Question

In the space below, write a five-paragraph, 600-800 word persuasive essay arguing whether or not your chosen speech is effective in communicating its message, based on how it uses rhetorical strategies.

Include a clear thesis statement identifying whether, in your view, the speaker's argument is effective, based on his or her use of rhetorical strategies. Explain why or why not. Give your audience a sense of closure by providing a clear conclusion.

Throughout the essay, be sure to:

use formal, objective language for an academic audience,
connect your ideas using transitions that clearly tie together your ideas,
base your argument on evidence from the text of the speech, and
provide a clear conclusion about the speech's effectiveness.

Answer 1

we will not do the whole essay for you, but we can help you with the pre-writing, writing, and editing processes.

start by identifying a speech you would like to discuss (feel free to share the speech here so we can also follow along). read/listen to the speech carefully, and identify what the argument/main point it is trying to convey, and what evidence the speaker uses to help support the idea. think about logos, pathos, and ethos.

evaluate the speech as to whether it is convincing or not. are there any obvious flaws or logical fallacies in the argument? what parts are effective, and why?

As a suggestion, I would open the essay by establishing the historical context behind the speech (who gave it, when was it given, to what audience, for what purpose, etc.). For your thesis statement, re-state succinctly what the argument is, whether you think it's effective, and your main reasons why/why not. this thesis statement should capture your main argument and set the topics you will discuss for the rest of the essay.

for your body paragraphs, there's a couple of ways you could organize them. you could break the speech into sections and go part-by-part, or you could organize by rhetorical device (for example, if your speech has an overarching metaphor, you could spend a paragraph describing that, then for the next paragraph, talk about specific word choice, tone, etc.) really depends on what suits your points best.

conclusions are tricky, but try to re-capture your main ideas, and address the greater significance of the speech and your essay (answer "so what?"/"why does this matter"?)