ill ask you to analyze, directly, a written document in your field and assess what purpose it serves in the field, how it serves that purpose and makes its point, what genre it falls into, and what genre conventions the document uses to reach to its readers. This type of writing, known as a rhetorical analysis, is a written document that analyzes how another written document works, and helps readers understand the conventions of a genre and how that genre works to convey information to its audience.

In order to complete your rhetorical analysis, you will need to select a written document from your field produced by a professional in your field, preferably a document that is scholarly in nature (i.e. a journal article or the field equivalent). Once you’ve found the document, you will analyze it according to the principles of rhetorical situations; you will identify its author(s) and explore his/her/their goals (What is being said? What is being argued), identify its audience and how the document serves that audience (Who is the audience for this document? Why would they care about this information? How does the document address them), and analyze what genre the document represents and how it uses the conventions of that genre (What about this makes it a journal article? How does this represent the features of a legal brief?). You will support this analysis with examples drawn from the document itself and direct references to the document.

In order to complete this project successfully, your rhetorical analysis will:

Identify the document being used and provide a brief summary of its overall topic/claims.
Analyze the document as a rhetorical claim, meaning you analyze the author, audience and genre of the document itself
Support your claims about the document with specific examples drawn from the document
Use an effective organizational structure
Use MLA or APA style as appropriate for your field to cite your references to the document
Your rhetorical analysis should run at least four to five double-spaced pages (1000+ words) and you must submit a a copy (PDF or some other format) of the document you are analyzing with the project at the time of both the Peer Review and at final submission.