For this essay, you will write a paper in which you will analyze a public advocacy speech on an issue of importance to you. Using the concepts learned in class, the papers will be evaluated based on the ability to use the terms correctly (providing both an accurate definition of each term and a correct application) as well as based on professional and correct writing style.
Select a speech to analyze. Locate a speech regarding a civic issue of importance to you. Be certain that the source of the text is credible, consider using websites such as American Rhetoric.com. It is important that you pick a speech in which there is a clear message, audience, and call to action.
Analyze your chosen speech as an advocacy argument and write an essay about the writer’s effectiveness considering the context in which and audience to which they were delivered. Identify and explore the following aspects:
Advocate:
Who is the speaker and what group is the speaker advocating on behalf of?
What is the collective identity of the group and what is the position of the speaker in regards to this?
What is the historical context of the issue?
Message:
What is the message? Is it actionable?
What is the claim, evidence, warrant?
What persuasive techniques are used? Ethos, Pathos, Logos?
How was language used or misused?
What fallacies are utilized? Carefully consider the author’s deliberate manipulation of language.
Audience:
Who is the audience and what is their collective identity? Consider concepts such as privilege, stereotypes, etc.
What is the audience’s position in regards to the issue and the advocacy group.
