Analysis of a Text

Competencies

1027.1.1 : Understanding Purpose and Audience

The learner writes with a purpose for a given context and target audience.

Introduction

Effective writers know how to tailor their text for a specific purpose and a specific audience. For example, writers can choose to make an emotional appeal using simple language so that any audience can understand the message. Part of becoming a strong writer is analyzing how well or how poorly another author crafts a message, which will help one make stronger choices when it is time to communicate with others in a professional setting.

You will use the Task 1 Template located in the supporting documents section below the rubric to complete this task. First, you will choose a text from the provided list that you will analyze. Next, you will summarize the text and identify the text’s intended purpose and audience. Then, you will analyze the text’s context and the methods the author used to appeal to the audience.

Requirements

Your submission must represent your original work and understanding of the course material. Most performance assessment submissions are automatically scanned through the WGU similarity checker. Students are strongly encouraged to wait for the similarity report to generate after uploading their work and then review it to ensure Academic Authenticity guidelines are met before submitting the file for evaluation. See for more information.

Grammarly Note:

Professional Communication will be automatically assessed through Grammarly for Education in most performance assessments before a student submits work for evaluation. Students are strongly encouraged to review the Grammarly for Education feedback prior to submitting work for evaluation, as the overall submission will not pass without this aspect passing. See for more information.

Microsoft Files Note:

Write your paper in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) unless another Microsoft product, or pdf, is specified in the task directions. Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc. All supporting documentation, such as screenshots and proof of experience, should be collected in a pdf file and submitted separately from the main file. For more information, please see

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A. Compose an analysis using the Task 1 Template by doing the following:

1. Choose a piece of persuasive writing from the “Texts for Analysis” list within the template.

2. Analyze your chosen text by doing the following:

a. Summarize the text.

b. Discuss the author’s purpose for the text.

c. Explain the context of the text.

d. Describe the audience of the text.

e. Explain 23 appeals (i.e., logos, ethos, pathos) that are found within the text. For each type of appeal used in the text, include 12 examples.

B. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

C. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

File Restrictions

File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! – _ . * ‘ ( )

File size limit: 200 MB

File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, csv, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z

Rubric