Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis #1
WR 121, Prof. C. Agatucci - Winter 2003
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.
DEADLINES: See WR 121 Course Plan, Weeks #3 & #4, for relevant deadlines.
This 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.
Text to be summarized and analyzed: Choose one of the following Muller essays:
Adler's "How to Mark a Book"; OR Elbow's "Freewriting"; OR Murray's "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts"; OR . . . other choices TBA in class on Fri., 17 Jan. 2003:
See WR 121 Course Plan online: Week #3 TBA Muller readings for additional choices.
See below: More MLA-Style Models for citing other Muller reading choices._________________________________________________________________________________________
FINAL DRAFT MUST BE TYPED OR WORD PROCESSED, and double-spaced: See WR 121 Syllabus on Manuscript Form when preparing Final Drafts.
Tip: In formal academic writing, do NOT refer to an author by her/his FIRST name only (unless, of course, Mortimer [Adler] or Peter [Elbow], or etc., are personal friends of yours--?).
Instead, use the author's full name or last name only: e.g. "Peter Elbow believes that . . .," "According to Adler, . . . ."
DIRECTIONS FOR FORMAL ACADEMIC SUMMARY:
given below.1. Length & Manuscript Format: Your summary should be no longer than one typed double-spaced or wordprocessed page, using a readable, standard-sized font and point size, and standard 1” margins. The one-page limit includes the standard MLA header on the first page of your assignment [see WR 121 Syllabus on Manuscript Form when preparing Final Drafts].
2. MLA-Style Bibliographical entry should introduce your Formal Academic Summary section.
Note the formatting in Example Student Formal Academic Summaries & Rhetorical Analyses
URL: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/exampleFASRA.htm
Follow the MLA format for "Work in a Collection of Pieces by Different Authors" (Muller 701), but also insert any information about the original source & date of publication given in "header" notes at the beginning of the selected reading and/or in "Credits" at the end of the Muller textbook (C-1 to C-6).
More Examples of MLA-Style Bibliography Entries are
3. First Sentence(s) of
summary should
formally re-introduce the name of the author(s) and title of the text you
are summarizing, and establish the topic focus of the text.
4. Summary Body should
present the main points, clearly and concisely: read
closely and repeatedly to help you identify the author’s major purpose,
thesis, & emphasis.
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 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
section:
a. Do NOT give
your opinions
about the ideas summarized or the
quality of the writing (e.g., do not state whether you agree or
disagree with the author’s ideas, or 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.
5. Command of Standard Written English; and Effective Style, Clarity, and Coherence will also be considered in instructor’s grading. Please edit and proofread carefully.
DIRECTIONS FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS:
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 any subsequent pages of your manuscript.
Suggested Length for Rhetorical Analysis: 1-to-2 typed / wordprocessed and double-spaced pages (or about 250-350 words).2. Write a rhetorical analysis of the selected essay: focus on analyzing 2 or 3 selected writing strategies used by the author. You may also wish to integrate relevant aspects of the rhetorical (communication) situation of the essay. Use the guidelines and questions given in the "Rhetoric" section following the selected essay, header notes preceding the essay, and Rhetorical Analysis Questions to Consider given below, to help you select analytical points to discuss in this section.
Be sure to develop and support your analytical points with well-selected examples from the essay.
When you quote and/or paraphrase from the essay to illustrate your points, cite the page number parenthetically immediately following each quotation/paraphrase like this (232).
3. Identify one or two writing strategies used in this essay that you and other WR 121 students might use (or avoid) because the writing strategy seems effective (and/or ineffective). [In other words, what can we WR 121 students learn from analyzing rhetorical writing strategies used in this selected essay?] Then briefly explain why you judge each identified writing strategy to be effective (or ineffective).
4. Command of Standard Written English; and Effective Style, Clarity, and Coherence will also be considered in instructor’s grading. Use paragraph form and complete, well-formed sentences throughout, and please proofread and edit your final draft carefully.
Examples of MLA-Style Bibliographical Entries
MS NOTE: Double space your bibliographical entry & indent 5 spaces any 2nd & subsequent lines.
Adler, Mortimer J. "How to Mark a Book." Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across
the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 47-49.
Elbow, Peter. "Freewriting." Writing Without Teachers. Oxford UP, 1973. Rpt.
The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller.
8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 52-56.
Murray, Donald M. "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts." The Writer 1973. Rpt.
The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller.
8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 56-60.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. "The Cult of Ethnicity." Time July 8, 1981. Rpt. The
McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller.
8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 47-49.
More MLA-Style Models
WR 121, Winter 2003, Prof. C. Agatucci[10:00 class Muller Reading Choices (Announced in class, 1/17/03)]
Barry, Dave. "Red White, and Beer.” Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits, 1988. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 519-521.
Gelernter, David. "Unplugged: The Myth of Computers in the Classroom." The New Republic 1994. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 136-138.
Jacoby, Susan. "When Bright Girls Decide that Math Is a 'Waste of Time.'" The New York Times, 1983. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 140-142.
Theroux, Paul. "On Being a Man." Sunrise with Seamonsters. Cape Cod Scriveners-Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 219-222.
[11:00 class Reading Choices (Announced in class, 1/17/03)]
King, Martin Luther, Jr. "I Have a Dream." Keynote address, March on Washington, 28 August 1963. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 309-312.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. "The World House." 1963. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community, 1967. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 338-342.
Tannen, Deborah. "Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Washington Post, 1990. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 228-232.
Twain, Mark. "Two Views of the Mississippi." Life on the Mississippi, 1885. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 650-652.
Winn, Marie. "Television Addiction." The Plug-In Drug, 1977; rev. ed., Viking Penguin-Penguin Putnam, 1985. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 505-507.
Rhetorical Analysis Questions to Consider
More "Rhetoric" Questions about Writing Strategies:To help you select two or three points to discuss in your Rhetorical Analysis section, review the "Rhetoric" questions given at the end of your selected essay in our Muller textbook. And/or you may wish to discuss one or more of the following rhetorical aspects of your selected reading:
Consider the essay's structure. How is the essay organized? Can you distinguish sections devoted to introduction - body - conclusion (beginning-middle-end)? Where is the thesis/major purpose expressed? (Does this "essay" confirm, surprise, challenge your expectations of what an essay is supposed to be?) Is there a logical and/or effective order at work in the arrangement/presentation of successive ideas and points? and does this organization or structure seem logical and/or effective? Why or why not?
Which
"Strategies for Development" (see Muller pp. 25-37 for
possibilities) are used to structure the essay and/or
support and develop its points? Also consider and respond
to relevant questions posed in Muller pp. 6-7 and in the
"Rhetoric" section following the essay (e.g. methods of
support? special terms and expressions? vocabulary and
level of discourse?)
What is/are the sources of author's content and
ideas--personal experience? professional expertise and
knowledge? other "outside" sources --and if so,
who does the author quote or cite, and
why--how do they help the author achieve
her/his ends?
How would you describe the tone (or tones) the author used in this essay?--(as in, tone of voice, mood, the author's attitude toward the topic, the readers, self?) How does the author present her/himself in the essay? What is your sense of the person behind the words?
Look more closely now at style--i.e. word choice, sentence structure. Select specific examples that strike you as representative, distinctive, special, effective (and/or ineffective) about the author's ways of self-expression, using language and/or constructing sentences.
More "Rhetoric" Questions about the [Communication] Situation of the Essay:
Who is the
author? What are her/his qualifications, background,
perspective, values,
and/or special interest in writing on this topic?
(See
header note at the beginning of your
selected reader.)
How
does the author present her/himself in the
essay? Does information about the author add
or detract from the essay's effectiveness?
Why?
Where and when was this essay originally published? (See Formal Academic Summary direction #2 on original source and date of publication above.) What kind of publication is it, is it specialized in any way, and/or what kind of audience is likely to read it? Is the original date of publication recent, out of date, and/or significant other ways?
Who is the intended (targeted, imagined, ideal) audience for this essay? With what kinds of readers do you think this essay would be most and/or least successful? Use clues from both the original publication context, as well as internal clues within the essay itself, to help you speculate on the author's assumptions about her/his readers. For example, how much prior knowledge and experience, and/or what pre-existing opinions on the topic does the author seem to assume that her/his readers have? Do any particular sub-groups of readers--demographic identity, life roles, profession, beliefs, etc.--seem to be singled out (explicitly or implicitly) for special attention? Do you consider yourself to be an ideal or intended reader for this essay? Why or why not?
Evaluation: Formal Academic Summary Name:_____________________________
& Rhetorical Analysis #1
WR 121, Prof. C. Agatucci, Winter 2003
Worth: 10% of Course Grade Grade:__________________________ Submitted Late: ½ Grade Penalty
___ Submitted on time: Revision Option available. Original graded Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis (incl. this evaluation sheet) must be resubmitted with Optional Revision.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS are met:
___Manuscript Form demonstrates good faith effort to follow directions & models___Text Summarized & Analyzed from Muller is one of approved choices given.
___Plagiarism is avoided: Complete MLA-style bibliographical entry; quotation marks set off direct quotations; in-text parenthetical citation of quotation & paraphrase in Rhetorical Analysis.
___Learning Outcome 4 Employ one or more sources responsibly (without plagiarizing) in a summary or another writing assignment.
A. FORMAL ACADEMIC SUMMARY: (penalty if exceeds 1-page limit): _____________
___1. Length & Manuscript Format: No longer than one typed double-spaced or wordprocessed page--including header & bibliographical entry--using a readable, standard-sized font and point size, and standard 1” margins; formatted as one paragraph.
___2. MLA-Style Bibliographical entry—complete, correct & placed above summary.
___3. First Sentence(s) of summary re-introduce name of author, title of essay, & topic focus.
___4. Body of summary states thesis and main points . . .
. . . clearly and concisely, with transitions to show relationships among main ideas presented;
. . . accurately, fairly, & objectively, using occasional "author tags";
. . . and student summarizer avoids these problems:
a. Does NOT give opinions about ideas summarized or quality of the writing
b. Does NOT repeat or restate points unnecessarily
c. Does NOT use extensive quotations
d. Does NOT include minor points and details
B. RHETORICAL ANALYSIS: ________________
___1. Manuscript Format & Length: Rhetorical Analysis, appropriately titled, begins on second page; Analysis is 1-2 pages (250-350 words) in length, labeled with running page headers.
___2. Well-Focused on 2-3 significant writing strategies, may integrate features of rhetorical (communication) situation), & demonstrates understanding of what Rhetorical Analysis is.
___Each analytical point is clearly explained & supported with well-selected examples from the essay;
___In-text parenthetical citations of page numbers for all quotations & paraphrases
___3. Evaluation of 1-2 writing strategies explains what WR 121 students can learn from this Rhetorical Analysis of the selected Muller reading.
___Learning 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.
___Learning Outcome 10 Demonstrate an awareness of a variety of purposes and audiences.C. GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS & STYLE: _________________
Overall, Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis demonstrate:
___College-level Command of STANDARD WRITTEN ENGLISH, using complete, well-formed sentences throughout, edited effectively with few errors.
___Effective STYLE, CLARITY, & COHERENCE of sentence structure & word choice
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Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis #1
~ Winter 2003
URL of
this webpage:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr121/fas_ra1.htm
Last Updated:
13 January 2004
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Humanities Department, Central Oregon
Community College
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