Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to read
critically and analyze the rhetorical strategies of a single piece
to see how it works.
Audience: Your audience should be your classmates and
your professor, but you should assume that your readers have not read or seen
the primary text that you are analyzing.
Assignment: Write a closed-form, thesis-driven essay
analyzing the rhetorical strategies the author or speaker uses in one of
the following primary texts:
• “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott
• “Reading Like A Writer” by Mike Bunn
•
“Txtng is Killing Language. JK!!!” by John McWhorter
• “The Right To Understand” by Sandra Fisher-Martins
Analysis vs. Argument: It doesn’t matter whether you agree or
disagree with the author. Your reader
shouldn’t even be able to figure out your opinion on the writer or speaker’s topic
by reading this paper. Evaluating a
text’s rhetorical strategies does NOT mean saying whether or not you agree with
the authorʼs
position; it means paying
careful attention to what the author is saying to his or her audience, how he
or she is saying it, who that audience is, what rhetorical strategies the
author is using, and whether or not you think the authorʼs rhetorical choices
are effective in this particular case. To break the text down that way, you
will have to analyze rhetorical concepts such as purpose, audience, genre,
pathos, logos, and ethos. You will also have to support your points with
examples from the text and summarize the work you are writing about at the
beginning of your paper.
Format: Drafts should be typed in Times New Roman,
12-point font. They should also be double-spaced and formatted according to MLA
standards. The only source youʼll need to cite is the piece you choose to write
about, but make sure to cite it properly in the text and in a works cited page.
Length: 4 pages
Value: 20% of final grade
Deadlines:
March 7: Rough rough
draft due (500 words)
March 12: Revised draft
due for peer review
March 14: Final draft
due
Rubric:
|
Criterion |
Points |
|
Does the essay’s introduction attempt to hook the reader and set |
40 |
|
Does the essay contain a clear, specific, and arguable thesis that |
20 |
|
Have you summarized your primary text in a thorough and unbiased |
40 |
|
Does the essay logically support the thesis with detailed analysis |
40 |
|
Is the essay clearly and logically organized? Are the paragraphs |
40 |
|
Does the essay show evidence of thorough proofreading and editing? |
20 |
|
Total: |
200 |