Analysis of Effective Persuasion in Thoreau’s

Analysis of Effective Persuasion in Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” Your assignment is to write an essay addressed to your instructor that explains how and why Thoreau’s essay is an instance of effective persuasive writing. Its topic is how Thoreau effectively uses the principles of persuasion you have studied. Its purpose is to persuade your instructor that you are increasingly skilled at understanding and recognizing how to persuade. The essay should have a point--a thesis statement of some sort that summarizes what you have learned from analyzing Thoreau’s writing about effective persuasion using theoretical terms you have developed from your study of rhetorical theory. But, again, its purpose--in the quality of both the analysis and its presentation in your essay-- is to persuade your instructor that you can explain and practice effective persuasion. In effect, this essay should build upon the essays you submitted in your first portfolio by clarifying, refining, and enriching your own concept of persuasion that you are developing here from the study and practice of rhetoric. The essay should be correctly written and, again, should document your sources simply but clearly by mentioning the name of the source in the sentence and including the page number in parentheses, either within the sentence or at its end--whichever location is the most clear.