Description- The purpose of this assignment is to assess your ability to critique public speeches utilizingone of the rhetorical theory pieces we have read and discussed in class. As McGee tells us, the purposeof criticism ought to be that we become better speakers by promoting good practice. You will be gradedon two elements; content and mechanics. As a general guideline, this paper should be somewherebetween 5-7 pages.Content- The content of this paper should follow a format that begins with an introduction, especiallywith an emphasis on your thesis and preview. The paper will consist of contextualizing the speech youhave chosen to criticize for any reader. What is the background information that is most important toknow in order to better appreciate the critique? The best papers will give enough detail to makefollowing the argument (warrant) much easier, but not so much that it drowns out the analysis. Thepaper should, then, succinctly and clearly explain the theory from which you are going to critique thespeech. This should detail the main concepts that the author of the article highlights, as we havediscussed in class, and a justification for why this theory/article seems the most appropriate. The finalcomponent of the paper will be the application of the theory, and this should be the bulk of the paper.Points in this area will primarily be given for explicitly explaining your claim, providing some data fromthe speech, and details about the warrants/links made between the speech and the theory.Mechanics- This paper will be judged on the typical mechanical, grammatical, and technical aspects ofgood compositional writing. This includes spelling, having a clear and functional intro, body, transitions,and conclusion. Finally, it is expected that you will complete this paper using APA citations as we havediscussed in class. While there is no firm requirement on the number of citations, there should be atleast one citation to the speech and one to the theory you are using. Please remember, though, that anyevidence that you do not create yourself must be cited. Do not overestimate common knowledge of the audience
