Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis #1
[abbreviated FAS&RA#1] Directions Handout
WR 121, Fall 2004, Prof. Cora Agatucci
Worth: 10% of course grade - letter graded. 
Revision Option will be offered if Essay #1 is turned in on time.
Late FAS & RA #1 will be penalized 1/2 letter grade. 
See WR 121 Course Plan for relevant deadlines.

This formal graded assignment will help you achieve these WR 121 learning outcomes:

Outcome 4  Employ one or more sources responsibly (without plagiarizing) in a summary or another writing assignment.

Outcome 6  Use critical reading and writing to analyze and synthesize ideas in an academic writing sample, identifying rhetorical patterns, major assertions, and supporting details. 

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

___Text Summarized & Rhetorically Analyzed from Muller is one of approved choices given.  Choose one of the following Muller essays for Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis #1:  Elbow's "Freewriting"; OR Murray's "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts"; OR Dillard's "An American Childhood"; OR Coles's "I Listen to My Parents and I Wonder What They Believe”

___Manuscript Form demonstrates good faith effort to follow directions & models.  FINAL DRAFT MUST BE TYPED OR WORD PROCESSED, and DOUBLE-SPACED.  Review WR 121 Syllabus for other Manuscript Form requirements when preparing Final Draft, including standard MLA-style heading on page 1 and running page headers on second and subsequent pages.

___Plagiarism is avoided: Complete MLA-style bibliographical entry; quotation marks are used throughout assignment to set off direct quotations; in-text citation - author being cited is clear or clearly specified and page numbers are cited parenthetically for all quotations & paraphrases in Rhetorical Analysis section.

___MLA-Style Bibliographical entry [instead of a centered title] identifying the text being summarized and analyzed, should be placed on the first page directly below your MLA style heading and directly above your Formal Academic Summary. Follow Cora's model for your selected Muller essay: see MLA-Style Bibliographical Entries on last page of previous Summary & Rhetorical Analysis Exercise directions handout. [Cora's models follow MLA format for "Work in a Collection of Pieces by Different Authors" (Muller 701), but inserting information about the original source & date of publication given in "header" notes at the beginning of selected reading and/or in "Credits" at end of the Muller textbook (C-1 to C-6).]

Tip: In formal academic writing, do NOT refer to an author by her/his FIRST name only.  In formal academic writing it is conventional to use the author's full name, the author's last name only, or another clear substitute.  
Examples:
Peter Elbow explains . . .           According to Coles, . . .     
Annie Dillard's description of her mother . . .
The author argues that . . . .           She adds . . . .

FORMAL ACADEMIC SUMMARY Directions

1. Length & Manuscript Format:  Your Formal Academic Summary should be about 100-150 words - no longer than one typed double-spaced or wordprocessed page, using a readable, standard-sized font and point size, and standard 1” margins.  This one-page limit includes the standard MLA heading (which may be single-spaced) on the first page of your assignment in the upper left-hand corner, the MLA-Style bibliographical entry (which MUST BE DOUBLE SPACED, with 2nd + lines indented - see above), and the double-spaced text of your Formal Academic Summary itself.

NOTE WELL:  Automatic 1/2 grade penalty if your double-spaced Formal Academic Summary (including MLA heading & MLA-style bibliographical entry required on page one) exceeds one (1) typed double-spaced page.

Format your Formal Academic Summary as one single paragraph.

2.  Summary Content: First sentence/s should formally re-state the full name of the author(s) and title of the text that you are summarizing, and establish the topic focus of the text.  The remainder of your Summary should clearly, concisely, accurately, and objectively present the thesis and major points. Generally, it is a good idea to present thesis and main points following the order in which they are presented in the essay that you are summarizing.  Remember to format your summary as one single paragraph.

Read closely and repeatedly to help you accurately identify the author’s major purpose, thesis, emphasis; and major points.

Select material for inclusion carefully and do NOT exceed the length limit given above or your summary will be penalized at least one-half grade.  Staying within that limit means you cannot be comprehensive: omit less important points and supporting detail; generalize the point of specific illustrations.  Use your interpretation of the author’s thesis, main purpose, and emphasis to guide your decisions regarding what to include and exclude.

Represent the major point(s) of the text accurately, fairly, and objectively—such that if the author were to read your summary, s/he could agree that you have done so. 

Use occasional  “author tags” (e.g., “according to Ehrenreich,” or “as Ehrenreich says”) to remind the reader and yourself that you are summarizing another’s text, not giving your own ideas. 

What NOT to do in the Formal Academic Summary:

a. Do NOT give your opinions about the ideas summarized nor about the quality of the writing (e.g., do not state whether you agree or disagree with the author’s ideas, nor whether you think this is good or bad writing);

b. Do NOT repeat or restate points unnecessarily: be clear and provide transitions to be coherent and show relationships among main ideas represented, but be concise and make every sentence count;

c. Do NOT use extensive quotations: keep quotations to a minimum, limited to key ideas or special phrasing.  In general, paraphrase, in your own words, the main ideas both to be more concise than the original text(s) and to show your understanding of the text(s). 

d. Do NOT include minor points and details: stick to the major points; mention specific details and examples only if they are given primary emphasis and proportional space by the author(s) and/or they seem essential to illustrating the thesis or main idea.

3. Command of Standard Written English; and Clear, Effective Style and Coherence will also be considered in instructor’s grading. Please edit and proofread your Final Draft carefully.

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RHETORICAL ANALYSIS Directions

1.  Manuscript Format & Length:  Begin your Rhetorical Analysis section on the second page of this assignment, entitle this section "Rhetorical Analysis," and be sure to use running page headers on the second and third (and any subsequent) pages of your Final Draft. 
Suggested Length for Rhetorical Analysis section: 2 typed / wordprocessed and double-spaced pages (or about 300--500 words).
Content directions under #2 below suggest a 5-paragraph Rhetorical Analysis.

2.  Rhetorical Analysis: Write a rhetorical analysis of the selected text (use your preparatory Summary & Rhetorical Analysis Exercise to guide you), composed of well-structured and well-developed paragraphs, separated by logically appropriate paragraph breaks; and expressing your analysis in clear well-formed sentences.  In the process, be sure to avoid plagiarism by providing MLA-style in-text citations whenever you summarize, paraphrase (indirect quotation), and quote from the primary text/author you are analyzing, as well as from Muller (e.g. his header notes).  Well-structured paragraphs have clear topic sentences that focus and unify paragraph content.  Well-developed paragraphs provide adequate explanation of the topic sentence idea, supported by well-selected specific examples.

Your Rhetorical Analysis should devote at least one well-structured and well-developed paragraph to each of the following:

(a) Rhetorical/Communication Context:  Drawing upon "external" evidence (e.g. Muller's header note and original publication information identified in the MLA-style bibliographical entry) and "internal" evidence (clues within the essay itself), comment on:

Author/Authority: Explain briefly who the author is and her/his authority to speak on the essay topic (e.g. any special credentials and/or experience relevant to the essay topic).
Intended Audience: Try to characterize the original intended audience (using external and internal evidence to infer whom the author had in mind when s/he wrote this article; then comment on whether you think contemporary readers - especially WR 121 students in 2004 - would still find the essay relevant and useful.   

(b) Essay Structure:

Identify (citing paragraph and page numbers) the major divisions of the essay--Introduction, Body, Conclusion--briefly justifying your divisions (using your prior essay writing knowledge/experience, and/or relevant Muller definitions/discussions).
Also cite key passages where the author presents the essay's Thesis / Purpose (which should be consistent with Thesis/Purpose that you identified in your Formal Academic Summary above).

(c) One Strategy of Development (or Rhetorical Mode):  Drawing upon "Contents of Essays by Rhetorical Mode" (Muller xxi-xxviii), "Strategies for Development" (Muller 25-37), "Glossary of Terms" (Muller G-1 to G-12), and/or relevant "Rhetoric" questions (provided by Muller) following your chosen essay; name, briefly define, and provide specific examples to illustrate one strategy of development used by the author in this essay.

(d) Another Writing Strategy - which can be a second Strategy of Development (see c above): Drawing upon your own analytical insights and/or Muller's, explain and illustrate (with specific examples and in-text citation) another writing strategy used by the author.

(e) Conclusion: WR 121 Application/s:  Conclude your Rhetorical Analysis by offering useful advice to your WR 121 audience. That is, identify one or two writing strategies used in this essay that your WR 121 readers might wish to try and/or to avoid, if they want to strengthen the effectiveness of their own writing. And briefly explain why.

3.  Again, Command of Standard Written English; and Effective Style, Clarity, and Coherence will also be considered in instructor’s grading. Use complete, well-formed sentences throughout, and please proofread and edit your final draft carefully.

WR 121 Home | Fall 2004 Syllabus | Course Plan

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Last Updated: 05 October 2004

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