Rhetorical Analysis & Project 1 Expectations

Feb 5, 2026

Why close reading is important in Humanities?

This is an important insight about writing works in Humanities, a discipline in which writing and reading are very tightly related:

• "Close" reading is an important skill in every discipline, but "close" reading means a bit different in Humanities. It has more to do with interpretation.
• The writing that emerges in writing assignments in Humanities usually involve the type of close analysis you're asked to do for project 1
• To read closely is to go behind the text and read between the lines
• Rhetoric or persuasion is no different; to be a good rhetor and a good analyst requires a sharp reading acumen

How to do close reading?

In plainest terms, it's about the ability to analyze and discuss about minute or finer details and analyze so with depth, research, and authority.

As you close read a text, you'll notice more and more details that seem significant, and seem to work together to create meaning. Then, since your understanding of the text's meaning has deepened, more and more details will in turn seem meaningful.

Not very dissimilar to putting a magnifying glass over a bug. As you keep watching more details you start to notice what you missed in the first place.

The arc of close reading in Project 1

This is what you're expected to do for Project 1:

• select that one to three details that stand out for you in your chosen text
• analyze it closely and in detail to speculate its rhetorical purpose, meaning, and emotional impact
• develop a larger interpretation of how these details achieve a specific rhetorical and affective goal (which will be the main argument or thesis of your essay)

Structure of your paper

A typical structure for P1 might look like this:

• An introduction that identifies the subject of your analysis, states your purpose and main point (thesis statement), and stresses its importance (exigency)
• A brief summary of the text, meaning the message, subject matter or topic, genre, potential audience for which it was written, any other relevant rhetorical information
• Explanation of first rhetorical concept followed by analysis of text
• Explanation of second rhetorical concept followed by analysis of text
• Explanation of third rhetorical concept followed by analysis of text
• ConclusionBut, you can deviate from the above structure (and depending on your topic, analysis and writing style I might encourage you to)

Food for the thought

How can you meet the expectations of the structure and genre of rhetorical analysis with the multimodal aspects and interactive affordances of ArcGIS StoryMaps?

Think of the multimodal elements you plan to incorporate in your analysis and how you might leverage ArcGIS's interactive elements to aid and bolster your analysis.