{"id":28,"date":"2018-03-07T18:46:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T18:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/?p=28"},"modified":"2018-07-02T19:42:20","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T19:42:20","slug":"i-am-writing-a-blog-post-a-rhetorical-analysis-demonstration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/2018\/03\/07\/i-am-writing-a-blog-post-a-rhetorical-analysis-demonstration\/","title":{"rendered":"“I Am Writing a Blog Post:” A Rhetorical Analysis Demonstration"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am writing a blog post. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis for WRIT 101 students. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis for WRIT 101 students so they can understand the features of rhetorical analysis as a genre. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis for WRIT 101 students so they can understand the features of rhetorical analysis so they\u2019re not totally lost when they have to write their own.<\/span><\/p>\n

The context of this post is that every semester, new WRIT 101 students will have to write a rhetorical analysis, likely without ever having written one before. If all the WRIT 101 students were in a room together, and I asked them to raise their hands if they\u2019ve heard of rhetorical analysis before, I\u2019d be surprised to see even one person\u2019s hand in the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Therefore, it makes sense that my primary audience is made up of students in WRIT 101, so I have to figure out a way to use writing to address this group directly. I can do this by frequently referencing the WRIT 101 class and the specific assignment they\u2019ll have to complete. I could write this post in the second person, using the pronoun \u201cyou;\u201d however, that would mean I\u2019m assuming that every reader is a WRIT 101 student. If they\u2019re not a WRIT 101 student, this choice might feel alienating. They might feel like, at the very least, this document is not very relevant to them, or at most, like they\u2019re not even supposed to be here. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I think I\u2019ll take that risk, because a person who sees the title of this blog and still wants to read is probably someone who is going to write a rhetorical analysis sometime in the near future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I want my audience to understand rhetorical analysis, the purpose of this document is to inform them about this genre, what its goals are, and what discussions a successful rhetorical analysis contains. I could do this by citing an expert (which I will soon) to convince the audience that I\u2019m right and that they should listen to me (I am, and they should).<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, this text takes the form of a blog post, something that will be accessible to every WRIT 101 student regardless of what section they\u2019re in. This blog lets the Writing Center carry out its mission of demystifying the writing process even if the reader doesn\u2019t physically come to the Writing Center. It\u2019s also an appropriate genre for informal writing. I should try and keep it light–if the audience is looking for help outside the classroom, they probably don\u2019t want me to sound exactly like their professor. Maybe I can insert a few jokes. Maybe I\u2019ll empathize with them, and I’ll talk about when I had to write a rhetorical analysis in WRIT 101 nearly a decade ago.\u00a0As an electronic genre, blogs also let me use the hot memes that are so popular with the youth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve just laid out my process for approaching this blog post to show you this: An author\u2019s choices about how something is written are just as important as what the author is writing<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

All writers, including yourselves (yes, you are writers, get used to it), make conscious decisions about writing depending on the<\/span> purpose<\/b>, <\/span>audience<\/b>, <\/span>context<\/b>, and<\/span> text<\/b>. \u00a0According to Professor Terese Thonus, UB\u2019s Writing Program Administrator, these are the four main subjects that should be considered in a rhetorical analysis. The main thing to remember is that you\u2019re not analyzing the content of a source\u2014you\u2019re analyzing the way that it\u2019s written.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was not a genre, or form, of writing that I encountered before I took WRIT 101 myself way back in 2010, and it\u2019s one of the most common assignments that students bring to the Writing Center for help. So if you looked at the rhetorical analysis assignment on your syllabus and thought \u201cwhat dimension is this from,\u201d just know you\u2019re not alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what\u2019s your purpose for writing a rhetorical analysis? Sure, maybe your immediate concern is getting a passing grade, but it\u2019s a skill you can apply outside of the classroom too. It will help you understand and imitate the style of writing you encounter in the workplace, for instance, and give you a professional edge. Use it in future assignments to figure out whether a source you want to cite in a paper is reliable or scholarly. It can also be used with popular culture and mass media\u2014the books you read, the news you consume, even memes have rhetorical situations that can be identified through analysis and evidence. You can use it to identify <\/span>dog whistles<\/span><\/a> in discourse, bond with other fans over a beloved movie or book, or figure out if you\u2019re being subtweeted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There are a ton of resources available to help you with both your first draft and your revision for this assignment. You can make an appointment at the Writing Center by going to the ALC Appointment Tool in your MyUB portal. You can use the Online Writing Lab, also in the portal, and send your paper to us electronically. And if you need clarification, you can always email your professor or set up a meeting time during their office hours. Your professor <\/span>wants <\/span><\/i>you to succeed, so don\u2019t be shy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I have to write a conclusion, which in typical academic writing consists of me telling the reader why my writing and my ideas are important, so I\u2019ll sum up by leaving you with these points to remember as you start rhetorically analyzing: write about the writing and not the content; remember <\/span>purpose<\/b>, <\/span>audience<\/b>, <\/span>context<\/b>, and<\/span> text<\/b>; and get help at the Writing Center if you need it!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kerrin Smith is an MFA candidate in the Creative Writing and Publishing Arts program at UB. She has been a Writing Consultant at the UB Writing Center since 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am writing a blog post. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis for WRIT 101 students. I am writing a blog post about rhetorical analysis for WRIT 101 …<\/p>\n

“I Am Writing a Blog Post:” A Rhetorical Analysis Demonstration<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[15,14,12,13,9],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/writingthatworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}