In Class: Rhetorcial Analysis

Rather than just "thinking in general", rhetorical analysis is not validating a side of an argument, but more of validating what information each side gives. I like the end examples of Bok from Harvard and the critic that reviewed his writing. He spoke of a dilemma on campus and attributed that to free speech. I think that he evaluated both sides of the argument even though he himself had a personal pull in one direction. Using his rhetorical analysis he found validity in both sides of free speech versus not wishing to offend. The cover of this by the woman from the communist country was also very interesting. In analyzing the argument by Bok she used his arguments to go deeper and further critique his rhetorical analysis along with adding some of her own take in the argument. She quickly adds personal experience and background to gain credibility and then continues on to give more credibility to the author that she is critiquing. I found this interesting because even though she is back and forth on whether or not she supports all of his points, she does make it very clear that is arguments are valid and effective.

I like rhetorical analysis better than what we have been doing thus far because it seeks to dissect every aspect of something that is otherwise not thought of. Using these methods it is much easier to pull out not only what a person is trying to say, but also how effectively they accomplished the goal they had in their arguments, that is whether or not you agree.