ERH 304 (Disciplinary Terminology)
Rhetorical Analysis of FDR
The essay was part of our Rhetoric and Style class and was meant to analyze a key speech given by any figure, looking at everything from word usage, sentence structure, and the organization of the speech in order to understand how they produced a powerful argument. The key thing I learned from the assignment was the fact that the smallest details of an argument are just as important, if not more, than the larger concepts that lead up to the creation of an argument. The paper mainly dealt with the highly technical aspects of rhetoric and showed that the subtler and more detailed aspects of the practice are needed for anyone wishing to understand the larger ideas and methods we learn about in other classes. Understanding the classical teachings in rhetoric is of course important, but being able to completely master crafting an argument is what leads to good ideas becoming effective and useful policy.