Essay on Telling America 's Story

America has dealt with many things that shaped our history including major wars, fighting for freedoms of all people, and terrorist attacks, but they all give us a reason to continue strengthening our country. The events that we have encountered shaped our history today. In many ways, America has changed greatly for the best interest of the people.

Possibly the three most important components a writer must understand are audience, genre, and rhetorical situation. When reading critically we become acquainted with these concepts therefore become better writers ourselves. While learning about rhetorical writing and composition we have analyzed Billy Collins “ Commencement Address at Choate- Rosemary Hall” , Martin Luther King Jr’s “letter from Birmingham Jail” and Lloyd Bitzer’s essay on “Rhetorical Situation”. In this paper I will analyze and make connections between the concepts of audience, genre and rhetorical situation in connection to the fore-mentioned readings. In doing so I will focus on how each used these concepts as means to communicate their main ideas and purpose.

The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.

Defining what really is to be an American does not sound as easy as it seem. It will always be complex process. As immigration continues to fuel the growth of the population of our nation, racial and ethnic gap increase and evolve along with it. Racial and ethnic identities become more and more convoluted and difficult to understand. Race and ethnicity continue to intermingle and push a cultural shift in the US– a shift that plays a significant role in redefining America in a day-to-day basis.

The “American dream,” a promise of the ability to turn your life from rags to riches if you try hard in the United States of America, has been the definition of what it means to be an American. But over time it the American dream has changed and its pledge perhaps more viable than ever. This is due to the simple fact that America as a nation has evolved over time and the core values which its people encompass are a reflection of the times. So as an American how do we define ourselves and our nation outside of the American dream? America has been known over time as a “big brother”- protector of mankind. Yet many of our citizens did not have equal rights until the 1960’s and it took the fourteenth amendment to guarantee equal protection

Over the course of the month we have studied Eli Hager’s “For men in prison child support becomes a crushing debt”, Dana Rorabacher’s “My fellow conservatives should protect medical marijuana”, and Andreas Elpidorou’s “The quiet alarm”. Individual claims, audiences, and appeals vary drastically throughout the texts, but as we break them down we begin to uncover similarities between the trio. This analysis will expose techniques, strategies, and evidence while discovering the rhetorical appeals behind each one.

A question most fascinating to me is where in history does the first hint of American ideals and identities originate from? If we were to look at where the fiery passions of an American identity first arise we have to look to where the colonists first fought for their right to be a recognized citizen of America. American colonists formed their identity through the ideas of liberty, resistance to unfair British jurisdiction, and cultural diversity. Their identities formed between the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War as these two events deeply brought out what the colonist’s ideals were and what they fought for so passionately. Between these years 1763 and 1775 we see the first American ideals being born in the colonies. An example of such ideals is the want and need for Liberty. A reason for wanting liberty was that British control suppressed the lives of the people living in America and over time grew harder for colonists to live with. Americans are revered to have a passionate patriotic view of their country and this is true as it is seen throughout history but in my research I will try to explain where these ideals first arose.

To find a piece that is currently looked upon as a paragon of rhetorical strategies, scholars would look towards President Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address”. This speech was given at the start of his second presidential inauguration with the purpose of establishing his point of view on the war and its effects. To elaborate his thoughts and hopes for the future of the United States of America, Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” is riddled with rhetorical strategies such as installation of self-credibility, deliberately designated diction, and carefully supplemented repetition to succeed in his desire to sway the audience towards his views.

After completing the rhetorical analysis of Sherman Alexie’s essay Superman and Me, I have gained a new understanding about rhetorical devices and their application in essay writing. Prior to taking apart Alexie’s text, I had the assumption that the purpose of rhetorical devices were to engage the reader. However, the function of rhetorical devices is beyond enhancing the text: It strengthens the message for the reader. If I read the text without analyzing it I would not have been able notice the effect of rhetorical devices on the essay’s message. He wanted to show young individuals the possibility of success despite the lack of resources. Alexie’s repetition of using the phrase “I’m trying to save my life” (last paragraph) helps to emphasize

Fresh Voices: Composition at Cal Poly stresses the importance of utilizing rhetorical strategies to effectively persuade readers through the process of writing. Of the numerous persuasive techniques mentioned in the reading, I was most intrigued by the prevalence of pathos in many forms of argumentative approaches, such as the Aristotelian approach. In contrast to Rogerian’s style of argumentation, the focal point of this method heavily relies on attacking the opposition to win the support of the audience. To gain a better understanding of pathos’ role in the technique, it is necessary to turn to an example to dissect, such as Adolf Hitler’s infamous speech. In it, Hitler incorporates Aristotle’s style of argument, where he attacks and places

As Morgen walks into her AP American History class, she notices that there are weird box type tablets on every desk. She’s never seen anything like these before. By the looks on the faces of her ten classmates, she’s not alone. She takes her usual seat in the back of the classroom. While waiting for her best friend to arrive, she listens to her favorite song, Hello by her favorite classic artist, Adele. What are these weird looking tablets? How are you supposed to turn them on? She wondered.

America’s gift to my generation is amazing because veterans have used all their potential for us. They fought for us to be alive right now. Their gift to us is much more than I expected. I am so thankful and I appreciate all they have done for us.

United States, 2006: a nation with a history of a mere 230 years, yet it stands as one of the most powerful nations in the world. Yet many of us know little about the history and cultural changes that led to the birth of this nation. We only know the bits and pieces that are taught as we sit daydreaming in our fifth grade classroom. The Puritans, the Pilgrims, Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, we know about these people and things, yet what aspects of their lives created the change in America? The answer to this question can be found by observing the changes in religion, women's role, and colonial law as it brought about the change in the Puritan's cultural values.

up the phone and rang my Tom’s father to thank him, and for me and Tom

Pamela Haag’s article, “Death by Treacle,” offers a unique take on false sentimentality and pseudo-intimacy promoted by today’s society. She claims that makeshift iconography has led to becoming undoubtedly less caring because of the constant push for sentimentality. Haag’s examples point to the increased fundraising initiatives that are prevalent in American culture as being the culprit that leads to a lifestyle of “intimacy lite.” She uses rhetorical devices such as visuals, narration, research and expert opinions to validate this claim.