Skip to main content

ENG 110: Rhetorical Analysis and Research

Essay 2: Rhetorical Analysis - Contemporary Social Issue

Assignment Purpose: Consider how writers use language to inform and persuade the audience:

Assignment Details:

  • Rhetorical analysis of a contemporary social issue in order to understand how writers persuade their audiences.
  • Review different types of writing: blog post, transcribed speech, creative nonfiction or long form journalism

 

How to use Google Advanced Search for better search results

Accessing Google Advanced Search:

  • From the Google homepage ...in the lower, right corner, click on Settings and then Advanced Search on the drop-down menu
  • If you already have search results from a Google search ...click on Settings and then Advanced Search on the drop-down menu
  • Or ...you can go directly to Google Advanced Search

Google Advanced Search allows you to search with keywords, phrases, domain, etc.

Blog Post

Blogs posts can be found everywhere online and the content of blogs can range from documented research to personal observations.  For your assignment, the blog post must be from a source with one of the following domains:

  1. .org
  2. .gov
  3. .edu

To locate blog posts, conduct a Google search using Advanced Search

  • Include the word blog as one of your search terms
  • Combine it with other terms (or phrases) related to your issue that you are researching
  • Include one of the above domains in your search

You can also locate blogs on search specific sites such as:

Transcribed Speech

To located transcribed speeches, conduct a Google search using Advanced Search (see adjacent box for instructions).

  • Include "speech transcript" in your search
  • Combine your search with other terms, or phrases, related to the issue that you are researching

Some sites that have collections of speeches:

Creative Nonfiction

What is Creative Nonfiction?

Creative Nonfiction is a unique genre of writing since it can take a number of different forms, including:

  • Factual Essay
  • Memoir
  • Literary Journalism or Narrative Journalism
  • Biographical Feature

Use Google Advanced Search to find examples of Creative Nonfiction by using the above words or phrases. 

More information about Creative Nonfiction:

  • An overview of creative nonfiction from the Purdue OWL

Sources for Creative Nonfiction and Long Form Journalism:

More publications with creative nonfiction:

Still looking? Try the sources listed on these sites: