Write a 20-page rhetorical criticism paper based off of my rhetorical analysis worksheet.
A finished rhetorical criticism following the course prompt has ten sections. The lengths below are guidelines, not quotas. The findings section is always the largest. The two literature reviews together are usually the second-largest block. Page counts assume double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman with one-inch margins.
The Sections, in Order
1. Title page (1 page). Title, your name, course, date.
2. Abstract (1 page). A one-page summary covering why the study matters, what is known about the subject, the critical method, and a summary of findings. No evidence or reasoning. Written last.
3. Introduction (2–3 pages). Attention-getting opening, argument that the artifact is significant (with documentation and citations), and a clear preview of what the paper will do.
4. Research question (1 page). A focused statement of the research question, with a brief justification of why it is the right question to ask of this artifact through this method. Often integrated into the end of the introduction.
5. Literature review on the artifact (3–4 pages). Summaries of academic and popular sources on the artifact or the larger phenomenon it represents. Each summary covers who did the study, what kind of study, how it was conducted, what it found, and implications for your study. Group multiple studies that share an idea.
6. Description of the artifact and its context (3–4 pages). A vivid, accurate description of the artifact (with quotations and detail, not a reprint) and the historical and social circumstances that produced it. Can be one section or two.
7. Literature review on the critical method (3–4 pages). Background of the method and summaries of other studies that have used it. Demonstrates that you understand the method and lays the groundwork for your application of it.
8. Findings of your analysis (8–10 pages). The largest section. The systematic application of the method to the artifact, organized around the patterns or features the method asks you to track. Each subsection makes a claim about the artifact and supports it with evidence drawn from the artifact, with relevant literature woven in to extend your ideas.
9. Contribution to theory (2–3 pages). The answer to your research question, stated generally and abstractly. Identifies a new concept, a new relationship between concepts, or both. Transcends the artifact to speak to rhetorical processes more broadly.
10. References (1–2 pages). APA-formatted reference list starting on its own page.
