Rhetorical Strategy: Describing
Presented by Professor Tammy Turner, MAT, MLS
Consider
- Purpose
- Audience
- Genre
- Stance
- Media/Design
Geeta Kothari's "If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?" (p. 922-927)
2. How does the food she describes connect to cultural identity (she notes she is "not American" but also "not Indian")?
3. Which moments are exploded? Why did Kothari pick these moments?
4. What kind of introduction did Kothari use? Was it effective or ineffective? Why?
5. What kind of conclusion did Kothari use? Was it effective or ineffective? Why?
6. How did Kothari guide the reader? Title? Thesis? Topic sentences? Transitions? What about the quote at the beginning of the piece? ("To belong is to understand the tacit codes of the people you live with." - Michael Ignatieff, Blood and Belonging) Was this effective or ineffective? Why?
7. What is the rhetorical situation for this piece (audience, purpose, genre, stance, media/design)? How did this situation influence the piece?
"Janus" by Ann Beattie
1. What is the rhetorical situation for this piece? (Audience, purpose, genre, stance, media/design)? How did this situation influence the piece?
2. What types of descriptive strategies does Beattie use? Are they effective or ineffective? Why?
3. What is the dominant impression Beattie's details are adding up to? Is this explicitly stated or implied? Which details caused you to come to this conclusion?
4. What is the vantage point used in "Janus"?
5. Is this written subjectively or objectively? Why was this viewpoint chosen?