101-1

Essay #1 - Rhetorical Analysis

Relevant dates:

Proposal - Wednesday, 27 Jan.
Draft #1 - Friday, Feb. 5
Peer review conferences - Mon. - Wed., 8 - 10 Feb.
Draft #2 - Monday, 15 Feb.
Essay #1 portfolio - Friday, 19 Feb.

From the above dates, you can see that writing the rhetorical analysis essay (as with all three out-of-class essays we will write this semester) is a process that occurs over several weeks. Your final product is not simply the third draft of your essay, but includes all your prior drafts and all peer commentary. You will have ample time to engage what your Student Guide calls the messy, recursive project of inventing, drafting, writing, and editing.

Text Choice and Proposal

You may use any non-fiction text in Conversations. Your proposal should include the following:

correct citation of your article (see Diana Hacker's A Pocket Style Manual, 2nd ed., 103-121 -- follow the MLA style)
a one-page narrative (typed, double-spaced) that answers the following questions:

Why did you choose this text?
How do you propose to analyze it?
What challenges or obstacles do you anticipate?

Essay Drafts

Consider your draft both a finished piece and a work in progress. In other words, a draft is your writing done to the best of your ability at that time. It is a finished piece of writing that has been well thought-out, typed and proof-read. It is also a work in progress, because you will revise it (except for the third and final draft). All three versions of your essays (your first two drafts and your final version) should be 4-6 typewritten pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font size, with one-inch margins. Paragraphs should start with a 5-space tab indentation and there should be no more than a two-line break between paragraphs (in other words, don't triple or quadruple your space between paragraphs). Always title your draft (the title may change over the course of your revisions).

The purpose of your rhetorical analysis essay is to demonstrate how well a particular text accomplishes its purpose. In other words, your essay analyzes how effectively your chosen article persuades its audience of a specific message.Your analysis should include your ideas about the following:

What is the writer's purpose? [See Student Guide , 183]
Who is the writer's intended audience? [See Student Guide, 183]
How does the writer communicate his/her purpose to that audience? What writing strategies [Student Guide, 186-188] and appeals [Student Guide,183-185] does the writer use? How and why?
In what context (historical, cultural, geographic) [Student Guide, 216-217]was the text written? What was happening in the world when the text was produced, and how might this affect the writer's purpose and choice of strategies?
How persuasive is the text, given the above?

[thanks to Julie Jung for sharing her formulation of this assignment]

Your readers (classmates and your teacher) will have access to the text, so avoid extensive summarizing (you will need to briefly summarize the writer's message and purpose). Also, since the rhetorical analysis essay asks you to focus on analyzing HOW a text persuades, you do not have to offer your viewpoint of the text's subject or to argue with the writer and the essay. Using first-person to write your essay is absolutely acceptable.

Your rhetorical analysis essay should also contain a Works Cited page. Please see the section on "Documentation" (103-121) in Diana Hacker's A Pocket Style Manual. Use the MLA format. (An example "Works Cited" page is on page 121.)

Finally, each draft must contain a cover sheet which includes the following:

your name and class section
title
purpose [what is the purpose of your paper?]
audience [who is the audience of your paper?]
with more time: [what would you do if you had more time?]
acknowledgements: [whom do you wish to credit?]
3 questions: [what three questions do you have for your readers?]

Peer Review Letters

I guarantee that you will learn as much, if not more, about your own writing by reading your peers' work and commenting on their writing. Peer letters are one way to give feedback. Please follow the guidelines for peer reviews in your Student Guide (31-35). For example peer review letters, see Chapter 4 of your Student Guide (81-84). Please follow the same text format as for essay drafts (typed, double-spaced, 12-point font size, one-inch margins). If you attend to all the concerns outlined in the peer review process in your Student Guide, you will end up with at least two pages of writing. Make a copy of your peer review letter -- one copy goes to the writer, and one goes in your essay portfolio.

Because I consider peer review letters an essential part of your writing, I always make sure you have adequate time to read your peers' work and comment on it. When I review your essay portfolios, I will check your peer review letters. Peer review letters which show little time and effort will automatically reduce your essay grade.

Peer Review Conferences

Peer review groups will meet in my office. Please come prepared. Each member of the peer review group will present her/his paper and receive peer comments. As a peer reviewer, be sure to bring copies of your peer review letters for each member of the group, and remember to keep a copy of each letter for your own portfolio. A missed conference counts as an absence.

Essay Portfolio

Please write your name and class section on the FRONT of your portfolio folder. Your essay portfolio is a folder with pockets (portfolios without folders will not be accepted) and should include the following:

final version - with cover sheet and "Works Cited" page
peer review letters - copies of letters you've written for your peers
drafts #1 and #2

Any essays handed in late will receive an automatic reduction in grade.

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