Term Paper on "Nixon's "The Great Silent Majority" on November"

Quoted Instructions for "Nixon's "The Great Silent Majority" on November" Assignment:

It will be covering Richard Nixons "The Silent Majority" speech.

http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardnixongreatsilentmajority.html

The Essay should be organized by the following sub-headers: Setting, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, Language, Short-Term Effects, Long-Term Effects.

Setting should include-

Where was the speech given? WHat were the dynamics/circumstances that influenced the need for this rhetoric? what was the mood of those to whom the speech was given, as well as any other audiences exposed to this speech? What rhetorical barriers, if any, was the speaker facing? What was the climate/pulse of the country and world? What is the personal background and experience of the speaker? How would you characterize their familiarity with the topic? How would you describe the rhetor's philosophy, beliefs, attitudes, and values? What was the disposition of the speaker toward the audience? What was the image of the speaker? How would you describe any initial credibility, entering the speech? Who was the immediate audience (present) and the implied audience (intended for)? What was the relationship between the audience, the speaker and the topic? What were the prevailing attitudes beliefs and values of the audience?

Intro/body/conclusion-

How were the messages organized (balance and order? Did the speaker establish effective identification, and which points during the speech? Did the introduction capture the audience's attention? how so? were the main points easy to follow? Did the rhetor provide credible facts, narratives, examples, statistics and testimony to support their arguments/positions? Did the speaker utilize supporting evidence ethically/responsibly or not? Why? What patterns of speech did the speaker use? Any examples of alliteration or onomatopoeia? What was the tone of the rhetoric -somber, sarcastic, humorous, mild, aggressive, respectful, audacious? Were transitions used appropriate and smoothly? Did the speaker address any opposing messages/arguments and respond to them accordingly? how so? was the speaker's voice tone appropriate for the occasion? How would you evaluate their eye contact, gestures, posture, vocal delivery, use of pauses, rate,pitch, enunciation, pronunciation, articulation-and dialect at varying points through the speech? How did the aspects help/hurt the speaker's goals? Could the rhetoric have possibly caused internal interference? How so?

Language-

What are some examples of language used to convey denotative and/or connotative meaning? How did the rhetor's language fulfill (or fail to provide) clarity, color, concreteness, correctness, conciseness and cultural sensitivity? Did the rhetor use any figurative language? how so? what specific types of metaphors, similes, analogies, personifications, culturetypes and ideographs were used? Were they effective, and how so? How did the speaker organize words in the speech? Any examples of antithesis, inversion and/or parallel construction? Were they effective, and how so?

Short-Term Effects-

What kind of impression was left with the audience (immediate and implied)? How did the audience respond to the speech during the speech and after speech? What type of emerging credibility and terminal credibility was established? What immediate actions or events resulted from the speech? What was written about this speech after it was delivered?

Long-Term Effects-

How did this speech affect the career of the rhetor? How did this speech affect future generations? How did it affect public policy, the rule of law or societal values? Was the overall effect positive or negative?

Possible Sources-

Bochin, Hal W. Richard Nixon: Rhetorical Strategist. New York: Greenwood P, 1990. Richard Nixon. 9 Apr. 2008 .

Parenthetical Citation

Simon, Dennis M. "The War in Vietnam, 1969-1973." Aug. 2002. SMU. 9 Apr. 2008 .