English 120: HEILBRONER RHETORICAL ANALYSIS WRITING ASSIGNMENT
You will submit your Final Heilbroner 2-Paragraph Writing Assignment at the beginning of class
on Thursday, October 4.
What is below:
+ two ASSIGNED PERSUASIVE STRATEGIES – ONE of which is REQUIRED to be the focus
of your rhetorical analysis;
+ essential information about your final writing assignment;
+ an exceptionally helpful prewriting process that I encourage you to engage in.
Select one of the following choices that Heilbroner makes as the focus of your rhetorical analysis
1) he provides a step by step guide on how to reduce stereotyping OR
2) he concludes by emphasizing how embarrassing it is to stereotype
YOUR AUDIENCE: You are writing to an intelligent person who has read Heilbroner’s “Don’t Let
Stereotypes Warp Your Judgment” AND understands that his main argument is that “We should
be aware of and work to reduce our stereotyping.” Your reader is less familiar with rhetoric and
has not thought about how Heilbroner’s text is trying to work rhetorically.
YOUR PURPOSE: Explain how Heilbroner tries to increase the likelihood readers will accept his
main argument by arguing how one of the two following choices Heilbroner makes is a
persuasive strategy:
1) he provides a step by step guide on how to reduce stereotyping OR
2) he concludes by emphasizing how embarrassing it is to stereotype
YOUR ASSIGNMENT’S FORM: This “paper” will take the form of just two paragraphs:
Paragraph 1: an introductory paragraph which includes an introduction with background
and context that leads into a clear thesis statement which prepares your reader for what
is to come – a rhetorical analysis, and
Paragraph 2: a body paragraph which includes an effective topic sentence which
establishes what you will argue is a persuasive strategy, a brief reference to the text to
show that Heilbroner, indeed, uses the strategy, and a well-developed explanation in
that paragraph how and why that aspect of the text is trying to work rhetorically to get
his readers accept his main argument.
ALSO, please format your paper in accord with the MLA Style Guide
HEILBRONER’S MAIN ARGUMENT: We should be aware of and work to reduce our stereotyping.
YOUR ASSIGNED PERSUASIVE STRATEGY / WHAT YOU WILL ARGUE HEILBRONER DOES IN HIS TEXT TO
INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD READERS WILL ACCEPT HIS MAIN ARGUMENT:
1) he provides a step by step guide on how to reduce stereotyping OR
2) he concludes by emphasizing how embarrassing it is to stereotype
THE ASSIGNED PERSUASIVE/RHETORICAL STRATEGIES: CHOOSE ONE
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR FINAL 2 ¶ WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Your body paragraph’s topic sentence will surely be something like or exactly: One of Heilbroner’s
persuasive strategies is that he provides a step by step guide on how to reduce stereotyping OR One
of Heilbroner’s persuasive strategies is that he concludes by emphasizing how embarrassing it is to
stereotype. Don’t hesitate to use it. Such a topic sentence would effectively establish your
paragraph’s purpose and raise two important questions which could focus your prewriting work:
1. One question the topic sentence generates in readers: “Really? He does?”
What specifically does Heilbroner do in his text that shows he indeed uses this strategy – that
shows he provides a step by step guide on how to reduce stereotyping OR that he concludes by
emphasizing how embarrassing it is to stereotype?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
This brief reminder—along with an effective topic sentence – would lay a solid foundation on
which your core argument can build about how and why this choice is trying to work rhetorically.
After learning the purpose of your paragraph AND being reminded that Heilbroner actually does
make this rhetorical choice, your reader will want to know WHY ARE YOU CALLING IT A STRATEGY.
Explore the following questions to discover and develop your argument as to how and why you
are calling it a strategy to the fullest extent possible:
Questions to help discover/develop your argument related to the RESISTANCE he may be trying to
remove or go around.
What resistance might Heilbroner have been anticipating and trying to remove or go around
with this rhetorical strategy?
Why (is it reasonable that he) might he anticipate this resistance? Why is it reasonable that
some readers might have this resistance?
Why/How would that resistance lead to a rejection of Heilbroner’s main argument?
What if Heiblroner didn’t make this choice? If this aspect of the text was not present, why
might a reader reject his argument? why may Heilbroner have felt the need to make this
particular, strategic choice?
Questions to help discover/develop your argument related to the INTENDED EFFECT he may be
hoping the strategy will have on his readers
What the intended effect of the strategy? How might Heilbroner been hoping the strategy
would affect his readers?
What psychological or thought process might Heilbroner have hoped his strategy would
trigger in his readers toward the acceptance of his main argument?
How might the strategy remove or lessen or go around the resistance? How might Heilbroner
have imagined it would make it more likely readers will accept his main argument?
Its an argumentative essay I choose Heilbroner gives his readers a step by step on how to not be a stereotype this is an article by “Don’t let stereotypes warp your judgment” in an era when racism was big no one was opened to new ideas.
