Step 2: Analyze the Source

1. OVERVIEW: Summary, Analysis, and Response Assignment
2. PURPOSE: Summary, Analysis, and Response Assignment
• Step 1: Summarize the Source [Purpose, Audience, and Context]
• Step 2: Analyze the Source
• Step 3: Respond to the Source

How to Write a Summary / Analysis / Response
ENGL101 DB1

Step 2: Analyze the Source

A source can be an advertisement, article, video, speech, cartoon, etc.  Follow the guidelines below to help you summarize your source.

For our ENGL101 Discussion Board assignment, you were asked to Describe the Rhetorical Situation of the video (purpose, audience, context). 

You will analyze the source—with the focus being the purpose, audience, and context of the video.  

Steps in Writing

Analysis requires knowing who the author is trying to persuade and what he or she wants the audience to think, do, or believe.

Use T.R.A.C.E. for Analysis

Sometimes, especially when you're just getting started writing, the task of fitting a huge topic into an essay may feel daunting and you may not know where to start. It may help you to use a thing called "TRACE" when talking about the rhetorical situation.  [For a more detailed break-down of T.R.A.C.E., visit this link and then return to this section as wrap-up.]

[Analysis: Argument

1.     Who is the Audience for this writing?

a.    How is this written for the audience?

                                                                                    i.      Is it logically presented to the audience?

                                                                                 ii.      Is this appropriate for this audience?

                                                                              iii.      Is the argument effectively written for that audience?

                                                                               iv.      Would the audience be interested to learn more, or is it over their heads?

                                                                                  v.      Is the argument clear…even to less academic or intellectual audiences?

2.   What is the Context of this writing?

a.    How is this written as an argument?

                                                                                    i.      Is the argument logical?

3.   How is the argument supported?

a.    Are experts used? 

b.   Are there statistics?

                                                                                    i.      Are they reliable, credible, relevant, recent?

c.     Are the sources used to argue a point working toward that goal, or are the sources simply providing general background on the topic?

d.   Are Logos, Ethos, and Pathos used effectively?

e.    Are Logos, Ethos, and Pathos used ethically?]

You do not have to address all the items above.  The list above is simply there to help you locate positive and negative assessments of the argument presented to the specific audience.  

PURPOSE (main idea) was covered in the last section of the S.A.R. Assignment breakdown.  For this section, be sure to focus on AUDIENCE, CONTEXT, and ARGUMENT SUPPORT (specifically the last two questions dealing with ethos, logos, and pathos) for the ENGL101 video analysis reflection post in Discussion Board 1.

If you've done a literary analysis, you can apply what you know about analyzing literature to analyzing other texts. [For any analysis, though, you] will want to consider what is effective and ineffective [in the writing, video, or speech that you are analyzing]. 

As you analyze the argument, be sure to assess the argument in conjunction with how the author is trying to reach the audience through various forms of evidence, statistics, experts, and appeals: ethos, logos, and pathos.  Consider what is effective and ineffective [in the writing, video, or speech that you are analyzing]. 

You will analyze what the author does that works and what doesn't work to support the author's point and persuade the audience to agree.

Previous Page: Step 1                          Next Page: Step 3

[To see Virginia Kearney’s full article about writing a response paper—without my notes and guidance for our specific assignment—you can follow THIS LINK.  ]

Content in blue boxes are the words of J. Dick.

Elaboration/corrective content by J. Dick, within Kearney’s writing, can be found in [brackets]. 

These brackets are not Kearney’s ideas. 

The bracketed content is infused by J. Dick for the edification of ENGL101 students.

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