Rhetorical Analysis

Activity theory, as interpreted by Ph.D. candidates, Wardle and Kain, is a process that attempts to see all aspects of activity such as social interactions and use of writing and language to achieve goals. This theory is award winning. Activity theory states that for a system to be effective, the rules, community, subject, division of labor, and motives must be reasonable. These components are shown through the chosen tool of communication most often. When one area of the system is corrupted, the tool will no longer function correctly in order to communicate or achieve its goals. Rhetorical analysis is also important for a determining if a tool is well functioning. This method helps to establish credibility, methods, and effectiveness of a

25%), as opposed to women (approx. 17%) (Sternheimer). However, both genders are the subjects of this text. In the text, “How to Defend Yourself,” several areas of each of these methods are broken down, causing the text to be less clear and effective. The division of labor in the texts requires too much effort on behalf of the reader and too little on the writer because it assumes that the reader will supplement the reading with other resources. The credibility of the article is severely lacking as the author’s name is not listed, nor are any sources listed providing evidence to support that the methods listed in the article will work. This article relies on the assumption that the reader will not question the statements made, but if he or she does doubt the credibility, this could cause grave consequences, inhibiting the eventual goal of this text: lowering the instances of and surviving an attack. The stakes of this text being ineffective are: death, injury, rape, theft, and mental

If the argument of rhetorical analysis is that observations and inferences are how one gathers information quickly and accurately, it points out serious flaws in the presentation of the tool. The author of the article is never listed. Why does the article assume that one blindly trusts information on the internet? Also, there are no sources for the information given in the article (How to Defend Yourself). Critically thinking, this author could be anyone, and most likely is not an expert in self defense. Without cited material, one could assume that the instructions are made up and move on without committing any information to memory. This may not be as great of a factor of inhibition as the division of labor fault, but if realized, this mistake could in actuality derail the entire motive. The credibility of this text is important because the stakes of ignoring the tool’s advice could be disastrous. This is where activity theory and rhetorical analysis overlap: when the outcome is meant to be lower rates of death, injury, rape, etc., but the subjects don’t utilize the text, the system breaks