Due: October 26 (Wednesday)

For this assignment, you will write a 3ish page paper in which you:

1. Choose a social movement (past or current)
2. Find a bunch of examples of rhetoric used in that social movement (could be posters, protest signs, speeches, essays, T-shirts, manifestos, videos, social media posts, or something else)
3. Choose 2 (or more) examples you think are particularly interesting to write about in your paper. For each example:
   1. Explain the rhetorical situation
   2. Analyze how each aspect of the rhetorical triangle (speaker, message, audience) impacts the rhetorical choices (Why did this person or group choose to say this thing in this way to these particular people?)
   3. Analyze what rhetorical strategies are being used in the example. You may consider Aristotle’s 3 appeals, Cicero’s canons of rhetoric, Burke’s ideas about identification, or any of the other strategies we’ve been discussing this semester.
   4. Tell me whether or not you think this is an effective use of rhetoric and why (you can also make suggestions for how the rhetor could improve their communication)

Essentially, you are doing the same thing we do for Writing Into The Day activities for subway ads, but you’re finding your own things to write about and they must be related to a social movement instead of being advertisements for products.

My intentions for this paper:

• You don’t have to choose a social movement you like or agree with — stuff we disagree with or hate can also be rhetorically interesting. 
• It’s okay to be honest about your opinion/have your opinion be evident in the paper, but your focus should be on analyzing how these rhetors make their points, not discussing the topic itself.
• There doesn’t need to be a “thesis,” but the main idea should be something like “Social movement X exists because [situation]. Typical goals for people involved in this movement are Y and Z. Here are some examples of rhetoric people use in service of those goals, and I will explain them to you/tell you why they’re interesting.”
• You can use subheadings if you want to, and don’t worry about “flow.” 
• I’m not worried about style – the purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate your understanding of rhetorical concepts, not your ability to write in any particular way.

Mini-Paper Rubric

1. Explains the social movement you chose and any background information needed in order to understand your later analysis (5 points)

2. Identifies at least 2 examples of rhetoric from the social movement and the components of each (speaker, message, audience, situation). Explains how the situation impacts the speaker, message, audience, and method of delivery. (20 points)
   1. Who is the speaker/rhetor and how are they presenting themselves?
   2. What argument(s) are they making?
   3. Who is the intended audience, and for what purpose? 

3. Analyzes the rhetor’s rhetorical choices and how they help (or do not help) them achieve their purpose. This may include discussing the relationships between speaker/message/audience, Aristotle’s 3 appeals, Cicero’s canons of rhetoric, Burke’s ideas about identification, elements of the rhetorical situation, or other rhetorical concepts. If you see they’re doing something but don’t know what the rhetorical name for it is, that’s okay! Just describe what they’re doing. (20 points)

4. Makes connections between ideas, such as how different rhetorical choices impact each other (5 points)