3/12/25

Introduction

• Warm welcome and check-in with students about the day.

• Announcement of events: Women's History Month celebration at the Lafayette campus in DeValt Court Building, starting at 10 AM.

• Reminder: Importance of student events, especially for those on campus.

Housekeeping

• Feedback: Students notified about analysis notes and thesis feedback.

• Importance of reviewing feedback:

  • Generally positive feedback highlighted.

  • Suggestions for revisions and deeper analysis discussed, including rhetorical elements like ethos.

• Emphasis on the necessity for a detailed analysis in the essays, moving beyond surface-level observations.

Focus for Today's Class

• Main focus: Developing body sections of the essay.

• No assignments due during class today, but there is an upcoming assignment for Friday.

• Reminder to check the weekly course activities page on Canvas for updates if absent.

Body Paragraph Development

• Importance of the body of the essay as the primary section where students will do most of their analytical work.

• Resources available on Canvas including:

  • Developing Essay #2 PowerPoint.

  • Example rhetorical analysis essays for reference.

• Type of example essays to analyze: some strong, some needing improvement.

Outline Strategies

• Reminder: There is no single correct way to organize the essay; flexibility is encouraged.

• Possible approaches:

  • Analyzing each ad individually.

  • Comparing and contrasting ads directly within paragraphs.

• Consideration of audience in discussing rhetorical elements to avoid repetitive presentations in separate paragraphs.

Detailed Outlining Techniques

• Introduction to creating brief and detailed outlines.

• Purpose of outlines: Structuring thoughts and ensuring clarity in analytical writing.

• Encouragement for students to plan roughly how they want to develop body paragraphs.

Writing Body Paragraphs

• Crucial points while writing body paragraphs:

  • Include details and evidence from the advertisements to support analyses.

  • Importance of illustrating how rhetorical techniques like pathos and logos are executed in ads.

• Students encouraged to show their reasoning in essays, enhancing clarity for the reader.

• Outline reminders:

  • Avoid excessive summaries of ads; provide analytical depth instead.

  • Reference to the limitations on the number of outside sources allowed (maximum of two).

Use of Outside Sources

• Primary focus on student analysis without excessive reliance on external commentary.

• Outside sources may be used only to provide cultural context or background information about the ads being analyzed, not to contribute to rhetorical analysis directly.

Characteristics of Strong Body Paragraphs

• Use of effective topic sentences to preview paragraph focus.

• Necessary balance between evidence presentation and analysis throughout paragraphs:

  • Evidence must be clear and specific (e.g., colors, imagery).

  • Analysis should link these elements back to the rhetorical strategies employed.

Example Analysis of Body Paragraphs

• Break down the components of example body paragraphs:

  • Balancing evidence (highlighted in yellow) and analysis (in blue).

  • Importance of a structured approach in presenting evidence followed by an analysis of that evidence.

• Two examples analyzed:

  • Successful identification of pathos with connections made to audience engagement.

  • Importance of clarity and consistency in referencing ads, ensuring the reader knows which ad is being discussed.

Expectations for Upcoming Assignment

• Students to draft one body paragraph and provide a brief outline of their essays.

• Emphasis on using feedback received to refine this draft.

• Reminder to highlight evidence and bold topic sentences in submissions for clarity in review.

Conclusion

• Students reminded of the upcoming focus on effectiveness evaluations in paragraphs during the next class.

• Open invitation for questions and clarification ahead of assignments.