Journal Prompt
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Introduction
To complete this journal assignment, first you will choose one of the following speeches that interests you. You should listen and watch this speech closely because you will be discussing the speech’s rhetorical context.
- “What Streaming Means for the Future of Entertainment” (opens in new window): a speech by Emmett shear, co-founder of Twitch about why so many people watch other people play video games online
- “My Identity is a Superpower–Not an Obstacle” (opens in new window): a speech by America Ferrera, an actress famous for roles in Ugly Betty, Real Women Have Curves, and Superstore about her early struggles to get cast as a Latina in Hollywood
- “Work Is Not Your Family” (opens in new window): a speech by Gloria Chan Packer, a mental health advocate, about the dangers of blurring lines between our professional and home lives
- “My Journey to Thank All the People Responsible for my Morning Coffee” (opens in new window): a speech by A.J. Jacobs about rewiring the brain to focus on the positive things through an emphasis on gratitude
- “The Exploitation of College Athletes” (opens in new window): a speech by Tim Nevius, a former investigator for the NCAA, about the big business of college sports and how student athletes are taken advantage of
Assignment
Provide a brief analysis of your chosen speech. Specifically, you might address the following points of discussion:
- Who is the specific intended audience of the piece? Discuss everything you can discern about the audience of the piece based only on the content of the piece. How old are they? What is their worldviews? What are their education levels? Note that the intended audience extends beyond the people in the room.
- What agenda/ message/ purpose does the writer/ speaker have? Can you locate a single sentence in which the writer/ speaker articulates their overall purpose?
- What are the limitations of the medium of this piece? In other words, what limitations exist in the fact that this is a speech delivered with the option of including visuals?
- What might change if the speech were, instead, a magazine article or even a podcast? In other words, what would this same message look like if it were being communicated in another medium?
Grading Criteria
The successful journal entry will address some or all of the above points of discussion as they relate to both texts provided in a 250-400 word reflection.
Resources
- “What Is Rhetorical Context?” from University of Central Florida (opens in new window): An exploration of rhetorical situation and how specific aspects of that situation influence how a text is composed
- “Writing for an Audience” from University of Maryland Global Campus (opens in new window): An exploration of how audience influences the composition of a text
- “A Short and Highly Idiosyncratic History of Rhetoric” by Patricia Roberts-Miller provides a brief history of rhetoric
- “A Short History of Rhetoric” from Harvard Online YouTube channel provides a brief history of rhetoric
- “The Rhetorical Triangle” from Miss Mary’s Class website provides a look at the three major terms in the rhetorical situation or context: Logos, Pathos, and Ethos
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