Mapping Audiences for Rhetorical Analysis
Todd Battistelli
RHE309K
The Rhetoric of Church & State
Spring 2010
Overview
This assignment asks students to generate a mind map describing potential audiences they could discuss in
their rhetorical analysis paper.
Goals Supported
Rhetorical Analysis
Invention
How This Lesson Meets the Goals
Activity asks students to identify a range of audiences the source being
analyzed could be addressing, and it asks them to find evidence in the source's
text (or context) to support these audience identifications. It also asks them to
brainstorm attributes of the audience in order to lay the groundwork for
arguments about why the source's argument will or won't persuade some of
those audiences. Students then use the ideas generated in the map while
drafting their rhetorical analysis paper.
Length of Assignment
One or two class periods.
Materials Needed
- NovaMind is offered in the instructions, but students are
free to use other software or websites they are familiar
with to achieve the goal of generating a mind map of
the audiences.
Preparatory Steps
- Generate a sample mind map to share with students, assign a rhetorical
analysis paper, make sure students have chosen a source to analyze in the rhetorical
analysis (in this case students had a choice of two speeches) and that they have read through the source before coming to class. Discuss how to locate textual and contextual evidence for
determining what audiences a source is addressing. - In class: Step One, talk about mind
maps briefly & go through example (10 mins.). - Step Two, run through directions for in-class
work (5 mins). - Step Three, set students loose on mind mapping task (30 mins.), taking time
to walk the classroom answering questions. At the end of the time allotted for working on the
mind map, I ask students to export the map to a PDF and email it to me and/or keep a copy for
themselves to turn in with their rhetorical analysis draft.
Student Instructions
Create a mind map using the NovaMind program.
At the center of the map type your name & "Audiences in Kennedy" or "Audiences in Romney" [based on the speech you
plan to work with]. Save your mind map to the desktop & save often throughout class.
Add branches to the map describing audiences the author could be addressing in his speech. Add sub-branches to the
audiences in increasing order of specificity.
For each audience identified, also type into the bubble a quote from the speech that provides evidence that Kennedy or
Romney is addressing that audience or type a brief explanation of why you think Kennedy or Romney is addressing that
audience based on the speech's context.
For three audiences also provide a list of attributes that audience has (i.e. what are their values and expectations; what
will they find persuasive?).
At the end of the exercise, export your mind map to a PDF & email to me. This mind map is considered one of the required
prewriting exercises for Paper 2 and must be emailed to me (or turned in along with your Paper 2)
Student Response
Students were a little hesitant at first getting used to NovaMind's interface.
Some seemed to find the mind map useful and generated a variety of potential
audiences. Others were either less enthused with the mind map as inventional
method or hadn't put much thought into potential audiences (as this activity was
done early in the work on the rhetorical analysis paper). If I were to do this
assignment again, I may have students write short linear lists of audiences
before coming to class & then expand on those lists in the mind maps.
Evaluation
Assignment is part of prewriting material required to be turned in with final
rhetorical analysis paper. Its evaluation, to the extent that inventional activities
can be evaluated, is found in the quality of the rhetorical analysis draft, though
as a writing instructor I must emphasize that different inventional approaches
work for different writers and would I never consider a student's interest in or
facility with any one strategy to be indicative of their capabilities as a writer.
