Rhetorical Analysis Reflection

1. Rhetorical Analysis Reflection

2. Things done well: • Most thesis statements were specific and contained all elements of logos, ethos/pathos, and purpose • Good job identifying logos used in your articles • Good job inserting some of your own voice in to a what is a very analytical assignment

3. Proofreader’s Marks: Squiggly line means to flip the punctuation. In this case, the comma goes inside the quote mark. A slash means to un-capitalize the letter.

4. Punctuation rules to note: Commas and periods ALWAYS go inside quote marks: • Should be: “Quote.” • NOT: “Quote”. • Should be: “Quote,” • NOT: “Quote”,

5. When using in-text citations: • Page number only. • Not: (pg. 14) • Should be: (14) • The ( ) always goes at the end of the sentence. NEVER in the middle. • Not: “Quote” (14) more sentence. • Should be: “Quote” more sentence (14). • The period ALWAYS goes at the end of the sentence after the ( ). • Not: “Quote.” (14) • Should be: “Quote” (14).

6. Intros: • Remember to fully introduce the whole article title and the author’s full name. • After you’ve mentioned the author’s full name one time, only use the author’s LAST name from then on. • So, Susan Allen Toth is NOT Susan. She is Toth.

7. Transitions into quotes: • Quotes must be integrated into a complete sentence. They should not be dropped in. Wrong: Kingston explains how her cut tongue looks. “I used to curl my tongue in front of the mirror and tauten my frenum into a white line, itself as thin as a razor blade” (513). Better: Kingston explains how her cut tongue looks. She writes, “I used to curl my tongue in front of the mirror and tauten my frenum into a white line, itself as thin as a razor blade” (513). Even better: Kingston uses a simile to depict how her cut tongue looks like a “white line, itself as thin as a razor blade” (513).

8. Give context to quotes in transitions: Your quotes need to make sense in context. You’ve pulled them out of context from their original story, so it’s your job to add the context back in the transitions into the quotes: • Wrong: Kingston explains how “assuredly wearing a hat like the Chinese” (515). She describes how the American letters look by comparing them to her Asian culture. • Problem: who/what is wearing the hat? How does this compare to what? We don’t know anything about the Asian version from this quote. Needs context—a frame—to help us understand the larger story going on here. • Better: Kingston uses personification to describe the difference in the way English letters look vs. Chinese letters. She describes the American “I” as “ assuredly wearing a hat” and wonders at the simplicity of the letter when the Chinese version has “seven strokes, intricacies” (515).

9. Framing quotes: Need to introduce all quotes. Remember the quote sandwich. Need two pieces of bread around the quote. Don’t put quotes back-to-back without some commentary in between: Could be framed as: Toth also uses repetition when she repeats the phrase “I feel” to show how she is aware of her feelings and her own happiness when she watches movies alone. She says, “I feel completely alone” and “I feel they [actors] are smiling at me” (1107). This creates a feeling of relief and empathy and shows that Toth is independent, and when she is independent, she is happy. Repetition is also used….

10. Logos, Ethos/Pathos, Purpose: Analysis should follow this basic equation. Here’s a body paragraph broken up to show how it all fits together: Logos = ethos and/or pathos = purpose Pathos: This imagery creates a sense of sadness and sympathy as it becomes clear that Aaron is clearly not that in to Toth, despite the fact that she is trying everything in her power to win him over. Imagery: Toth paints a picture of how distant Aaron is during the art films they see together when she shows us how Aaron, “leans away from me, careful not to touch the bare flesh of his arm against the bare flesh of mine” (1105). Purpose: This shows how once again Toth is sacrificing her own happiness to please a man.