Practicing Rhetorical Analysis (Jackson on Barbara Jordan)

I choose to do my rhetorical analysis on the essay Appearances, by Carmen Vazquez.

Prompt-  Read carefully the article in GRs pg 66-69 followed the rhetorical analysis of it on page 70-73. In a blog post list 3 points that Jackson makes about the context of the article and 3 points he makes about the the text itself (textual analysis).

Finally, add one more textual and one more contextual observation about Barbara Jordan's speech that Jackson does not address.

Jackson's Three Points on Context 

- Jackson commented on how Jordan was not only giving this speech to the 34 other House of Representatives members, but that she was giving it to the American public as well knowing that her speech would be televised and widely viewed.

- Jordan also had to establish herself as an unbiased rhetor, because she was Democratic, whereas Nixon and those being accused were Republican.

- Finally, Jackson brought to light how Barbara Jordan's cultural background affected how she viewed the Constitution.

Jackson's Three Points on Text

-Jackson told about how Jordan established pathos by stating her emotional belief of how the Constitution now "is whole". This appealed to emotions because of how she was African American, and therefore was not included in the Constitution at first.

- Jordan established credibility by saying that the Constitution lets her (and all of us) be the judge of what is "impeachable".

- She also used quotes from many respected dignitaries like James Madison and Justice Story to appeal to the audiences need for ethos.

One of Context

- Jordan knew that she was setting the tone for a national debate, and gave convincing evidence to persuade without coming right out and saying that Nixon was guilty and should be impeached.

One of Text

- Jordan arranged her ideas in a way that made sense to the audience, which led to the optimal level of persuasion in her speech.

Introductory Post

Prompt- write 100-200 words about your experiences with writing in the past. How do you feel about your own writing? What have you done in writing classes in the past? What would you like to work on in this class?

I have always been comfortable with my writing. Ever since middle school my teachers have given good feedback and good grades for it. However, I have always written for my teachers, and I have developed my style according to what I think they want to hear. I have never really written without it being assigned, and this summer I hope to develop the skills and drive to write for the sake of writing. In this class I also hope to create my own personal writing style and to learn to write in a more persuasive and convincing manner than I had to in high school. Additionally, I want to have a stronger and clearer purpose in my writing, as I know it will come in handy for these next four years.