Week 3 | Researching Rhetorically Post #4: Advocate (Project 1)

I’m studying for my English class and need an explanation.

Now that you’ve identified a series of different texts (opinion, informative, and interactive) discussing a topic that is connected to a specific movement or organization, you will look at what that organization or movement says about the topic. Specifically, for Post #4, you will be discussing a “text” that your social movement or organization uses to advocate its beliefs.

For this post, we are thinking about “text” in a broad sense – it does not necessarily have to be a written article (although it could be). For example, depending on whether you chose a social movement or organization, you could look at their protest methods (traffic blocks, die ins, etc), their social media pages, flyers, websites, videos, speeches, etc.

STEP 1: Investigate how the movement or group you’ve been researching communicates its own message. Find a “text” (loosely conceived) that enters the same conversation as the previous 3 texts you chose.

Importantly, make sure the source you choose represents the organization or movement and is not just ABOUT that movement. (For example, in the table on the assignment sheet, the example demonstrates that you could go to the March for Our Lives Youtube channel, not just any Youtube channel that mentions the March. You want to make sure you are analyzing something that that organization wrote or did.)

STEP 2: Analyze this text or series of texts (or actions), using the Guiding Questions for Analyzing Texts that Advocate.

NOTE: These questions are different than the questions for the Rhetorical Summaries in Posts #1, #2, and #3. Also, please post a link to the source you are discussing.

Guiding Questions for Analyzing Texts that Advocate

• • • Analyze the genre, purpose, and audience of the text you’ve chosen. Where is this text published or made public? Who is the specific intended audience? What is the purpose of this text?
    • Rhetorically analyze the text you’ve chosen: What stylistic choices do they make? What content choices? What choices regarding images, layout, etc? How do such choices relate to their rhetorical purpose/s? How are they trying to affect change, attract participants, etc.?
    • How does the genre of this text change its rhetorical choices–for example, the audience, genre, purpose, or the way the text advocates? How is the text different from other sources you looked at?
    • How does the message in this text align or not align with the texts about this movement or organization, or with texts about the topic this organization is advocating for? In other words, what are some connections you notice between this text and the ones you analyzed for Posts #1, #2, and #3? What are some contradictions you have noticed?
    • How does this source use evidence? Is it reliable? Why or why not? What kind of information is given?
    • How does this source participate in a larger conversation with the other sources you looked at?
    • What did you learn from this source that you did not know from the previous sources? Did you learn something new about your movement or organization? In what ways does this source build on or contradict the other sources? How does the genre/medium affect the source’s argument?

Grading Criteria:

• Responds in detail to the specific prompt, including choosing an appropriate text (or texts) to discuss
• Show in-depth engagement with text(s) related to a specific conversation, including thoroughly addressing the provided guiding questions
• Considers how the text’s genre/mode affects the message and rhetorical choices, especially in comparison to the texts analyzed in Posts 1-3.
• Make specific references to the text(s) for support
• The writing is organized and polished showing evidence of audience consideration, and an effective proofreading and editing process.

Rubric

Researching Rhetorically Post 4 Rubric

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