This assignment, developed by UWP Lecturer Laura Hartmann-Villalta, asks students to identify and rhetorically analyze the types of writing produced by members of a discipline–as though they were explaining each type of document to an intelligent alien. Examples may include research articles, reviews, clinical notes, emails, policy briefs, grant proposals, and more. 

Rhetorical analysis helps students understand how writing style varies across disciplines and genres: the style they use in a creative writing class may not be appropriate for a psychology paper; moreover, how a psychologist writes about a planned experiment in an email to a colleague is different than how she writes about it in a grant. 

Options for adaptation

The rhetorical analysis questions found in this assignment could be adapted and used as a low-stakes writing exercise to familiarize students with a new genre before they produce work in that genre. By rhetorically analyzing different examples of the form, students begin to develop a sense of appropriate tone, word choice, structure, and other formal elements for their given discipline and genre. 

Bonus exercise: practice writing for different audiences

In this lighthearted exercise, students must communicate news of a “workplace disaster” to audiences ranging from Baltimore’s mayor to their 8-year old brother. This is a great option if students need additional practice adapting tone, word choice, and level of detail across different contexts. For a different variation, consider asking them to explain a course concept–or a thesis/ argument they are developing–to similarly diverse audiences.