Comm 321: Rhetorical Theory Final Paper Assignment
(200 points, 10-15 pages)
Your Final Paper should first and foremost be a clear and comprehensive discussion of a rhetorical theory. You
will need to use a rhetorical text (or texts if comparative purposes are deemed necessary) to illustrate how your
chosen theory can be useful in helping to understand an example of rhetoric in “the real world.” You may
categorize a rhetorical text however you see fit as long as you justify how/why your example can be understood as
rhetoric (i.e., use any definition of rhetoric you have at your disposal to support your choice!). You may choose
any of the theories we have addressed in class in the second half of the semester (post-midterm exam). You
should synthesize the theory that guides your analysis; discuss how that theory helps you to understand your
chosen example (rhetorical text); and elaborate on the implications for understanding the rhetorical text you have
chosen in this particular way.
The Final Paper is worth 200 points – see breakdown and page suggestions for each section below
Part I – (40 points, Approx 3-5 pages)
What is the theory you have chosen to discuss and apply to your example of rhetoric?
– Who is the theorist you associated with the theory?
– Generally, what does your chosen theory entail? What are its major parts/concepts?
o Alternatively, what parts of the theory will you be focusing on in this paper? Why?
– What can this theory help us to understand about the world (in terms of rhetoric)? What assumptions
does it make about how the world works? (think about its related ideology!)
Part II – (25 points, Approx 2-4 pages)
What is the example of rhetoric that you have chosen to analyze?
– Be sure to provide enough contextual information that your example can be easily understood by your
reader (i.e., me!)
– Be sure to delineate what “counts” as your example and what does not
o i.e., Are you analyzing all ads in a campaign or only 2 particular ads?
– Why is this example of rhetoric useful to analyze? How can analyzing it help us to understand
something new about the world?
Part III – (100 points, Approx 6-8 pages)
What does analyzing your example of rhetoric with your chosen theory help you to understand?
– How did you “read” your example of rhetoric with the “lens” of your chosen theory? What does your
example of rhetoric mean in terms of the theory’s major parts/concepts? How do these parts/concepts
appear in your example of rhetoric?
– What are the consequences of “reading” your text in this particular way?
o What are the benefits/challenges of understanding your example of rhetoric in terms of this
theory?
o How does such a “reading” enable/constrain our understanding of the example?
– What ways of understanding this example does this theory not illuminate?
– How might this theory be used in other future studies to illuminate something particular about another
text (can be one that is similar to or different from the text you have chosen)?
REFERENCES – (35 points)
– APA citation style should be used consistently throughout your paper.
– NOTE: If you decide not to include a Reference Page in your paper, you will lose 25 points. If you do not
include appropriate internal citations in your paper, you will lose 20 points. I would consider this a non-academic
paper at best and plagiarism at worst (which policy requires be reported to the university and can impede your
ability to graduate). Please do not put yourself in this position!!
– MINIMUM = 5 communication-specific scholarly sources (in addition to course textbook)