My Thoughts About Rhetorical Analysis’

I really enjoyed writing the opinion editorial, but analyzing someone else’s thoughts and the way they express it is awesome. Even more intriguing is seeing their thought process and how they attempt to convince their audience through different rhetorical tools. Also, I realized that this assignment helped me look more closely to my own writing and how I can better persuade my audience.  

Op.Ed. & R.A. Peer Review Faceoff

I think that the RA peer review process was much better. Each of us had a chance to become familiar with the other person’s paper, and there were more people that conveyed their thoughts about my paper. I really liked the fact that each person discussing my paper said something new, different, but equally helpful and important.

Beef IS What’s For Dinner

After enjoying a perfectly marinated Top Sirloin Steak with my sister and brother tonight, it brought me back to days in Nebraska. Sometimes, my dad, grandpa, and I would be in the field harvesting during a Cornhusker Football game; suddenly after a great play, the radio would go to a commercial and the speakers would rumble with the deep voice, "Beef… it’s what’s for dinner!”

The Power of Words

(Just to give you a heads-up, the blog that I am analyzing is pretty straight forward; the following rhetoric strategies are a bit of a stretch.)

Overstatement: “Romney will have a built-in cushion of support in Saturday’s voting… There is no reason to believe that [he] will not try to duplicate that feat this year.”

Analogy: “Although there is a Super Bowl going on this weekend, for political junkies, of course, the relevant action will be in Nevada.”

Allusion: “Mitt Romney most likely will have a strong foundation of assured votes in Saturday’s Nevada Republican caucus…”

The 2012 GOP Nevada Caucus

Rhetorical Analysis Thesis:

In Gallup’s “The Mormon Vote in Nevada’s GOP Caucuses,” it effectively uses imagery, allusions, and various rhetorical fallacies to evoke strong emotions and logical arguments to push how influential Mormon voters are for Mitt Romney in the Nevada GOP Caucus.

Hot Topics in the 2012 Presidential Election for This Week

The Mormon Vote in Nevada's GOP Caucuses

By Gallup’s Polling Matters Chief Editor, Frank Newport

Audience: American Citizens who may not be “Mormon”

Issue: Examining the influence of voting Mormons in Nevada

Obama Draws His Battle Lines Against Romney

By NBC’s First Thoughts Editors, Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower

Audience: American Citizens who may have not decided on Romney or Obama

Issue: Things to consider about both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and the building conflict between them

Candidates Storm Nevada in Last Day Before Caucuses

By CNN’s Election Center Editor, Alan Silverleib

Audience: American Citizens in Nevada who may still be deciding between the GOP Candidates

Issue: Arguments made for and against each GOP candidate that you may want to mull over

Thoughts About My Editorial

Throughout the process of creating my opinion editorial, I feel that it went very well. I think the most difficult things for me were deciding on a topic, sticking to it, and finding ways to trick my mind into revising it. I really enjoyed doing more research, writing, and contemplating on my topic. Even though I wrote about six renditions of the paper, I would gladly write another opinion editorial! Thank you Chris for asking us to write one! (If you’re wondering why I didn’t mention the subject of my opinion editorial… it’s only a couple scrolls down- enjoy!)