Essay 2 – Textual Analysis (100% 100 points)
Description:
You will write an essay that analyzes a print or visual text. You will craft a thesis-driven analytical essay that demonstrates substantial understanding of the rhetorical strategies used in a text and an ability to examine, critique, and interrogate those strategies. The essay must be 3-5 pages, and counts for 100 points or 10% of your final grade for the course.
How Do I Begin?
To analyze a text means to closely examine both what the text argues and how it argues it. Your goal in analyzing any text is to demonstrate how a text achieves its effects, how successfully it achieves those effects, and what it means by discussing its rhetorical appeals—pathos, ethos, and logos. How does your text use these appeals?
You will begin by selecting any text you wish to analyze. This can be an essay or article from a magazine, a music video, a commercial, or a very short film clip. However, an entire book, movie, or series is too long for this assignment. If there is a text you would like to analyze but are unsure if it meets the requirements, let me know and we can discuss it.
I’ve Chosen my text—Now What?
Once you have chosen your text to analyze, you should perform an appropriate summary of the text. Once you have summarized, begin to analyze the context of the argument/claim. Make sure to consider the rhetorical situation, which includes the text’s purpose, audience, and how it is appealing.
You are not required to conduct any secondary research for this assignment. However, any secondary sources you consult must be cited, both in the text and on your Work Cited page. The text you analyze must be cited thoroughly and correctly, regardless of whether you perform any outside research.
Do not forget to include a descriptive title; please don’t simply call your essay “Analysis,” or “Essay 2.”
Please include your name, class, and date in the upper left hand corner of the page. Please use 12-point font, preferably Times New Roman. Make sure all pages are numbered. Finally, include a WORK CITED page.
Due dates: Rough draft Thur, Mar 5
Final draft: Thur., Mar 12
