please give guidance
This week will be an essay week. Within the week, your prompt, rubric, and an example are enclosed.
I’m going to try something different. On Monday, you will submit a copy of your rough draft to the instructor. I will provide feedback oriented more towards overall approach, structure, and the quality of argumentative summary. In my opinion it’s not a useful use of time to fix grammar and mechanical errors. I personally use Grammarly to point out any grammatical issues but it is imperative to read the error messages to know why they don’t work. Just don’t become dependent on it. Your final draft is due on Wednesday.
I have selected a Ted Talk involving domestic violence from Leslie Morgan Steiner. It goes without saying this may contain some sensitive issues that may be painful for some. Hopefully, we can all treat this issue with a certain level of tact. I can provide an alternative prompt if necessary.
A major strategy in a lot of these Ted Talks and other related formats is this idea of “thinking laterally”. Specifically, a speaker will analyze a traditional aspect of an issue. They typically ask readers to rethink their preconceived notions of a particular topic. In this case, we tend to think of domestic violence as only affecting certain groups of people, but Steiner does point out that it affects people from all walks of life regardless of age, racial profile, or financial situation.
I specifically selected this issue because from an outside perspective, it seems to be an existing issue complicated by several unique risk factors. Domestic violence is a very complex issue that is complicated by underreporting. Through no fault of their own, victims of domestic violence obviously have a hard time talking about their experiences. Most major studies seem to indicate that military service complicates this issue even further.
PROMPT
Identifying & Analyzing Key Rhetorical Features of a Rhetor’s Argument
Author Biography:
Leslie Morgan Steiner is an author, consultant and thought leader on
women’s leadership, work-life balance, inspirational parenting, overcoming adversity and
surviving violence against women. She lives in Washington, DC. She recently completed her
fourth nonfiction book, The Naked Truth, which explores female aging and sexuality after
motherhood and divorce. Her corporate experience includes The Washington Post, Johnson &
Johnson, Leo Burnett and Seventeen Magazine.
Introduction:
Leslie Morgan Steiner was in “crazy love” — that is, madly in love with a man who routinely
abused her and threatened her life. Steiner tells the story of her relationship, correcting
misconceptions many people hold about victims of domestic violence, and explaining how we
can all help break the silence.
Prompt:
For this assignment, you are expected to compose a rhetorical analysis of Steiner’s argument in
“Why Domestic Violence Victims Don’t Leave”.
Resources
Film: Why domestic violence victims don’t leave | Leslie Morgan Steiner | TED
Transcript-
er-transcript/
Section 1: Introduction (1 paragraph)
Introduce and contextualize Steiner’s text. Introduce key aspects of the rhetorical situation (the
author, genre and title of text, the purpose, and the audience) for Steiner’s TED Talk, inform the
reader about the topic’s significance, and highlight Steiner’s central claim as your thesis .
Section 2: The Body, in which you present your central analysis (3-5 paragraphs)
Accurately describe and explain Steiner’s significant supporting claims. Explain each in detail,
give examples, illustrate your interpretation with one or more quotations, explain quotations, and
indicate how they support your interpretation of Steiner’s argument (operate like a lawyer
making a case). Make sure all of these elements line up tightly.
As you examine Steiner’s key supporting claims, include discussion of evidence. Discuss the
types of evidence Steiner uses to support her claim. If more than one kind of evidence is used to
support the claim, what combination of evidence does Steiner select? Explore why Steiner might
have used a combination of evidence types. How does Steiner present the evidence? What do
you notice about Steiner’s description of the evidence (word choice, elements selected or left outframing, etc.?). How effective is this evidence? Note: listing evidence is not a critical discussion
– the discussion must consider how the evidence supports/strengthens a specific claim.
Part 3: Your conclusion, which tells us “So What?” (1 paragraphs)
Conclude your paper by presenting a thoughtful discussion of one of the following: a) how some
element of the text relates to your own experience, b) how the author has impacted your
thinking/views on this topic, c) the significance of the argument for the lives of other generations
of Americans.
Additional Requirements:
Papers are expected to be 4-7 pages in length.
Please select an easy-to-read font (like Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, Lato), use 12 pt. font,
set the margins at 1 inch on all sides of the document, and meet other MLA format guidelines.
Use specific quotes and lines of evidence, and when doing so, be sure to give credit where credit
is due. Ex. Writer X asserts, “….” (Steiner 06:29-06:45).
