Narrate a true story of a specific moment in which you tried to persuade someone of something
MY FIRST RHETORICAL SITUATION I WOULD NOT CONTINUE TO STUDY AS A GRADUATE STUDENT, BUT BEGAN TO WORK OR START A BUSINESS. I WAS THE RHETOR IN THIS SITUATION AND MY PARENTS WERE THE AUDIENCE. I USE THE RHETORIC OF LOGOS TO TELL MY PARENTS WHY IT\’S UNNECESSARY TO CONTINUE TO GO TO SCHOOL AND THE BENEFITS OF WORK. I ALSO TRY TO INFLUENCE MY PARENTS WITH THE RHETORIC OF PATHOS.THE SECOND RHETORICAL SITUATION MY FRIEND ADVISED ME TO INOCULATE THE NEW NEW CORONAVIRUS VACCINE. HE USED THE RHETORIC OF LOGOS TO TELL ME THAT IF I GOT VACCINATED, I MAY WOULD NOT HAVE TO BE QUARANTINED IN THE HOTEL FOR NEARLY A MONTH WHEN I GRADUATED AND RETURNED HOME(CHINA), SO THAT I COULD SEE MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.CHOOSE ONE TOPIC FROM THOSE TWO.
PURPOSE:
The Reflective Narrative essay will give you the opportunity to show what you\’ve learned about the rhetorical situation.
This project will ask you to do two things:
Narrate a true story of a specific moment in which you tried to persuade someone of something, or when someone tried to persuade you of something
Show your knowledge of the elements of Rhetoric by reflecting on the story to determine why the persuasion was/was not successful.
WHAT TO DO:
STEP 1
Using a word processing program such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, open a new doc.
At the top left corner of the document, add an MLA-style heading that contains your name, the class (ENG 111-HUA), your instructor\’s name, and the date.
The Purdue Owl website (Links to an external site.) has everything you need regarding MLA formatting!
Add your last name and page numbers to the top of every page.
Help for Word users (Links to an external site.)
Help for Google Docs users (Links to an external site.)
Add a title for your essay. \”Rhetorical Narrative\” is fine, but something more personalized is best.
Your Rhetorical Narrative essay must be in 12 point, Times New Roman font and double spaced.
STEP 2
Write the first section of your essay.
Tell a true story of one specific moment in your life when you tried to persuade someone of something, or when someone tried to persuade you of something. The specific moment you choose to narrate could have occured a month ago, or ten years ago; it simply needs to have happened in the past. It could be a serious situation in hindsight, a funny one, or anything in between. The persuasion itself could have been successful, or unsuccessful. A face-to-face conversation/situation will be much more effective for this essay than an email or other written text.
Narrate this specific moment you experienced just like a story you’d read in a magazine or book—use descriptive details about the setting and people involved, use dialogue to show your reader what they said and how they said it, etc.
Be sure to show the elements of the rhetorical situation in action. You don’t need to literally define the rhetorical elements in your narrative, though—you\’ll explain them in-depth later, in the reflection section. In this section, you\’re just telling the story of that one specific moment\’s act of persuasion, nothing more.
Your narrative section should be 1-2 pages long (double spaced), not including the heading and essay title.
STEP 3
In the next section of your essay, reflect on the one specific moment of persuasion that you narrated in the first section.
Make detailed observations about the rhetorical situation. Identify:
the rhetor (the speaker or writer attempting to persaude the other person in the story)
the audience (the intended receiver of the communication in the story; who was the rhetor in the story trying to persuade?)
the subject of the communication (its content; the purpose of the conversation you had).
Describe the types of appeals that the rhetor used in great detail. What specific appeals were used, when and how did the rhetor use them, exactly? Give specific examples from your Narrative section to back up your analysis. Tackle all three:
Ethos
Logos
Pathos
Note: if the rhetor did NOT use one of the types of appeals listed above, discuss why they may have made that choice (perhaps it was not going to be effective for the specific audience, or for the situation? Why might that be the case?). This will allow you to show that you do understand that appeal and can work with it, even if it was not used in the situation you are narrating.
Explain in detail why the persuasion you’ve narrated was/was not effective.
Were the persuasive efforts effective for the audience/listener? Why or why not?
What was the outcome? What consequences were there for the people involved in this situation?
Finally, looking back on the situation you described, what do you feel it has taught you about rhetorical appeals, and how they can be used/misused? Should they have been used differently here, or not?
Your reflection section should be at least 2 pages long (double spaced).
Requirements: 4 pages double space
Answer preview to narrate a true story of a specific moment in which you tried to persuade someone of something
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