Writer's Blog Prompt #2: Rhetorical Analysis of a Meal

Think of the meals you like to eat...favorite meals, childhood meals, meals you like to order at restaurants, homecooked meals, meals you cook, etc. Spend some time recording all the details of that meal -- layout on the plate, the colors, the tastes, the smells, how the food looks on the plate, the location or situation the meal is eaten in, etc. Also note any information about the mood this meal induces if that's relevant to your analysis. If you are able to, this might be a good opportunity/excuse to have this meal, especially since you're going to have to post a picture of the food (or if at all possible, a picture of you with/eating the food) on your blog. :)

Okay, so once you've gotten all the details down, you need to write a rhetorical analysis of the meal. Analyze what it says about the person who eats it, the person who prepares it, the conditions under which it is eaten, etc. (For an example of a rhetorical analysis of location, which is obviously a different subject but which is a good example of a rhetorical analysis, visit pages 93-96 of WA.) Use tools such as The Method or Paraphrase x 3 if you need a starting place.

Organize your details, pull your information together, and look for patterns and themes. Remember that a strong rhetorical analysis relies primarily on the author's observations (which is why the picture is so important -- otherwise you might end up spending the entire post describing the meal to us and never get to the rhetorical analysis).

The final post and 2+ responses are due to the Writer's Blogs by Tuesday, January 26 at 8:00pm. If you need to revisit the grading criteria, see the post called "Writer's Blogs: How They Work" or email me with questions. :)

Happy blogging!

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