurately describe the authors’ project and argument
2. signal the topic and give a clear indication of how the paper will proceed
3. describe the strategies, provide interpretation and analysis of how the strategies work, and explain why the authors chose to use these strategies (purpose and audience).
4. explain how the strategy/strategies advances the authors’ arguments.
5. present ample evidence to support your analysis of rhetorical strategies
6. use an effective structure that carefully guides the reader from one idea to the next and be thoroughly edited so that sentences are readable and appropriate for an academic paper
Common strategies: metadiscourse, ethos pathos, logos, rebuttals, analogies, definitions, word choice, framing devices, imagery, use of symbolism and icons; selection, presentation, and framing of evidence; use of story, metaphor, and metonymy; music, lighting, scene selection, shot type and angle; use of light and
Option 2: present your own analysis/argument
1. Judge a debate tournament and write an account of the experience
Californian high schools will be coming to San Diego State for a debate competition, Friday through Sunday, April 15-17. There will be about 1500 competitors, and they need judges. Any student 18 or over qualifies to judge, and they'll get some training. You can find more about the tournament, and sign up to be a judge athttp://www.cahssa.org/.
You will be asked to assess the strength of claims, arguments, evidence, and refutation strategies. The extra credit work consists of judging a debate, and completing a short write-up of the experience in which you explain why you chose the winner.
2. Analyze a fast food restaurant menu
Compose an analysis of a restaurant’s menu and examine the strategies used. Consider how the menu invites you to think about the food, how it was produced, the eating experience, the values and reputation of the restaurant, the customers, etc. Questions that may help you compose your analysis:
· What kind of reputation does the restaurant have? What elements of the menu support or undermine that reputation?
· Who are the customers? What assumptions doe the menu make about your values, beliefs, desires?
· How are images used in the menu? What fonts are used? What design choices can you identify? Can you spot stories or cultural narratives? What is the combined effect of these elements?
Where does the menu suggest the food comes from? What does it suggest about the way the food was prepared?
· What story does the menu tell about how food should be eaten – is eating about having fun, connecting with friends and family, being healthy, helping the environment, saving money, participating in a cultural experience, etc.
3. Enter the food politics debate and compose your own argument
Watch (or read the transcript) one of the debates below. Compose your own 2 -3 page argument that summarizes the debate, describes who you most agree with and why, presents what you think are the best claim(s), deals with objections, and states why we should care. For help with this, see Graff’s “How to Write an Argument: What Students and Teachers Really Need to Know (from Clueless in Academe, How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind, Yale U. Press, 2004). http://faculty.up.edu/asarnow/212/GraffHow%20to%20Write%20an%20ArgumentFall2010.htm
Argument Topic #1: “Organic Food is Just Marketing hype”
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/index.php/past-debates/organic-food-is-marketing-hype/
Transcript: http://intelligencesquaredus.org/wp-content/uploads/Organic-041310.pdf
Argument Topic #2 “Genetically modified Food is Good for Us” (IQ Squared U.K. – you have to join the web site to see the video of the debate.) http://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/gm-crops-are-good-for-us
Argument Topic #3: Debating GM foods http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Genetically_modified_foods
Option 3: Applying Strategies (Creative Project) plus Self-Analysis
Length = dependent on genre (if you are unsure, talk to me.)
You will compose a written or visual/digital/multimedia text that addresses a topic related to the themes explored in Confessions, plus a 1-2 page self-analysis of the rhetorical choices you made.
Below is a list of ideas, but I invite you to come up with your own. The list includes both visual and written rhetoric to give you some options depending on your comfort level and technical skill. I will ask you to submit a prospectus for this project. Group projects are possible – see me.
Sample Ideas:
1. Take one scene depicted in the documentary and rewrite it as a play.
2. Write a pitch to a movie producer about your intention to adapt the documentary into a feature film. In this pitch, you should identify how your movie would change given the new genre and which actors and actresses you would be interested in casting.
3. Compose an op-ed for the Daily Aztec (or some other publication you read) that makes an argument about one of the issues addressed in the film.
4. Compose a speech to an organization or person you are familiar with (your high school, the boy scouts, your fraternity, the CA senate, a politician, etc.) in which you discuss a topic mentioned in the film and try to persuade the group/person to see things your way/take action.
5. Imagine the movie was being remade by a different author – say Oprah Winfrey, Michael Moore, Friedman, or the “in Plain English” company. Rewrite a section of the text, or imagine how it could be translated to a different format.
6. Create a campus campaign linked to one of the claims in Food Inc. What specific change(s) do you want to see happen? Identify an audience for your campaign. What does this audience care about? What concerns, interests, or objections might this audience in association with the desired change? What media choices will you make? What music, colors, claims, images, or evidence will you use to appeal to this specific audience? Your group presentation will include analysis of why you made these particular choices.
7. Take one scene depicted in the documentary and rewrite it as a play/movie.
8. Create two political cartoons that address themes in the movie, each adopting a different perspective.
9. Suggest your own topic.
Self-Analysis
Compose a self-analysis in which you describe how you utilized strategies in your project. How did this new genre/depiction change from the original? What was your purpose and who was your audience? What specific effects were you going for? What specific strategies did you use and how did that help your argument?
RUBRIC/Peer Review ASSIGNMENT 3
Reviewed By______Person Being Reviewed
Your grade reflects your ability to: 1 -- 10
■ Introduces topic/gets reader’s attention. Describes rhetorical situation:who is Kenner, what is his project, and what is the overall argument
made in Food Inc.
■ Statement of purpose - clearly signals to your reader what you plan to discuss
in your paper and how you’ll present/organize your analysis.
■ Introduces 1st strategy to be analyzed OR 1st claim & strategy supporting it
■ Identifies the strategy, and provides quotes/scene descriptions demonstrating
the strategy exists
■ Selects the best quotations/elements to show the strategy exists
■ Uses quotations that are fully introduced, integrated, explained and cited
■ Critically discusses 2 or more strategies in Food Inc.
■ Focuses on fine-grained analysis NOT description/summary
■Explains WHAT these strategies are, and presents evidence to support their existence.
■Explains HOW they work, WHY they are chosen, and WHAT they are used to
achieve. What effects do they have, and how effective are they? How
do they persuade, and how do they advance the argument?
■ Explains how the strategies support or advance a specific claim
■ Uses an effective structure that smoothly guides the reader from one idea to
the next. Your careful attention to transitioning and topic sentences will be considered here.
■ Creates cohesive, focused, fully developed sentences/paragraphs
Have thoroughly edited your paper so that sentences are readable and
appropriate for an academic audience. Adhere to MLA format, grammar,
and sentence structure.
Thoughtfully and eloquently conclude your discussion. Discuss the
effectiveness and the significance of Kenner’s project, OR present your own
perspective/position on the issue, OR connect the movie to your own
experience
Comments/suggestions/main things to work on
ASSIGNMENT #3: ANALYZING STRATEGIES
Name: Grade:
Your grade reflects your ability to: Strong Satisfactory Needs Imp.
Accurately and effectively introduce and contextualize Food Inc.--the project and argument in your introduction.Clearly signal to your reader what you plan to discuss in your paper and hint how you’ll present/organize your analysis.
Accurately describe and explain Food Inc’s key claims and their relationship to the overall argument. Demonstrate a critical comprehension of the argument.
Critically discuss 2 or more strategies in Food Inc. Explain WHAT these strategies are, and present evidence to support their existence. Explain HOW they work, WHY they are chosen, and WHAT they are used to achieve. What effects do they have, and how effective are they? How do they persuade, and how do they advance the argument?
Effectively use quotes or scene descriptions from the documentary to support your analysis. Adequately introduce, correctly cite, and effectively comment on quotes.
Use an effective structure that smoothly guides the reader from one idea to the next. Your careful attention to transitioning and topic sentences will be considered here.
Have thoroughly edited your paper so that sentences are readable and appropriate for an academic audience. Adhere to MLA format, grammar, and sentence structure.
Thoughtfully and eloquently conclude your discussion. Discuss the effectiveness and the significance of Kenner’s project.
Demonstrate a strong command of the written language. Voice and style will be considered here.
Other comments:
Template Sentences for Paper 3
Introduction + overview of your project
“A Rhetorical strategy is a particular way in which authors craft language so as to have an effect on readers. Strategies are means of persuasion, ways of using language to get readers’ attention, interest, or agreement. It is important to be able to identify these strategies so as to…”
“In my paper I will begin by briefly describing the project and argument made by…”
“I will then identify and examine some of the rhetorical strategies used by…Next, I will present an explanation of these strategies, explaining how they work and why they are used…Finally, I will conclude my paper with a discussion of the significance of these authors’ work [or] a comparison of their use of rhetorical strategies.”
Project and Argument Statements: “In article X, Tannen, professor of linguistics at…investigates Y… Tannen’s project is A, or as she puts it “B, C and D.” Tannen uses several primary methods to achieve this, most notably E, F and G…”
“Tannen’s central argument is H, or as she puts it, “Bla bla bla.” Tannen claims X is the case/advances argument Y/asserts Z.”
Rhetorical Strategies: “Chua uses a number of rhetorical strategies throughout her text. However, I will focus on J and K, which appear in her discussion of L…”
“A clear example of this strategy occurs on page iv, when Chua states… This strategy works by doing C…it is effective because it does K…it has the effect of P… Why engage such a strategy? Chua chooses this strategy in order to…”
“A second example of this rhetorical strategy is…”
Conclusion: “The significance of Chua’s project can be discerned in F…She stresses the importance of Y, and argues that insufficient attention has been paid to Z…Chua claims that it is crucial that X… This paper demonstrates the value of H, and how by paying close attention to the way authors do J we can see T…”
Tackling Food Inc. & the Strategies paper – some Notes
The following are some ideas to get you thinking about how you might approach the assignment.
You can focus on a strategy and how it is used across parts of the movie, or you can look at one segment or section in detail and examine how several strategies are used to advance a point or have an effect. For example, you could examine the way music and sound effects are used as commentary, or as a kind of “Greek chorus” throughout the movie. You could look at the way music is used to contrast industrial farming with the alternative farms shown – for example, with Joel Salatin and Polyface farms (the “cowboy philosopher” wearing a straw hat and suspenders). Alternatively, you could focus just on the end, and the “call to action” the movie makes, and consider the strategies used, and how this advances the movie’s goals/claims.
Possible strategies/sections to examine
You could examine “Kevin’s Story,” and the way pathos is used to move the reader to care about a potentially dry issue – food safety regulations. Consider how Kevin’s story is told, and the role it plays in advancing key claims. For example, you could consider the use of music, or home video footage from the holiday the family took, just before Kevin died. Consider how images of him playing in the water are juxtaposed with the story of his experience in hospital where he suffered acutely from being denied water. What details about the family are revealed, and why?