Running head: BRAINSTORMING FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
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Brainstorming for Rhetorical Analysis
1. The speaker is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
About her
a. Grew up in a University campus in eastern Nigeria
b. Started reading at the age of two; four is the reality
c. Read British and American children books
d. An early writer, at the age of seven
e. Conventional middle class Nigerian family
2. The rhetorical situation is that she wrote exactly the kind of stories she read where;
a. All the characters were Whites
b. The characters played in the snow, ate apples and talked about the weather while in Nigeria
there is no snow and they eat mangoes
c.
The writer has never been outside Nigeria
d. The characters drank a lot of ginger beer while she had no idea of what it looked like
e. She developed the idea that books had to have foreigners in them and hence wrote about
things she could not identify
3. The exigence of the piece is to highlight the effects of single story from the writer’s
personal experience.
4. The talk got published in the TED-Global conference. The audience are, therefore,
individuals from different parts of the world that celebrate human ingenuity by exploring
ideas, innovation and creativity.
5. The audience are individuals from various parts of the world that appreciate the
significance of diverse culture.
BRAINSTORMING FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
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a. From different cultures around the world
b. They are keen listeners and very jovial; react to funny statements by laughing
c. Ready to explore new ideas, innovation and creativity
d. Appreciate the significance of diverse culture
6. The audience already knows that the speaker is an African-Nigerian writer. They,
therefore, trust that she will present the topic well based on her reputation and personal
experience, and they also believe she has some similarities to them and hence they can
identify.
7. The purpose of the piece is to present the effects of having a single story of a single
culture that promotes stereotype and robs people their dignity. It I because it highlights
the importance of appreciating diverse cultures.
8. The writer intends to persuade others to understand her point of view. She uses logos to
persuade the audience by reason, for example, she notes that stories are defined by the
principle of power and start the story with secondly gives it a complete change in
understanding by the audience. This convince the audience that having a single story does
not encourage good writing skills. The speaker, develops or build claim from research to
make logical conclusion, for example, she argues that Poverty was the single story she
knew about Fide, the house boy and though nothing could come from the household. She
believes the perception would have been different if the parents told him the family was
poor but hardworking.
9. The speaker applies ethos as an appeal to ethics for example, as a writer she believes
having a single story from only one culture creates stereotype. She also notes that her
writing skills changed when she discovered African books which gave her a mental shift
BRAINSTORMING FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
in the perception of literature. It convinces the audience that she has diverse knowledge
that can give them new ideas, innovations and creativity.
10. She uses pathos to appeal to the emotion in convincing the audience, for example, she
states that she did not know she could exist in literature and the discovery of African
books saved her from having a single story. she also notes that the belief that writers
always have an unhappy childhood history, forced her to invent horrible things her
parents did to him because her childhood was exactly the opposite.
11. In organizing her essay, she first of all frame the need that her idea addresses, describe it
more details, give examples then provide solutions. To put the material in a more
persuasive manner, she presents her speech from a personal perspective by giving some
details about her background information and life experiences. Her presentation is in
logical and presentable manner to ensure the audience understand the message about the
effects of having a single story and the significance of appreciating diverse culture.
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Writing Exercise: Brainstorming for Rhetorical Analysis
Respond to the following prompts. It is important to keep in mind that these questions should
help you continue your work analyzing Adichie's
TED Talk for Essay # 1. Your responses to all
of the questions might not make their
way into your analysis
, but answer all the questions as best
you can. In class, we'll discuss how you'll move from this exercise to composing your analysis.
1. Who is the speaker? Give 5 key details about this person.
2. What is the rhetorical situation? Give 5 key details about the rhetorical situation.
3. What is the piece's exigence?
4. Where is the talk published? How does this information determine the audience?
5. What can you tell about the audience? Give 5 key details about the audience.
6. What does the audience already know about the speaker? How does this help develop
the speaker's ethos?
7. What is the piece's purpose? How do you
know?
8. What logical appeals does the speaker make? Give examples from the text. How do these
appeals connect with the speaker's purpose and audience?
Examine the speaker's “if/then,” “since,” “because” statements, logical step-taking,
movements from “known” statements to “new” statements.
How does the speaker build claims from research or data that enable the rhetor to
make logical steps and draw conclusions?
9. What ethical appeals does the speaker make? Give examples from the text. How do these
appeals connect with the speaker's purpose and audience?
Investigate how the speaker establishes good will, good moral character, good
knowledge, and credibility.
10. What emotional appeals does the speaker make? Give examples from the text. How do
these appeals connect with the speaker's purpose and audience?
Examine the speaker's use of emotional language, examples, narratives.
11. How does the speaker arrange the essay? In what order does the speaker present
information? Why is this arrangement of material persuasive? How does it affect the
audience? How does the arrangement support his/her purpose?
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