Assignment Task:
Essay - Summary, Analysis, and Response Essay
For the first major assignment in our class, you will select a reading from the list below and explain its main claim, real-world issue, expected audience, use of the three appeals, occasion (time and place of writing), and purpose. Assume that each piece has a clear persuasive purpose. You may not use any sources besides the reading for this assignment.
Use the rhetorical analysis techniques we have discussed and practiced in class for this, as well as the templates from They Say/I Say. You may also wish to consult the "analysis questions" sheet attached below. Make sure to pick an article that speaks to you in some way, one that interests, excites, or provokes you. The more you like your topic, the better your paper will be.
While you will start the body of the paper with one paragraph of summary, the focus is on rhetorical analysis and response. In addition to analyzing the reading, you should also respond to it. Do not disagree, agree, or rate the quality of the reading. Instead, consider how you resemble or do not resemble the author's imagined audience. To what extent does the author's argument fit a more specific audience that you may not be a part of? Whether you personally found the author's argument effective or not, you must explain your response and develop some kind of central idea in the response portion. In this part of the paper, you should use "I" statements and avoid generalizations or unsupported claims.
You may choose one of the following essays to summarize and respond to. All four are also linked on the course's Canvas site:
- Judith Ortiz Cofer, "The Myth of the Latin Woman/Just Met a Girl Named Maria"
- Frederick Douglass, "Learning to Read and Write"
- Peg Tyre, "The Writing Revolution"
- Dorothy Allison, "A Question of Class"
Learning Goals:
- Examine the ways authors make arguments using the appeals and the claims-warrants-evidence structure
- Understand writing as a process
- Gain an understanding of the way "they say" can create room for an "I say"
- Gain an understanding of the ways writers make arguments about specific, real-world issues aimed at specific, real-world audiences
- Gain experience with MLA citation and document formats used to give proper credit to others for their words and ideas
What You Will Need to Get Started:
- A reading chosen from the list above.
- Good notes on all your sources, including clear indications of which ideas and words come from which sources.
- Resources on MLA citation style and documentation, including The Little Seagull and the Durham Tech Library Guide to MLA Citation.
- Reliable Internet access.
- At least two reliable places you can save your work as a .doc
Your Assignment Targets:
- Write three to five full pages including a clear thesis statement, a one-paragraph summary of the author's major claims; a clear, well-supported analysis of the author's ideas, purpose, and audience; and a response explaining your own perspective on the argument and issue.
- Integrate and properly cite quotations and paraphrase in each analysis paragraph, making effective, thoughtful choices about when to quote and when to paraphrase.
- Employ multiple "they say" and "I say" templates from your textbook as appropriate.
- Structure the essay so that others can follow it easily and clearly by using a strong overall sense of organization, including good transitions and a clear overall thesis statement and direction using linked, well-structured paragraphs.
- Conclude in an interesting way.
- Use proper MLA citation throughout and include a correctly formatted Works Cited page. This does not count towards the page limit.
- Employ clear and grammatical writing and an academic but reader-friendly style.