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.
Example templates for the paper:
In her article “[title],” [Author] argues that ____________ in order to convince her audience to _____.
In order to appeal to her audience, [Author] chooses the _____ appeal, as demonstrated by ________. This appeal makes sense for her audience because _________.
While [Author]’s audience is made up of __________, I am ___________. As a result, her argument [was or was not persuasive to me] because _________.
Timeline for the Assignment
9/5 Essay 1 Reverse Outline due
9/12 Peer Review
9/19 Final version due in Canvas by 11:59PM
A properly formatted Works Cited page with correct entries for all four reading choices is attached below and may be used to help you create the Works Cited page in your own paper.
Works Cited
Allison, Dorothy. “A Question of Class.” 1994. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability, edited by Karen E. Rosenblum and Toni-Michelle C. Travis, McGraw-Hill, 2003, n.p. University of New Mexico, http://www.d.umn.edu/~epeters5/Cst1201/Articles/Question%20of%20Class.pdf.
Douglass, Frederick. “Learning to Read and Write.” 1845. 75 Thematic Readings: An Anthology, Edited by McGraw-Hill, 2003, pp. 69-74. English 21, https://eng21lasc.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/
learning-to-read-and-write.pdf.
Ortiz Cofer, Judith. “The Myth of the Latin Woman:/ ‘Just Met A Girl Named Maria.’” 1993. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study, edited by Paula S. Rothenberg, St. Martin’s Press, n.d., pp. 203-7. Quia, https://www.quia.com/files/quia/users/amccann10/Myth_of_a_Latin_Woman.
Tyre, Peg. “The Writing Revolution.” The Atlantic, Oct. 2012, http://www.theatlantic.com/
magazine/archive/2012/10/the-writing-revolution/309090/.
Essay 1 Reading Analysis Questions
Name: Author of Reading:
Title of Reading:
What is the author trying to convince readers to do or believe?
How do we know this is the author’s main purpose or thesis?
What characteristics are shared by the audience the author is trying to convince?
How can we tell this is the audience the author is trying to reach?
What does the author want the audience to do or think if they are convinced?
Which appeals – ethos, pathos, logos – is the author relying on or using the most?
How can we tell these are the appeals the author is using more than other appeals?
Given the audience the author is trying to convince, why are these appeals especially good or reasonable choices?
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