ENGL 102. Analysis-Evaluation Essay Assignment (Rhetorical Analysis)
Please consult the course outline regarding the due date. The essay should be submitted electronically through BlackBoard. However, this essay will be used for the in-class peer-review assignment, so it is necessary that you also bring a hard copy of the analysis paper.
Objectives: A rhetorical analysis should demonstrate effective critical thinking and your ability to analyze and evaluate such elements as the writer’s purpose, audience, and strategies. It will help you understand the constituents of persuasive arguments and will improve your own writing.
What to do:
Read Fred Stenson’s essay “In Search of a Modest Proposal” (https://nanopdf.com/download/in-search-of-a-modest-proposal_pdf). Analyze and evaluate the writer’s argument and evidence based on the principles of rhetorical and critical analysis that have been discussed in class, in “Writing Evaluation Essays” (eReserve, BlackBoard, ID 38581), and in the PowerPoint presentation “Rhetoric” (on BlackBoard). Consult the sample evaluative essay by D.Jones “The Complexity of Power and Gender Relations…” (eReserve, BlackBoard, ID 38585).
The goal is to try to employ some of the rhetorical terms and concepts to analyze and evaluate the rhetor’s argument. In your analysis, you are NOT expected to use ALL of the suggested tools—only those suitable for the text in question (it is recommended to mention or address the problems of genre, structure, diction, and kinds of argument and evidence, including the dominant methods of proof and fallacies—see “Writing Evaluation Essays” on eReserve. Make sure you support your analysis/evaluation with textual evidence (all quotes should be grammatically and smoothly integrated into your text). Your essay should have an introduction (including the writer’s full name and the work’s title, the subject and thesis of his or her argument, and your own analytic-evaluative thesis statement), main body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Remember that your analysis should be your own and original: you are not allowed to consult any sources that analyze Fred Stenson’s essay “In Search of a Modest Proposal.” Papers containing any signs or traces of ideas or phrasing borrowed from the internet or other sources will be considered plagiarized and will receive a mark of zero.
Follow the conventions of the APA format. The paper should consist of the following: title page, abstract (one-two sentences), keywords, main body, and references (include only the primary source in there—Stenson’s essay). Your paper should be approximately 800 words long (including the title page, abstract, and the rest). Please use 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced. For APA format please consult https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ (this website also contains a sample APA paper).
Papers that do not follow APA format will be penalized by 5%. Essays that are significantly shorter or longer than 800 words (by 100 words) will receive a penalty depending on their size.
Marking rubrics:
| Strong | Good | OK | Weak | |
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| Overall Organization and essay structure: context and issues presented in intro; thesis statement/central argument/central idea is made clear in intro/opening paragraphs and stays central to the paper; central idea is developed clearly, logically, and completely to form a clear line of argument/discussion that runs throughout the paper; transitions (within and between paragraphs) are used to connect ideas and keep central argument together; conclusion ties evidence and argument together, sums everything up; overall the “so what” comes through clearly; the paper follows APA format | |||
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| Content: sufficient discussion, explanation, analysis, evidence; examples, and evidence are tied to the central argument and are clearly relevant and well-incorporated; overall, paper illustrates insight, thinking, depth, complexity, and theoretical knowledge of rhetoric; quotations are well-chosen; quotations and references support, illustrate, and exemplify points; quotations are provided with context/set-up Tone, approach, academic conventions overall: appropriate, authentic voice, sincerity/honesty, energy | |||
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| Written expression: Syntax, diction, and mechanics (clear and correct sentence structure; appropriate and effective sentence length and variety; diction precise, concise, idiomatic; spelling, punctuation, grammar correct) |