Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Assignment

Rhetorical theorist Kenneth Burke (1969) asserts rhetoric is everywhere – and he’s right! Every day, people are bombarded with information from different sources. With generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) becoming a more accessible resource for writers, we are challenged more now than ever to evaluate AI as a source of information.

What is Analysis?

Analysis allows a writer (in this case, you) to take a deep dive into a work in order to gain a deeper understanding of the work in its context. Analysis breaks things down through close examination of the parts that make up a whole. A rhetorical analysis is “an argument that takes a close look at the strategies of persuasion” (Ruszkiewicz & Dolmage, 2016, p. 223). By looking more closely at how media uses strategies of persuasion, consumers of information can better understand how media is attempting to say something and how we as consumers can use that information. Laura Bolin Carroll (2010) extolls the importance of learning to analyze situations to "draw informed conclusions" about "people, situations and media" (p. 46). The more you know, the better-informed choices you’ll be able to make in the future (and the better you will become at interpreting and explaining evidence in your fields of study).

Learning Objectives

The learning objectives of this assignment are to:

Analyze the rhetorical strategies used by AI-generated content.
Evaluate how credibility (ethos), logic (logos), and audience awareness influence trust.
Assess the strengths and limitations of AI as an information source.
Reflect on your own decision-making process when determining whether information is reliable.

Instructions

With the onset of digital media, there are many modes for expressing ideas beyond oral and textual. Writing analytically means interpreting and breaking down a work into parts and looking at how the parts convey a message.

For this assignment, you will begin by creating an AI observation log by asking an AI system 5-10 factual questions and documenting the responses. Then, you will evaluate which information appears trustworthy, which information seems questionable, and what evidence would be necessary to verify the AI's claims. Move beyond fact-checking and analyze the AI's responses rhetorically. Rather than focusing only on whether the information was correct, you will examine how the AI attempted to establish credibility, determine how bias may shape generated results, present evidence from your log to support your analysis, and draw conclusions about reliability of Gen AI data.

The purpose of this assignment is not to determine whether AI is "good" or "bad." Instead, you will explore how AI communicates information, how it builds credibility, and how readers can make informed decisions about what to trust. As communicators and critical thinkers, our responsibility is not simply to receive information, but to evaluate the evidence and reasoning behind it.

Students will be expected to "draw informed conclusions" about their compiled data by explaining the relationship between the data, fact-checking results, and rhetorical strategies used by AI to generate results. Write a 3 page rhetorical analysis that closely examines how the AI presented information and how those presentation choices affected your perception of credibility.

Getting Started:

Select 3–5 responses from your AI Observation Log that you found especially trustworthy, questionable, or interesting. Begin by analyzing the data you gathered from your create critical questions for data stories (see Laflen Table 1 in unit readings). Once you have created a data table, you will be ready to make a claim about your data and begin composing your analysis.

In the introduction,

Briefly explain the AI Log assignment.
Describe how you asked 5-10 factual questions and evaluated the responses.
Introduce the specific AI responses you will analyze.

The introduction should set the stage for your analysis by establishing the context of your study.

State your thesis. The thesis will be the main claim of your essay. Here is a map to help you structure your analytical thesis:

Establish your main claim:
- What is your overall judgment of the AI responses?
- Was it effective or ineffective, accurate or inaccurate?
- Were they mostly trustworthy, mostly questionable, or somewhere in between?
- What did you learn about AI as a source?
Identify what you are analyzing:
1. Credibility
2. Bias
3. Factual accuracy
Explain the significance of the analysis.

The development of your body paragraphs will follow your assertion. Here are a couple of templates you might find useful for generating a thesis statement:

Although ____________________________, the AI responses demonstrated that ____________________________ through their use of (1) __________________, (2) __________________, and (3) __________________.

Through its use of _______________, _______________, and _______________, the AI responses show that ______________________________________.

Body paragraphs will analyze how the AI logs attempted to establish credibility, create the impression of accuracy, present potential bias, etc.

Begin with the topic sentence. Use the first point in your thesis as a jumping off point for your first paragraph. The thesis statement should be the guiding structure for outlining your analysis.
Use your AI responses from the data log completed in week 2 to show what you are analyzing.
1. Quote or summarize one or more AI responses.
2. Identify features that make the AI sound knowledgeable.
Conclude your paragraphs with an analysis of how your data lead you to draw conclusions about the data. For example,
1. How does the AI create an appearance of expertise?
2. Does it use specific details, statistics, or references?
3. Did these strategies make the information seem trustworthy?
Concluding statement: Evaluate whether the credibility was earned or merely projected.

After presenting your main argument, reflect on what you learned about Gen AI. How accurate was information based on your data set? What surprises did you encounter? How might this activity affect the way you evaluate AI generated information in the future?

In the conclusion, Revisit your main argument without repeating it word-for-word. Summarize your main findings and why they have impact. End with a broader statement about AI, digital literacy, or responsible information consumption.

Required Evidence

Your essay should include:

Direct quotations or excerpts from your AI Observation Log.
Discussion of at least three AI responses.
At least two outside sources used to verify or challenge AI-generated information (revisit fact-checking).
Analysis of specific rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, and, when relevant, pathos).
A clear thesis about the effectiveness and credibility of AI as a source of information.

Formatting:

Use APA style formatting, 12 point font. your essay should be approximately 3-4 pages, double spaced. Eliminate extra spaces between paragraphs. Use the https://owl.purdue.edu/ for insights on formatting and to review a sample essay.

References:

Burke, K. (1969). A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkeley: U of California P.

Carroll, L. B. (2010). Backpacks vs. briefcases: Steps toward rhetorical analysis. In Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky (Eds.), Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, (1st ed., pp. 45-58). Parlor Media. https://parlormultimedia.com/writingspaces/past-volumes/backpacks-vs-briefcases-steps-toward-rhetorical-analysis/

Laflen, A. M. Strategies for analyzing and composing data stories. In Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana Driscoll, Mary K. Stewart, and Matthew Vetter (Eds.), Writing Spaces: Readings on Writings, (5th ed., pp. 189-216).Parlor Media. https://parlormultimedia.com/writingspaces/strategies-for-composing-and-analyzing-data-stories/

Ruszkiewicz, J. J. and Dolmage, J. T. (2016) How to Write Anything. Bedford St Martin's.

Selfe, C. E. (2007) Multimodal Composition: Resources for Teachers, (3rd ed.). Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ, 2007.

Competencies:

Learn and use key rhetorical concepts through analyzing and composing a variety of texts.
Practice writing in a variety of genres to demonstrate understanding genre conventions.
Practice writing in a variety of genres to demonstrate understanding genre conventions.
Use composing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating in various rhetorical contexts.
Use composing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating in various rhetorical contexts.
Learn to give and act on productive feedback to works in progress
Employ syntax and usage appropriate to academic and professional writing situations.