Rhetorical LetterSometimes politics can feel overwhelming or hopeless. We seem to hear mostly about misdeeds and dishonesty, and it can seem like average citizens have no hope of shaping policy or the society in which they live.
But you have a voice, and history has shown that voices, when amplified by rhetorical and literary devices, are often heard. If you can shape your words so that they are inspiring, engaging, and hopeful, people will listen. If your arguments make sense and are solid, people will listen. If you can be consistent and reasonable, history will listen. This is the whole reason Aristotle formulated rhetoric\u2014so that good ideas could cut through the cacophony of bad ones (which always seem to be so much louder).
Think about an issue about which you feel strongly. This should be something having to do with a broader community than just your own household. Think about laws or expectations or issues in your local school, community, state, or nation. If you could change something, what would it be? What are you strongly in favor of? What are you passionate about? What do you want to learn more about?
For this assignment, you will address this issue in the form of a letter to the appropriate audience, whether that be your local school board, your mayor, city council, or state legislature. Maybe your issue is a federal issue. In this case, you will need to find out who your federal representatives are in the House and Senate and reach out to them.
Before you craft your letter, you will need to briefly research the context of the issue. What has already been done? Why is the rule or law the way it is? Why should it be changed? Think about your main claim or thesis and how it would best be supported. Think about the counterclaims and come to conclusions about why you believe they are not valid. This letter should have all the elements of an argumentative essay, including an introduction (with a hook, context, and thesis), a body of support with supporting claims and evidences, an acknowledgment of any major counterclaims and a refutation of those counterclaims, and a conclusion that includes a call to action or solution to the identified issue.
Your letter should also make use of the rhetorical devices we have identified throughout the course. Classical rhetorical appeals should be evident, as well as parallelism and other literary devices (sound devices, comparisons, effective and appropriate voice and word choice, and sensory details, when appropriate).
Remember that for this type of letter, one page is about right. Anything longer than that probably won\u2019t be read, and anything shorter likely won\u2019t have the needed evidences and supports. Be thorough but concise and succinct.
Click the “i” in the top right of this page to see the rubric that will be used to grade this assignment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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