Writing Homework Help

For this assignment, you will write a one-paragraph summary and one-paragraph rhetorical analysis of a “Letter from Birmingham Jail (Links to an external site.).”

Paragraph 1: Summary

Your summary will need to make the following moves:

• Identify the text by author and title
• Briefly explain necessary contextual information, such as where and when the piece was published.
• Identify the author’s central argument and supporting claim(s)
• Describe (in brief) the evidence the author provides to supports his/her claims.

Paragraph 2: Analysis

In the second paragraph, you will demonstrate your rhetorical understanding of the text. Your analysis will need to do the following:

• Make a claim about how the text works.
  • Identify one specific rhetorical strategy that the author uses to persuade the audience (or not). Note: There are likely many things going on rhetorically in the text, but for this very brief analysis, we ask that you find one strategy to focus on and deeply analyze.
• Use direct evidence drawn from the text (e.g. direct quotations or paraphrases/summaries of specific passages or moments) to support your analytic claims. (You may also choose to use contextual evidence in addition to textual evidence to support your claims.)
• Demonstrate how the text works within its unique context and for its specific intended audience(s).

Both paragraphs should follow conventions of closed-form prose and demonstrate unity, coherence, and development.