Rhetorical Analysis Thesis

[kjuul]

For rhetorical analysis thesis statements, I have always taught the students to hash out the author's main assertion. For those who are able, I have also instructed them to include a counterargument and call to action. I have specifically told them not to list or discuss rhetorical devices in the thesis. Instead, I have had them use the rhetorical devices as evidence to defend the author's argument and call to action.

I got this sentence frame from the Carleton College Summer Institute in 2016 and have been using it ever since:

Although (counterargument), (author's main assertion); therefore, (call to action).

I am uncertain if this will earn students the point for the thesis according to the new rubric for question 2. Are they now required to "analyze the writer's rhetorical choices" as part of the thesis. Are they now required to list or even mention an overarching analysis of the rhetorical choices in the thesis?