For this assignment you are tasked with writing an expository paper on the topic

Posted: September 20th, 2023

For this assignment you are tasked with writing an expository paper on the topic of Aristotelian
Rhetoric. This assignment notes that you are to write on the “topic” of rhetoric because the
information relating to the concept has been conveyed to you in a number of sources and
readings—you are free to garner influence from whichever you like, so long as your discussion of
rhetoric is accurate to the field of inquiry as a whole.
The learning goals of this assignment, and thus its evaluative criteria, are quite clear: they ask that
you demonstrate in your discussion a clear and comprehensive understanding of rhetorical
communication. Your essays will be evaluated for their basic organization and the quality of their
composition, but more importantly for the depth and breadth with which you are able to discuss
rhetorical concepts.
An additional challenge of this assignment will be in your ability to devise a topic on your own
and provide a discussion stemming from that topic. You will not be provided with essay questions
or writing prompts. You are rather challenged to approach the body of information and formulate
a response to it based on your own thoughts and interests. With that in mind, a feasible approach
to the paper may be a general overview of rhetoric in its broader as well as its more subtle facets.
You are also free however to focus on a minor subtopic of rhetoric, elaborating on its greater
significance. This essay, therefore, calls for comprehension of the material as well as
thoughtfulness and creativity in the development of your topic and in the nature of your discussion.
Direct quotation of the readings is not necessarily required but it is not discouraged either.
Depending on the nature of your discussion you may feel comfortable paraphrasing or merely
speaking about rhetorical concepts in a general sense. In other instances, you may feel it necessary
to quote passages and elaborate upon their meaning as a way to guide your discussion. These
distinct methods are left to your creative liberty.