Chapter 3 Worksheet: Colonial America

Choose a 750–1,200 word excerpt from a contemporary public address (speech, op-ed, or TED talk) delivered within the last five years. In a 4–6 page analytical essay, identify the author's central claim and dissect how three rhetorical strategies — ethos, pathos, and logos — work together to advance that claim for a specific audience.

Your thesis should make an arguable claim about the effectiveness of the rhetorical choices, not merely catalog them. Support each body paragraph with quoted evidence from the source, then close with a brief reflection on what the piece reveals about contemporary civic discourse.

Use MLA 9 formatting throughout. Submit your final draft as a single PDF or DOCX. Late submissions drop one full letter grade per day.