...custom that has existed since the very first inauguration featuring the United States first president, George Washington. During Washington’s second inauguration, after his re-election, Washington gave the shortest Inaugural address on record. This address was just 135 words. Nonetheless, every president since Washington has delivered an Inaugural address. The purpose of this address is for presidents to present their vision of the country (United States) and to set forth their goals for the nation. With that being said, this paper will use the strategy of genre analysis to critique to examine Barack Obama’s second Inaugural Address and John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech. Genre analysis is a type of rhetorical analysis that examines speeches based on the artifacts or commonalities that contain. The artifacts of speech are created by the rhetor as a response to a specific exigency. So as Bitzer’s essay, The Rhetorical Situation, saw it, in order for a text to be rhetorical, it must come in response to a rhetorical situation. Furthermore a rhetorical situation has three characteristics, an audience, an existence of constraints, and as mentioned above, an exigency. One manner, in which we can analyze an artifact, is through...
Words: 1448 - Pages: 6
... 2016 Rhetorical Analysis of Barack Obama’s Remarks on Economic Mobility On December 4th, 2013 Barack Obama spoke on the subject of income inequality and upward mobility. This speech was delivered to, and hosted by, the Center for American Progress (CAP). The president uses striking language to appeal to the emotion and logic of the audience. Obama executes his appeals in a variety of ways with the express purpose of painting the issue of growing inequality and decreased upward mobility as the “defining challenge of our time.” President Obama describes these issues as what drives everything he does as POTUS. Obama’s speech was quite intellectual and technical, peppered in detail with the numbers and statistics of current social and economic inequalities, appealing to logos. While he builds his argument based on these substantial facts, the overall feeling of his language is that of compassion. This compassion seems to drive his purpose and thus emotionally connecting to his audience. Further, Obama appeals to ethos during his speech as he outlines how current market-caused inequalities are threatening everything that makes America great. Obama masterfully balances his passionate language with solid facts and straight-forward logic in this effectively persuasive speech. Before expanding upon the specifics of the rhetorical methods utilized by the president in this speech, I think it is important to highlight that the audience (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy group...
Words: 1831 - Pages: 8
...where women break the glass ceiling, and prejudice towards children of lower income are treated with dignity, then the voices of freedom ring louder on American soil. These are the people that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barack Obama have been working to liberate for ages. Speech is known to be the most influential way...
Words: 798 - Pages: 4
...On January 12, 2016, President Barack Obama presented the State of the Union Address to the American people. In this speech, President Barack Obama spoke about many different issues. In this paper, I will review and evaluate President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address using the two checklists from Catherine Smith’s book entitled, Writing Public Policy. I will evaluate if President Obama’s speech addresses a specific audience about a specific problem, the purpose related to a specific policy action, that it represents authority accurately, uses the appropriate form and design for use. I will also review the clarity, correctness, conciseness and credibility of President Obama’s State of the Union Address. Features of Effectiveness President Obama’s State of the Union speech addressed a specific audience about specific problems. The audience is composed of Senators, Democrats, and Republicans. The President’s speech is the final report on the State of the Union. President Obama’s speech...
Words: 912 - Pages: 4
...Kevin Richards Ms.Battle English 10 (3A/B) 1/5/13 My Essay This speech speaks about racial tension, white privilege, and race inequality and how the United States is not the union we want it to be. This speech was delivered by Senator Barack Obama, a father to two daughters and a husband to a wonderful woman. Senator Barack Obama feels that the United States is not how it said it will be due to racism, unfairness to each other races and privileges white people had over races, he felt that it was unbalanced and needed to make a change right away. I think he wanted to tap in to the audience emotions, so for them, they can make a change to form a more perfect union, he also explained that with enough effort, anything can happen as he made an example towards Ashley. One of the significant phrase a, liked was when he said “I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas.” He is saying that he was raised by both African and White, so he is confused to why the United States is like this? Senator Barack Obama was arguing about racial issues that was occurring in the United States, and why is not everyone treated equality. In his speech h often switch to topic to topic, for example. He talked about the racial issues to Reverend Wright...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...Introduction: The intention of this research paper is to establish that President Barack Obama is a high-minded leader. This composition is aimed towards those who are uncertain whether they support our current president. In this research paper, the question, “Is Obama a great leader? “Will be answered. To support the main question of this paper these questions will also be answered: Does Obama have influence, has he created a positive change, Does he exhibit integrity, Does he have well-defined priorities, and does he display the quality of vision? Mythology: The method of research used in determining whether president Barrack Obama is a good leader was as follows: First, defining what traits a good leader exhibits. Through the article “Great Leaders grow deep roots: six characteristics of exceptional leaders” provided great insight in explain what a good leader is. Second, by researching speech given by Obama the quality of his leadership was able to be determined. Then, a variety of articles were investigated though the internet. Finally a number of blog post where sifted through to experience the opinions of others. By this method of research a wide range of thought was gathered on Obamas leaderships skills. Research: Many sources were used to derive a conclusion on Obamas leadership character. Below our the sources with their Claim, Evidence, and reasoning. Barack Obama in the speech, “American rhetoric” claims that America is a great country full of oppurnitys but...
Words: 813 - Pages: 4
...change the perceptions of their audience. Politicians throughout history have used the power of rhetoric to get their views across, whether it was for a political election campaign or a speech for freedom and equality. Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s (MLK) Washington speech was one of the most important in the history of racial equality and sparked the world wide battle for racial equality. During the 2008 election campaign for presidency Barack Obama delivered his ’Yes we can’ speech, addressing all Americans to tell them that change was possible. Both men were black and wanted change and achieved it by delivering effective...
Words: 1283 - Pages: 6
...Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign Speech. Mitt Romney launched his Presidential Campaign Announcement Speech in New Hampshire on June 2nd 2011. On January 10th he wins the primary election in New Hampshire by 39,4% the effect of his opening speech must’ve made quite the impression on the residents in New Hampshire. Traditionally New Hampshire is “ruled” by the Republican Party and is seen as the most Conservative part of the northeastern parts of the US. The reason this can be seen as such a victory should be seen in the light of Barack Obama getting the majority of the voters in 2008. The state has only been won by the Democrats four times before Obama. Since the mid-term election in 2006 the Democrats seem to gain ground. Therefore, Mitt Romney must have felt quite pleased with the result. So when analyzing the speech is this a ground breaking speech with clear purpose and rhetoric? The purpose of the speech is of course to define himself as a worthwhile candidate who is able to win the election for the Republican Party and lead the USA to better times. By natural selection this of course make President Obama and the Democratic Party their enemy. Mitt Romney has to present himself as a leader and born Alpha Male. In order to do that he must elevate himself, his family and put down and ridicule President Obama and his work. Mitt Romney’s speech is composed in such a way that he welcomes and thanks his hosts. From lines 11 – 30 establishes a link between himself as...
Words: 1454 - Pages: 6
...experience holding the presidential office, he had a greater situated ethos than John Kerry, his opponent, who had only served as the governor of Massachusetts at that time. However, through Barack Obama’s speech The Audacity of Hope at the 2004 Democratic National Keynote Address, the gap between the pre-existing ethos of the two candidates is bridged and the audience is swayed in Kerry’s direction. Obama uses personal anecdotes to build excessive pathos which reduces the amount of logos necessary to convince the audience to vote for Kerry because the...
Words: 1110 - Pages: 5
...LEADERSHIP SUMMARY – MICHELLE OBAMA HISTORY Michelle Obama was born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. Michelle was raised on Chicago's South Side in a one-bedroom apartment. Her father, Fraser Robinson, was a city pump operator and a Democratic precinct captain. Her mother, Marian, was a Spiegel's secretary who later stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother, Craig. The family has been described as a close-knit one that shared family meals, read and played games together. She attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985, and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Following law school, she worked at a Chicago law firm, where she met her husband, President Barack Obama. The couple married on October 3, 1992. The couple have two daughters, Malia (born 1998) and Natasha, known as Sasha (2001). Michelle Obama first caught the eye of a national audience while at her husband's side when he delivered a high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Barack Obama was later elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois that November and went on to become president. As first lady, she has focused her attention on current social issues. CHARACTERISTICS After her husband's political role pushed the Obama family into the spotlight, Michelle was publicly recognized for her steely, no-nonsense campaign style as well as her sense of fashion. In May of 2006, Michelle was featured in Essence magazine...
Words: 1108 - Pages: 5
...窗体顶端 窗体底端 The global warming speech you will find below discusses a topic close to the hearts of many of us. In fact, it's a topic that is likely to remain current until measures designed to protect the environment are seen to be having a positive impact. Beginning of Global Warming Speech "That so many of us are here today is a recognition that the threat from climate change is serious, it is urgent, and it is growing. Our generation's response to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it - boldly, swiftly, and together - we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe." These are the words President Obama used to begin his global warming speech before the United Nations Summit in 2009. Search Google for global warming and you will get almost 65 million pages of results. The subject has certainly drawn a lot of attention. But just what is global warming? What is causing it? What effects does it have on the earth and its inhabitants? What are some possible solutions? These are the questions that I will be addressing in this short, informative speech today. What is Global Warming? Global warming is the gradual increase of the temperature of earth's atmosphere and oceans. Over the past century the average temperatures have gone up by just over one degree. This may not seem like much, but many scientists agree that the earth's temperatures are starting to increase at a faster rate. What Causes It? Global warming...
Words: 751 - Pages: 4
...Øregård Gymnasium Engelsk 1.s ------------------------------------------------- William Rode Bager (RL) Reclaiming the American Dream In 2007, Barack Obama announced his desire to become President of the United States. He succeeded in 2008, and was elected as the American President. However, the path to become the president was not easy. In one of his speeches, namely the one he held in Iowa in November 2007, he deals with the American dream, and how he believes that The United States can reclaim ‘The American Dream’. In this historical period (2007), the necessity of a new leadership was necessary. The reason for this was the Great Unemployment during the Great Recession. In economics, this means a general reduction in economic activity. Consequently, Banks began to collapse and there was no insurance deposit, as bank failure was considered quite common. This started to worry the depositors that they might have a chance of losing all their investments. Therefore, they started to extract money and chanced it into currency. This forced banks to pay off assets - such as call in loans rather than create new loans. In banking and finance, it meant liquidate. All this, creates a recession, which reduces the employment and productivity. This drove the American population to the conviction, that the only way to avoid The Great Recession was new political leadership. My main focus of this paper concerns the devices in rhetoric that appeals to an audience. These are...
Words: 1141 - Pages: 5
...When I first began my intellectual journey here at Howard University I did not believe I was properly prepared for the level of rigor and extensive detail needed to excel in a secondary education English course. At the beginning of this course, I was nervous about my ability to present a strong persuasive argument in my writing because I knew persuasive arguments is not where my strength resided. In my English class last semester, I developed a better understanding of proper sentence structure and developing my ideas fully in my papers. Soon I came to realize this information was the mere surface of the necessary tools needed to complete a well structured essay. This course pushed me to dig deeper into the world of writing. Every writing law...
Words: 298 - Pages: 2
...2012 U.S. Presidential Electoral Performance Review In Barack Obama’s passionate acceptance speech for president on Nov 5th, the fierce political campaigns between him and Mitt Romney came to an end. From making speeches through television to shaking hands with potential voters, from preparing debate questions to interacting with journalists, both the incumbent president from the Democratic Party and the nominee from the Republican Party have made great efforts to present themselves as the potential president for audiences. This essay will analyze their political performances by looking at the actor(s) in this campaign, collective representation, means of symbolic production, mise en scene, social power and the role of audiences and media based on Alexander’s work on cultural pragmatics. Their performances (especially Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s performances) between the first presidential political debate on Oct 2nd and the “Big Day” on Nov 5th will be reviewed. Undoubtedly, the actors in this political campaign are Democratic Party candidate Obama and Republican Party candidate Romney. Barack Obama as an incumbent president who won the 2008 election with his slogan called “Changes we can believe in”, however, he only faces “things can be worse” by now. For him, in all the three debates, he always tried to demonstrate that he had made great efforts in the past four years, his efforts can sustain in his second term and things will get better but they also take time...
Words: 1437 - Pages: 6
...Public Speaking Essay Exam 1 Hello Mr. Trump, I hear that next week you will be sharing your own favorite hobbies with business students in Queens, New York, so I am going to help you construct your speech. Anyone can deliver an interesting informative speech, for example, President Barack Obama is known for giving informative speeches to the United States. Let me explain exactly what an informative speech is; it is a speech that intends to educate the audience on a particular topic. This type of speech focuses on using description, demonstration, and visuals to explain a subject, a person, or in this case your own hobbies. An informative speech is not the same thing as a persuasive speech. Although the two can merge together, an informative speech relies more on communicating pure information to the audience. The invention of a speech is very important. Being organized is an absolute must when delivering a speech. If the speaker is unorganized and unprepared, it can definitely affect the presentation towards the group. Start off by constructing an outline for your speech. To start off, write down your favorite hobbies and narrow them down to a few. Make note to include the importance of hobbies in your speech. The three hobbies that I selected were shopping, baking with my grandmother, and reading novels. Time, style, and delivery are very important. The most important skill in speaking is storytelling. The arrangement of your draft should follow your outline. When drafting...
Words: 586 - Pages: 3