Unit 1 Rhetorical Analysis Diagnostic
Due Sep 9 by 11:59pm Points 20 Submitting a text entry box or a file upload Available Sep 9 at 12:50pm - Sep 26 at 11:59pm
This assignment was locked Sep 26 at 11:59pm.
Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) – the first black congresswoman in the United States, serving  from 1969-1983 and running for president in 1972 – gave a speech in 1969 on the campus of  Howard University, an historically black university in Washington, DC. The campus had  recently been through months of violent unrest springing from a variety of factors. Read the  passage carefully. Write an essay that analyzes the rhetorical choices Chisholm makes to convey  her message that “nothing is easy for the black man in America, neither is anything impossible.”   

In your response you should do the following:  

Respond to the prompt with a thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices. 
Select and use evidence to support your line of reasoning, 
Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning. 
Demonstrate an understanding of the rhetorical situation. 
Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.  
 

While nothing is easy for the black man in America, neither is anything impossible. Like old man river, we are moving along and we will continue to move resolutely until our goal of  unequivocal equality is attained. We must not be docile, we must not be resigned, nor must we  be inwardly bitter. We must see ourselves in an entirely new perspective and we cannot sit in our homes waiting for someone to reach out and do things for us.  

Every tomorrow has two handles; we can take hold of the handle of anxiety, or the handle  of faith. And the first battle is won, my brothers and sisters, when we fight for belief in  ourselves, and find that it has come to us while we are still battling. We must not allow petty  things to color our lives and stimulate them into vast proportions of evil. To dwell on every slight and clutch it close to our breast and nourish it will corrode our thinking. We're on the move now,  and as Frederick Douglass said, "Power concedes nothing without a struggle." It never has, and it  never will.  

The United States can no longer afford the luxury of costly morally, religiously, and  ethically wrong racial discrimination. For America needs all of her citizens with their abilities  developed to make a fuller contribution to the future. Many problems scream loudly in this  country. The thousands of black citizens disenfranchised, living under degrading conditions. The  millions of poor in this nation, white and black, who lack the bare rudiments for fruitful living.  The rapidly growing numbers of children caught in a web of disillusionment which destroys their  will to learn. The increasing numbers of aged who do not even look forward to rest or retirement.  

And despite the historic legislation in our cities and our states, nearly eleven million black citizens today still live in basic ghetto1 communities of our cities. From decades of non-participation, or only modest participation, the black man has within the last two years shifted his goal to full political participation for full American citizenship. And while on the picket line at  the lunch counter and on the bus and the store boycott the black man came face to face with the full breadth and weight of the power of influence exercised by local and state governments intertwining and often stifling the protests.  

Indeed, a principle byproduct of the American Civil Rights Movement has been the  awakening of the black citizen to his awesome political potential. And just as the picket line and  the lunch counter demonstrations and the boycotts were dramatic and effective weapons of  protest for the civil rights movement, the polling place is the new phase in the new thrust of the black man's bid for equality of opportunity. "Power concedes nothing." How else can any man  rise to power and hold sway over millions or tens of thousands except by smothering dissenting  voices?  

Freedom is an endless horizon, and there are many roads that lead to it. We must walk arm in arm with other men, and we must struggle toward goals which are commonly desired and  sound. We must give and lend to the youth for a stronger voice and encourage their individuality. We must look to the schools and constantly work for their improvement because that is where  the future leadership of the country will be coming from to a large extent, particularly in the  black communities.  

The leaders of today in the black communities must be able to place the goal of freedom  ahead of personal ambition. The truly dedicated leader follows what his conscience tells him is best for his people. For whatever else the black man is, he is American. Or whatever he is to become integrated, unintegrated, or disintegrated he will become it in America. Only a minority of black people have ever succumbed to the temptation to seek greener pastures of another country or another ideology. You know, so often nowadays we hear people say that we should go back to Africa, we should establish ourselves in Africa, or we should do a lot of other things.  

Well if people want to go back to Africa or people want to go to Africa just like people want to go to Europe, that's their own personal business. And you do it voluntarily. I don't intend  to go to Africa, I intend to stay here and fight because the blood, sweat, and tears of our  forefathers are rooted in the soil of this country. And the reason that Wall Street is the great  financial center that it is today is because of the blood sweat and tears of your forefathers who  worked in the tobacco and the cotton fields. 

Rubric
RA 6 Pt Rubric (10)
RA 6 Pt Rubric (10)
Criteria	Ratings	Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRow B: Evidence & Commentary
4 pts
4 pts
EVIDENCE: Provides specific evidence to support all claims in a line of reasoning. AND COMMENTARY: Consistently explains how the evidence supports a line of reasoning. AND Explains how multiple rhetorical choices in the passage contribute to the writer’s argument, purpose, or message.
3 pts
3 pts
EVIDENCE: Provides specific evidence to support all claims in a line of reasoning. AND COMMENTARY: Explains how some of the evidence supports a line of reasoning. AND Explains how at least one rhetorical choice in the passage contributes to the writer’s argument, purpose, or message.
2 pts
2 pts
EVIDENCE: Provides some specific, relevant evidence. AND COMMENTARY: Explains how some of the evidence relates to the student’s argument, but no line of reasoning is established, or the line of reasoning is faulty.
1 pts
1 pt
EVIDENCE: Provides evidence that is mostly general. AND COMMENTARY: Summarizes the evidence but does not explain how the evidence supports the student’s argument.
0 pts
0 pts
Simply restates thesis (if present), repeats provided information, or offers information irrelevant to the prompt.
4 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRow A: Thesis
1 pts
Full Marks
Responds to the prompt with a defensible thesis that analyzes the writer’s rhetorical choices.
0 pts
No Marks
0 points For any of the following: • There is no defensible thesis. • The intended thesis only restates the prompt. • The intended thesis provides a summary of the issue with no apparent or coherent claim. • There is a thesis, but it does not respond to the prompt
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRow C: Sophistication
1 pts
Full Marks
Response demonstrates sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation. Responses that earn this point may demonstrate sophistication of thought and/or a complex understanding of the rhetorical situation by doing any of the following: 1. Explaining the significance or relevance of the writer’s rhetorical choices (given the rhetorical situation). 2. Explaining a purpose or function of the passage’s complexities or tensions. 3. Employing a style that is consistently vivid and persuasive.
0 pts
No Marks
Does not meet the criteria for one point. Responses that do not earn this point: • Attempt to contextualize the text, but such attempts consist predominantly of sweeping generalizations. • Examine individual rhetorical choices but do not examine the relationships among different choices throughout the passage. • Oversimplify complexities in the passage. • Use complicated or complex sentences or language that is ineffective because it does not enhance the analysis.
1 pts
Total Points: 6