The Assignment:
For your first essay, you are to write a critique of Neal Gabler’s “The Social Networks” (409-
411) in Signs of Life in the U.S.A. Your purpose is to demonstrate your ability to summarize, assess, and respond to an article.
Criteria:
1. The essay should be organized according to the five sections of a critique, in the order listed: introduction, summary, assessment, response, conclusion.
2. Each section should meet the requirements given in class. Your introduction must contain two theses (the author’s and your own).
3. Each paragraph in the assessment and response sections should be clearly organized and developed, containing a topic sentence, unity, and coherence.
4. The essay should be “transparent”; in other words, no typographical errors or errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling should distract the reader.
5. Your essay may contain quotations from the article you are critiquing, which should be enclosed in quotation marks. No Works Cited page or parenthetical citations are necessary for this essay.
6. Length: minimum 1000 words.
7. The essay must have a title that is centered on the first page; do not use a cover page. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, type your name, the instructor’s name, the course name, and the date on which the essay is due, each on a separate line. Starting with the second page, each page should be numbered, the number typed in the upper right corner. The entire essay should be double-spaced and use a standard twelve-point font.