Assignment Description

Make sure to read the attached documents for more detailed information about this assignment.

When you write an argument, you are faced with a number of rhetorical choices; you have to decide which arguments will be most effective in persuading your audience and what kind of language is most appropriate for them. If you decided to convert your written argument into an electronic argument (i.e. a website or other web document), you would be faced with a multitude of additional rhetorical choices. You would have to consider what images might work best with your argument. You must decide what color scheme would best complement your tone and style.  You should ask yourself if you should include links to other sites and what those sites suggest about your own ethos.

In this assignment, you will examine a website and the choices made by its creator; in other words, you will be writing a rhetorical analysis of a website. While analyzing the website, you must create an argument to show how the creator’s visual design choices affect the author’s ability to effectively reach his/her audience.

In your essay, you might focus your claim around one of the following questions (these are examples and should not limit what you might argue):

• What is the purpose of the website and did it succeed in achieving its goals?  What elements in the design and text either helped it succeed or kept it from doing so?
• Does the website claim to be for one audience but really speak to another?  Is this a failure on the part of the website?
• Does the website include content that contradicts or undermines its overall claim?  How does this affect the website’s ability to achieve the author’s purpose?

You should not pick just any website for this assignment. You must pick a website that advocates a particular point of view; rather than a social networking or shopping website, you should choose a website that is clear in its purpose to persuade. You do NOT have to pick a website that is necessarily credible; addressing the ethos of the writer might be something you need to address in your analysis to show why the website lacks credibility. The following website.

https://www.womankind.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/women’s-rights/facts-about-women’s-rights

this is the website!!

Minimum Requirements

Length: 3-5 pages, not including the Works Cited page. Style: Essay needs to conform to MLA standards, including double spacing in Times New Roman font, and must include a Works Cited page with correct in-text (parenthetical) citations for all quotes, paraphrases, and/or summaries. Sources: Two outside sources are required in addition to your website, for a total of three sources. 

Purpose and Learning Objectives

Your rhetorical analysis should demonstrate the following learning objectives:

• Awareness of the audience to whom you are speaking
• Ability to enter into a scholarly conversation
• Awareness of the purpose of your claim
• Ability to analyze, interpret, and think critically
• Ability to use critical thinking and analysis in order to uncover how a text is created
• Ability to analyze culture and society through analysis
• Ability to write a qualified and narrow argumentative thesis statement
• Ability to write and organize paragraphs with topic sentences, evidence, explanations, and analyses
• Ability to synthesize information from various sources
• Ability to craft an argument with different types of relevant, credible, and detailed support
• Ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote while citing correctly in MLA to avoid plagiarism
• Ability to converse in standard, academic English

Sample Rhetorical Analysis Outline

The following outline provides an example of what you should include in the outline for your rhetorical analysis.

Keep in mind that you do NOT have to use the same elements as those listed in this outline. Focus on what stands out in the website you have chosen to analyze. You may need to include multiple examples in each paragraph. Your organization should be based on the components of the website you have chosen to analyze.

Outline

I. Introduction

A. Grab your readers’ attention with a piece of shocking information about the issue in your website: According to PETAkillsaminals.com, PETA is responsible for the death of 36,000 animals in the past two decades.

B. Introduce the issue more broadly: PETA is well-known for their extreme campaigns to stop violence against animals. However, the Center for Consumer Freedom believes that PETA actually does harm against the animals they claim to protect.

C. Introduce the website: PETAkillsanimals.com was created by the Center for Consumer Freedom to highlight what they are believe are negative aspects of this animal advocacy group.

D. State your thesis: The creators of the website create a compelling and convincing argument through their emotional visuals, language, and logical appeals; however, upon closer scrutiny, a careful reader will find that they lack strong evidence and rely on logical fallacies.

II. Description of Website

A. Give necessary background info: give description of who the publisher is and what they are known for.

B. Define any necessary terms/concepts: Give any necessary background on the history of your site. Define any terms needed to understand what the argument in the site addresses.

C. Identify the audience: Be specific about who this website targets.

D. Sum up the website’s ultimate goal: Describe what the website is ultimately trying to achieve.

III. Major Point of Analysis 1

A. Topic Sentence: The website first grabs our attention through the use of negative visual elements.

B. Example 1: Colors with negative associations like red and black

C. Description of example: background is black making the site very dark; much of the text is red

D. Effect of this design choice on audience: Together these colors create a menacing affect. According to The Bourne Creative, black is often associated with mourning, death, and sadness in Western cultures. Red is an assertive and intense color. While both of these colors can have various associations, it’s clear that this site uses them to be aggressive and menacing.

E. Example 2: Sad images of dogs

F. Description of example: the image of the dog on the video on the first screen you see after entering the site, background images of people in Hazmat suits holding dead dogs

G. Effect of this design choice on audience: people have strong emotional attachment to dogs, so they feel sad. They may feel angered when they realize the humans are hurting these dogs. The use of the Hazmat suits creates a sense of paranoia and fear of widespread harm.

H. Closing sentences: The use of menacing colors and depressing images ultimately makes the viewer uncomfortable while viewing the site. Because of this discomfort, they are likely to jump to more negative conclusions without thinking though the argument. Their anger will cause them to react quickly instead of thoughtfully.

IV. Major Point of Analysis 2

A. Topic Sentence: The language in the website is used to reinforce the negative tone created by the images.

B. Example 1: warning elements to create anticipation and anxiety in the viewer

C. Description of example: the website opens with a warning that the viewer must click to enter.

D. Effect of this design choice on audience: Creates tension, sets a negative tone, audience expects to be angered or disturbed.

E. Example 2: strong negative language used throughout the site

F. Description of example: links titled “PETA’s Lame Defense,” “PETA’s Dirty Tactics,” and “PETA’s Radical Agenda”

G. Effect of this design choice on audience: words like lame, dirty and radical all have negative associations. Explain each one.

H. Closing sentences: These textual elements work together with the visuals to ensure the reader is primed to feel anger and discomfort as they view the site. They may no longer react rationally because their emotions will take over.

V. Major Point of Analysis 3

A. Topic Sentence: Once the creators have put their viewers in an angry mindset, they add statistics and sources to convince viewers their anger is justified; they appeal to logic to achieve this goal.

B. Example 1: statistics

C. Description of example: “PETA has killed more than 36,000 animals since 1998” on first page. “The Evidence” link includes a chart with additional statistics on animals killed.

D. Effect of this design choice on audience: The high number is shocking to the viewer and makes them consider how they may have supported a group that they knew nothing about.

E. Example 2: citing strong sources

F. Description of example: documents from Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

G. Effect of this design choice on audience: The reputation of this department creates a compelling argument to trust this website. The reader can click on the links to see the actual documents so the reader may be convinced that this argument is valid

H. Closing sentences: The creators of the website know that they cannot rely on anger alone to spur the viewers to action so they strengthen their claims with statistics which have the reputation for being unbiased and objective. Combined with the use of a strong source, these logical appeals help convince the audience they are not simply reacting out of anger, but out of reason.

VI. Major Point of Analysis 4

A. Topic Sentence: While the choice of visuals, text, and logical appeals may be convincing to many viewers, critical readers will begin to notice logical fallacies and other issues with the argument.

B. Example 1: logical fallacies

C. Description of example: The sources are limited to one state. PETA is a world-wide organization. Using statistics from one state creates a hasty generalization fallacy.

D. Effect of this choice on audience: Critical readers understand that strong arguments will consider diverse and comprehensive evidence. Such limited evidence should cause the reader to question the argument in the site.

E. Example 2: lack of updated information

F. Description of example: the report that the site links to is dated 2010; there’s no strong evidence from later years.

G. Effect of this choice on audience: Like the previous issue, this is very limited information. It’s possible there was a situation in Virginia in 2010 that led to the necessity of PETA killing animals at their shelters. The reader doesn’t have enough current information to trust the site.

H. Closing sentences: A critical reader will carefully consider these limits to the argument and question whether they should really trust this site.

VII. Conclusion

A. Reaffirm thesis: While PETAkillsanimals.com is a well-designed site to achieve the author’s goals, critical evaluation shows issues with their argument.

B. Consider larger implications: The website demonstrates the importance of examining arguments critically. Many arguments may “sound” or “look” good but lack a concrete rationale. As consumers of web media, people today need to look more closely at arguments on the Internet.

Remember, this is just an example. You may need to develop more or fewer paragraphs that the example.

1. Does the author rely more heavily on ethos, logos, or pathos? Why?  In my opinion, the author of the website is relying heavily on pathos because the beginning of the website starts off with the author providing statistics on violence against women, which serves the purpose of the website. The pathos appeal gets the reader emotional and convinced of the real purpose of the website, which is to focus on womankind.

2. Describe a few examples of strategic word choice. Provide the denotation and connotation of any important words.

The author starts off by using grave words like violence, murder, harassment, and abuse to gain the readers sympathy for women, which is an effective technique to take control of the reader’s mind. The connotative meaning of the denotation violence is scary, and causes fear in the readers heart. Genital mutilation is another word which connotes horror. Another important word is sexual harassment which creates angers in the readers mind. The author also highlights inequality between men and women by talking about employment, leadership and economic rights. He uses the word disproportionate to emphasize the difference between unequal pay among men and women.

3. How does the website use color or imagery? Does the overall design contribute to the effectiveness of the website? How?

The websites first picture on the top of the page is of a woman holding a child. The picture is colorful, and portrays a happy woman from a distinct cultural background. The colors in the picture are bright and vibrant and so is effective in showing a side of a woman which the author hopes to make a reality for all of womankind. The design of the overall website is effective as it is organized. It has a good layout and is reader friendly. On the left side of the page, there is an index which highlights the main points of the websites discussion in purple.

https://www.womankind.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/women’s-rights/facts-about-women’s-rights