Your second paper will be a rhetorical analysis of one of the essays we have read for class since your first paper was due: essays by Hampikian, Miller, Heffernan, or Miron and Tetelbaum. An analysis will require you to both explain your chosen essay's main ideas in your own words (summary) and evaluate the validity of those ideas (critique).
Your paper should consist of a title, an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Your introduction should include the title and author of the essay you are critiquing and your thesis statement. Your thesis should include 1) what the essay's author main point is and 2) what your overall evaluation (or opinion) of that essay is and why. You should ask yourself: what is the author's main point? Do I agree with that argument? Why or Why not? (As usual, there are multiple "right" answers to all of those questions.) Remember, however, that in your final draft, your critiques should NOT include personal pronouns (i.e. "I," as in "I think that").
Like your first paper, each of your body paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence that conveys the point of its corresponding paragraph. In the case of an analysis, your topic sentence should convey a main subpoint of the essay you are writing about and your overall evaluation (critique) of it. Each body paragraph should also include examples that illustrate the main point of the paragraph and commentary that explains the significance of each example and that ties the individual body paragraph to your overall thesis. Be sure that you provide evidence (examples) to illustrate your critique. Unlike Paper One, you will use examples from the essay you're evaluating-not personal experience-- for the evidence. Remember that you need only focus on the parts of the essay that are the most relevant and significant; in other words, you are not required to treat every single point and illustration in the original essay.
Note that "critiques" are not always negative; they can be positive, as well. Also, remember the proofs we discuss in class are ways to critique the author's essay. Hint: you can agree with parts of the essay and not with other parts; for example, you may agree with the author's main point and most of their subpoints but disagree with the manner of illustration or the ordering of points. Sample formats of how to phrase thesis and topic sentences, indicating both agreement and disagreement, are: "Although Miller's essay relies too heavily on _______, her explanation of ________ is convincing because ___________." Or, "While Heffernan correctly argues ____________, she fails to consider __________, undermining her main point that __________." Critiquing someone's line of logic and their evidence are two of the most common forms of scholarly critique.
You may organize your paragraphs as you choose; the order that I recommend is as follows: center each body paragraph around one of the essay's main subpoints; summarize that subpoint and analyze (critique) it; then, in your next body paragraph, summarize and critique another of the author's main subpoints, and so on. Ultimately, the organizational method is up to you; just be sure that you organize the body of your paper logically and transition smoothly from one paragraph (and idea) to the next.
In your conclusion, briefly indicate why the essay and your evaluation of it matters, either in the classroom or outside of it.
You must cite all direct quotes and paraphrases; this entails both parenthetical citations throughout your paper and a Works Cited page, correctly formatted. Try to keep direct quotes short and infrequent, paraphrasing (or writing in your own words) more often than quoting, and be sure to distinguish clearly between your ideas and those of the essay with identifying tags and in-text citations.
Consult your WT for guidelines on style and grammar; you are responsible for avoiding all of the errors we discuss up until the due date of this paper, and your grade will reflect that. Please follow the formatting guidelines in your syllabus, and remember that points will be deducted from late papers.
You should plan on revising your paper several times before turning it in; you will get feedback during the workshop from your classmates, and you may meet with me during office hours to discuss your plan for writing or drafts at any stage.