Ruhland/English 120

Assignment Sheet: Book Cover Rhetorical

Analysis
Important Dates
F 2/13: Rhetorical Analysis Full First Draft due in class; bring one clean, typed, and stapled copy
to turn in; have one electronic copy available for peer review/reading workshop. 25 points.
F 2/20: Rhetorical Analysis Pencil Grade due at beginning of class. This should be a clean, typed,
and stapled copy of your complete project. 150 points.
Date: Final Portfolio due. Of the first three major writing projects, you must revise at least one, but
you may choose up to two to revise for a new grade (i.e., the new grade will erase the previous
pencil grade). Barring any late or other penalties, you have the chance to improve the grade on this
project, if you choose to revise it for the portfolio.

The Assignment and Rationale

After reading articles like Yes, We DO Judge a Book by its Cover, it is clear that book covers are
imperative to the success of a book:
We know how important a first introduction is. Its why we dress up
before a first date, give a firm handshake at a job interview, and make a
meal look good before we serve it. First impressions matter.
We all make instant judgments that give us hope or lower expectations.
With [a] book, the cover is the all-important first introduction. Its a
visual representation of [its] writing. And a bad one gives people the
impression [that quality doesnt matter].
In short, the book cover is the advertising of the book. As evidenced by The Pretenders, advertisers
explicitly play on the emotions, fears, anxieties, desires, and impulses of consumers. Because a
book cover is our first glimpse of the adventure of the book, cover designers are similarly playing
into our deeper feelings or impulses to convince us to buy the book. Because of this, book covers
are often ripe for deeper analysis. For this assignment, you will analyze the cover of our required
book, The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker. You will perform a formal, academic Rhetorical
Analysis of the book coverthe front, back, and flaps of the book, without reading the books
content. Your analysis will consider not only the artwork of the cover, but also any text, both front
and back. This assignment allows you to develop rhetorical analysis skills, as well as develop and
hone effective rhetorical strategies in your own writing. As such, you are both performing rhetorical
analysis of a text and crafting your own rhetorical text.

Developing and Designing the Rhetorical Analysis

Your Rhetorical Analysis will be around 5-6 pages of prose (writing), plus a few pages of additional
material (a Works Cited page and an Appendix with attached printed book cover). Format your
essay in MLA style. You are required to quote, discuss, and cite pertinent terminology from Writing
Today (e.g., definitions/explanations of terms like ethos, pathos, logos), and find and incorporate
into your essay one source found via the sources of a Wikipedia page. This does not mean a
Wikipedia page can be your sourceit means that you will begin with a Wikipedia page, and use
citations within the article to find a reputable source. Your source will be used in service of your
particular analysis/focusagain through well-chosen and thoughtfully incorporated quotes,
discussion of quotes, and proper citation. For example, if my interest in Miss Peregrines Home for
Peculiar Children lay in the use of the word peculiar, I would begin by checking Wikipedia (or a
Wiki site) for peculiar, and look through the sources for a source that may add to my discussion of
how the use of this particular word in relation to the photograph may be a comment on a return to
a more archaic definition of the word peculiar. While your assignment will be particular to our class
and to the goals/requirements outlined here, we will use the information in Writing Today, Chapters
8 and 22, as our general guide. Look, especially, at the At-A-Glance information on page 144.

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That chart offers a couple of different options for essay design and structure, and I encourage you
to consult that page and chapter for guidance. However, I also add advice and guidance below.
Introduction:

You must first establish the focus/subject to be analyzed, plus offer a

pointed thesis statement/judgment regarding the purpose of the analysis. The
thesis statement will direct, guide, and inform the analysis throughout the essay.
Note that an introduction need not be a single paragraph.

Detail
Context:

In order to rhetorically analyze the book cover, you must give your readers
an overview of the scene or social context in which the book cover
appears/ed. Briefly, but specifically, discuss the potential genre of the book, the
perceived audience of that genre, and the overall tone/voice of the genre.

Rhetorical
Terms:

As the chart on page 144 indicates, you can choose to introduce and define
the rhetorical terms first, and then use the terms to analyze the book
covers content in subsequent paragraphs. Or, you could introduce each term as
you analyze the cover for that particular content. Either way, you will use Writing
Today as your source to help you define, describe, and detail key rhetorical terms:
ethos, pathos, logos. You will thoroughly introduce the text, cite/quote the
definitions, and properly cite all borrowed material in MLA style.

Analysis:

The primary goal/aim of the assignment is to closely and critically analyze

the rhetorical content of the book cover. As such, most of your essays content will
be devoted to providing detailed analysis of the cover itself. Write the essay as if
your readers cannot see it, as this makes you more responsible for minutely
discussing the details present in the book covers content. No design choice in the
book cover is accidental or arbitrary, and all content is in need of close, critical
reading in connection to rhetorical appeals (i.e. ethos, pathos, logos) and patterns.
All visual and textual content should be analyzed in service of your thesis and the
rhetorical terminology. Discussion and analysis of ethos, pathos, and logos in the
cover need not be uniform, as you may find that analysis of one particular appeal
dominates the essay. Check the logical fallacies chart on page 448 in Writing
Today. Also, your analysis will connect to the library source you quote, discuss,
and cite within/throughout the essay.

Conclusion:

Like any essay, you must offer a meaningful conclusion to your rhetorical
analysis. Strive to leave readers with some impact, some lasting insight into the
content or bigger concepts you analyzed. You may also find that facts you learned
about your researched key terms may find their way into this lasting insight. Note
that a conclusion need not be confined to a single paragraph.

Source
Use:

Within the essay, you will refer to and use the actual book cover; quote,
discuss, and cite key definitions/descriptions of rhetorical terms from
Writing Today, and you will quote, discuss, and cite from one source found via the
Wikipedia citations activity. This source will clearly and purposefully connect to the
central point of analysis (i.e. your researched key term, connected with your
strongest rhetorical appeal). You will include all three sources on your Works Cited
page; the book, the course text, and your found source. Find and include a printed
copy of the book cover itself (from a source such as Amazon, Goodreads, or Helene
Weckers website) in an appendix.

The Rhetorical Situation/The Five Factors

As a critical reader of genres, you need to consider the rhetorical situation/the five factors that
inform the intention of the text/document. Equally, then, as a writer of genres, you need to pay
close attention to these same considerations in order to communicate effectively. For this rhetorical
analysis, use these five factors as your guide:
Genre:

Rhetorical Analysis essay of a book cover, with some research

support.

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Purpose:

To present a thesis-driven essay rhetorically analyzing a book

covers content; to reveal an understanding of the patterns of the book
cover; to consider key terms or visuals in relation to a reputable source and
the rhetorical appeals; to present a thorough forensic, close reading of the
inner rhetorical body/anatomy of a book covers content; to support this
analysis with pertinent research.

Audience:

Scholarly and academic audience. Consider it the faculty at

NDSU or other major university. These are educated people with a keen
interest in new knowledge and scholarship.

Style/Voice:

Mid-level to formal style and tone. Review the handout on

Style/Voice. Use third person.

Social Context:

Your audience and topic exists in the right now, the current
moment, and both audience and topic exist in an academic setting specific
to NDSU and the college classroom. As such, youre writing a public
document presented within this academic classroom.

Important Note

Unlike the Write-About Ethnography, which is informal and creative in style, the
Rhetorical Analysis is an academic essay that should follow those genre requirements.
While you will give your essay a thoughtful, specific title, you will create an essay built on
thoughtfully designed and coherent paragraphs that clearly progress and naturally
transition with the development and delivery of the analysis, while retaining a formal,
academic tone and style.

Evaluation/Rubric
150 points:

A = 135-150

B = 120-134

C = 105-119

Evaluation Criteria: Book Cover Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis/Genre Requirements: All
elements/features of rhetorical analysis are present. There is
a clear thesis driving the analysis, an obvious awareness of
the goals and requirements of the genre of a rhetorical
analysis, and the essay fulfills the basic expectations of such
a genre through use of appropriate and required rhetorical
terminology. There is evidence of attention to design and
delivery appropriate to the rhetorical analysis essay genre
Development and Detail in Service of Purpose: The
analytical content presented in the rhetorical analysis is
meaningful, thoughtful, and thorough. Ideas, observations,
insights, and analytical conclusions are well-developed and
closely detailed, particularly in light of the overall purpose of
the rhetorical analysis.
Research and Source Use: The required sources are
employed purposefully and meaningfully in service of the
rhetorical analysis. Source material is well-chosen and
thoughtfully and thoroughly discussed as part of the
analysis.
Audience/Style and Voice: The rhetorical analysis is written
in mid-level to formal style throughout, and there is clear
attention to consistency in voice, tone, and appropriate

D = 90-104
B

F = 0-89
D

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audience consideration. The essay employs third person

throughout.
MLA Citation / End Materials: Proper MLA style is employed
throughout the document, including in-text citations, Works
Cited pages, and appendices.
Mechanics, Grammar, Spelling: Standard Edited English is
used throughout the writing project. Proofreading is evident.

Research, Citation, and MLA Style:

We will cover in more detail research techniques and proper MLA style in future classes.
For now, however, consult the entire Part 5 in Writing Today for pertinent research and
MLA citation information. See a sample Works Cited page below, citing our course text, a
sample book citation, and a reputable source from our Wikipedia activity.
Last Name 6
Works Cited
Lee, Ted. Etymology on the Phrase Peculiar People. The Religiously Sanctioned CoHabitation Chronicles. WordPress. 13 Jun. 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
Johnson-Sheehan, Richard, and Charles Paine. Writing Today. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson,
2012. Print.
Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia: Quirk Books,
2011. Print.

Works Cited pages are double-spaced (like your Rhetorical Analysis), alphabetized by
entry, and the first line of each entry is flush with the left margin, while the subsequent
lines of the same entry are indented. The words Works Cited are written in the same font,
size, and style as the rest of the document. Note that smaller things like article titles or
song titles are in quotation marks, while bigger things like article titles or song titles are
italicized. Note that all key words are capitalized. Continue the running header of last
name and page number in the upper-right corner.