Web Site Analysis

Using the Audience Analysis Worksheet on p. 69 of the Burnett book, locate an organizational or corporate Web site and conduct a rhetorical analysis of the site. A rhetorical analysis describes to some extent the message conveyed in a particular communication artifact, but more importantly, it focuses on how the artifact achieves its purposes with a particular audience or audiences.

The purpose of this activity is to understand how rhetorical communication works in the new digital realm of cyberspace. In writing your analysis, you will have to describe what is being communicated by the Web site, but the bulk of your discussion should be on how the Web site designers have communicated their message through text, visuals, and site structure and navigation.

In a brief (2-3 page, double-spaced) paper, describe the contents and outline of the site you have chosen as it relates to the items on the Audience Analysis Worksheet. Pay particular attention to the ethos that the organization is attempting to create with readers in cyberspace (for a good discussion of virtual ethos, see Kevin Hunt's article Establishing A Presence on the World Wide Web: A Rhetorical Approach. Relate this concept to the companion elements of logos (content and organization) and pathos (appeals to audience).

Finally, how would you construct the site differently knowing what you now know about audience analysis and rhetorical theory?