AmericanRhetoric.com — An Evaluation

Upon opening up my browser to http://www.americanrhetoric.com, I automatically can tell it is far from a company/corporate-owned Web site.  The banner is professional, however the layout and overall “feel” to the Web site seems to me to be a bit amateur.  Certain colors (like “Top 100 Speeches” in flourescent colors) and certain fonts (like “Rhetorical Figures in Sounds” in Comic Sans) are dead give-aways. 

 Don’t get me wrong, the Web site has a plethora of information and references.  The Site navigation bar on the side pretty much covers everything and anything a scholar/historian/student would want to know about American orations throughout history.  Some navigation tools include “Top 100 Speeches,” “Speeches of 9/11,” and even a section for historians, including definitions of rhetoric, rhetoric as seen from a philosophical standpoint, and other resources one may go to learn more.

At the top, included are sections for “Top Requested Speeches” and “Speech of the Day.”  That is a great choice because I would guess that most people go to this Web site to look for a specific, probably famous, speech.  With one click, you have the text of the speech, and sometimes even a video from the event itself.   Also, the “Speech of the Day” gives the visitor a chance to “shop around” and possibly find something that they originally weren’t looking for. 

Overall, I think American Rhetoric is an efficient, resourceful Web site.  It may look a bit amateur, but it includes more than enough information needed regarding the topic.  It provides the visitor with many options.  It can be easily used by either an historian looking for a specific speech on audio, or just a curious scholar, wanting to browse and find something thay have not seen before.