This is a rhetorical analysis paper. It will require a thorough knowledge of the film and a deep
understanding of the film’s (and the director/writer Josh Fox’s) ethos, goal/s, audience,
motivation, and strategies of persuasion.
Your paper should include:
1. A strong thesis/argument about the effectiveness of the text
2. A summary of the film text with a view to your thesis (the summary should be integral to
making your own argument about the effectiveness of the film)
3. In depth analyses, using the film text, of its chosen rhetorical strategies in support of
your thesis
4. Focused analysis–try not to discuss all of Fox’s appeals; rather, attempt to focus in on
those appeals that specifically address/support your thesis.
5. Use of at least two other sources to discuss the issue of climate change in your paper
(this could be Kimmerer, Wallace-Wells, or your own sources)
6. Strong, descriptive writing with sensory details
5 pages
Letter to me: your essay must be accompanied with a letter reflection to me describing
your process (how you generated your ideas and first draft, your peer review journals
and revision process, and the final essay. You should answer the following: 3 things you
feel proud of; 2 things in your essay that you wish you could revise further and how; and
1 thing you will do differently for your next essay). Your letter to me must be typewritten,
at least a page long
