Blog #2 - Practicing Rhetorical Analysis

The piece I will analyze: Appearances by Carmen Vazquez (Pg 335 in GR)

Points in Jackson's rhetorical analysis:

Textual

1. Jackson picks up on the fact that in the text, Jordan tries her best to mask the fact that she is from an opposing party so that she convinces her audience that she is not biased.
2. Jackson describes as the speech beginning with Jordan's personal perspective where she conveys that the constitution is not perfect since it initially did not include African-American people. Yet she firmly assures the audience that now she has full faith in constitution and her appeal to the audience's emotion by talking about her love for the country strengthens her cause.
3. Jackson also points out Jordan's use of quotes to make her point. By citing people like James Madison and others she is giving evidence for her various arguments from reputable sources.

Contextual 

1. Jackson talks about the audience: 34 members of the House Judiciary committee who have particularly gathered to decided whether or not the president should be impeached. He also talks about the fact that the speech was not only addressed to those in the audience but millions who watched the proceedings closely on TV. 
2. He gives a complete overview of the hearings and the situation including the result of the hearings in the first few paragraphs giving the reader a clear picture of the time that the speech was conveyed.
3. Jackson points out that Jordan was a low ranking and not very well-known member of the committee and thus had to make and effort to prove her credibility to her audience. 

My analysis

Textual

• Jordan uses much of the beginning of her speech outlining the process and reason for impeachment in a very detailed way. This, though not blatantly, works as a mental checklist for the audience of all the crimes the president has "supposedly" done. Since Jordan would like the president to be impeached, she tactfully cites certain quotes and excerpts from the audience that are most applicable to the situation.

Contextual

• The 1972 elections were overwhelmingly in the favor of president Nixon prior to the Watergate scandal. Thus the scandal was in fact beneficial to the democrats in that it gave them an almost free pass into the white house. Thus it is extremely important that the democrats on the judiciary committee utilize every opportunity to their best efforts in order to make sure the president does get impeached for their victory. Thus Jordan has to keep in mind that democrats will be watching her speech more closely that anyone and this could have influenced her unbiased, yet a speech with a very clear objective. 

Blog #1 - Introductory Post

For this first post, just write 100-200 words about your experiences with writing in the past. How do you feel about your own writing? What have you done in writing classes in the past? What would you like to work on in this class?

Writing , to me, is a required art form to anyone who would like to be heard. It is no secret that a person's eloquence and sophisticated style gives him/her a considerable head start for both superior persuasion and clarity. Writing is a skill that not only has to be honed like any other, but one that has to be mastered to the extent to which its becomes fluent; style and all, a part of  everyday writing. I feel that my own writing is one of great potential but still very unfocused. I am a lover of unique styles and wordplay, but I need instruction in areas of focusing my pieces. I am a creative person, so I love experimenting but often this leads to a very haphazard end product. In past writing classes, I have written many essays, analyzing literature (Shakespeare, Other poems, novels, etc.) and even discussed style in my AP Language and Composition class. In this class, which I feel will be a very interesting one, I would like to make my writing abilities clearer and more effective. I love speaking to people and explaining my views, so I would like to improve the way my thoughts come across to others. I strongly believe in the power of writing and I hope this class will portray my personal style with more clarity.