Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis #2

Writing 121 - Cora Agatucci
English Composition [Expository Essay Writing]

Formal Academic Summary & Rhetorical Analysis #2
WR 121, Prof. C. Agatucci - Winter 2003
Worth: 5% of course grade - letter graded.
Late Formal Academic Summaries & Rhetorical Analyses #2 will be penalized 1/2 letter grade.
Revision Option is offered only if assignment is turned in on time.

DEADLINES: See WR 121 Course Plan, Weeks #5 & #6, for relevant deadlines.

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

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.

Outcome 7: Complete appropriate written critical peer reviews of student essay drafts, including suggestions for revision and editing.

Ability to recognize and identify “Strategies of Development” (Muller 25-36), required for this assignment will also develop students’ skills in meeting:

Outcome 3: Demonstrate the ability to use a variety of expository essay patterns, such as definition, classification, analysis, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast.

TEXT TO BE SUMMARIZED & ANALYZED: Another WR 121 student’s Essay #1, copies of which will be exchanged and assigned in class on Friday, Feb. 7 (i.e. the date Essay #1 is due, with two copies required, the second copy of which will go to another WR 121 student for completion of the FAS&RA #2 assignment).

FINAL DRAFT MUST BE TYPED OR WORD PROCESSED, AND DOUBLE-SPACED: See WR 121 Syllabus on Manuscript Form when preparing Final Drafts.

TWO COPIES of your FORMAL ACADEMIC SUMMARY & RHETORICAL ANALYSIS #2 ARE REQUIRED!! One copy with be submitted to Cora for grading; the second copy will be given to the Essay #1 student author.

DIRECTIONS FOR FORMAL ACADEMIC SUMMARY:

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. The centered title of your formal academic summary should be:

Formal Academic Summary of “Title of Essay #1”
by Name of Student Author

3. First Sentence(s) of summary should formally re-introduce the name of the student author and title of the student's essay that you are summarizing, and establish the topic focus of that essay.

4. Summary Body should present the student essay’s thesis and main points, clearly and concisely: read closely and repeatedly to help you identify the student 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 student author’s thesis, main purpose, and emphasis to guide your decisions regarding what to include and exclude.

Represent the major point(s) of the essay accurately, fairly, and objectively—such that when the student author reads your summary, s/he will be able to agree that you have done so.

Use occasional “author tags” (e.g., “according to Smith,” or “as Cunningham states,”) to remind the reader and yourself that you are summarizing another’s essay, 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 student author’s ideas, or whether you think this is good or bad writing in your Formal Academic Summary);

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 essay.

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 student author and/or they seem essential to illustrating the thesis or main idea of the essay.

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, and be sure to use running page headers on the second and any subsequent pages of your manuscript.

The centered title of your rhetorical analysis should be:

Rhetorical Analysis of “Title of Essay #1”
by Name Student Author

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 student essay focused on at least two writing strategies used, to include the following:

Identify and illustrate one (or more) of the Strategies of Development (see Muller 25-36 for help) used in this student essay;

Identify and analyze one or two more writing strategies used by the student author in her/his Essay #1.

Be sure to develop and support each of your analytical points by citing and analyzing well-selected examples from the student author’s Essay #1.

Include in or conclude your Rhetorical Analysis with explicit commentary addressed to the student author (a) identifying the strongest/best aspect of her/her essay, and (b) recommending one way in which the essay could be improved or strengthened.

For help in identifying writing strategies to develop in your Rhetorical Analysis, review topics and approaches suggested in the “Rhetoric” sections that follow reading selections in Muller. More ideas may be gained from More Rhetorical Analysis Points to Consider given below.

3. (Parenthetical) In-text Citation of quotations and paraphrases taken from the assigned WR 121 student author’s essay should identify the paragraph/s in which referenced passages occur. So the first step in preparing to write your Rhetorical Analysis is to go through the WR 121 student’s essay and number each paragraph (i.e. write the number in the margin next to the beginning of each new paragraph).
Example Citations of Quotation and Paraphrase by Paragraph Number:

John Doe’s essay uses definition, clarified with illustration, as strategies of development in paragraphs 2 and 3. For example, Doe defines the concept of “gender tracking” as “directing young girls into course electives and future careers, like nursing and elementary school teaching, considered appropriate for females; however, boys are encouraged to become doctors or college professors, professions traditionally reserved for males” (paragraph 2). To illustrate his definitions of

Aarron Student sometimes uses comparisons, including some striking analogies, to clarify and dramatize his points. To help us understand the kind of close, active critical reading needed for success in studying literature, StudentAuthor’sLastName recommends that we approach this task with the same close attention to “reading between the lines” and interpreting possible meanings we bring to reading a love letter (paragraph 5).

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.

More Rhetorical Analysis Points to Consider

To help you select points to discuss in your Rhetorical Analysis section, you may wish to discuss one or more of the following rhetorical aspects of the student author’s Essay #1:

· 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 (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 citation/shelp 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.

· 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 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?

Writing 121 - Cora Agatucci English Composition [Expository Essay Writing]

Writing 121 - Cora Agatucci
English Composition [Expository Essay Writing]