Table of Contents
Rhetorical Analysis Paper………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Synthesis Paper………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Documented Essay………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
Practice Final Examination………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
Rhetorical Analysis Paper
For our first unit, you have read W.E.B. Du Bois’s first chapter (“Of Our Spiritual Strivings”) from The Souls of Black Folk, excerpts from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself by Linda Brent (pen name of Harriet A. Jacobs), and Sui Sin Far’s “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian.” You will focus your first essay on just one of these texts, or, if you prefer, you can choose more than one text and find commonalities.
Choose one of the following questions to help you focus your essay:
- How does someone’s outer appearance influence the way they are perceived by others?
- How does one’s outer appearance influence they way they perceive themselves?
- To what extent does telling one’s own story help to shape own’s sense of identity?
Choose one of the above questions and write an answer in 2-3 pages, typed, double-spaced, in a 12-point Times New Roman or similar font. You must organize your paper using paragraphs. You must include a number of quotations from the texts in your paper to support your ideas. Papers must be uploaded as a file format that Blackboard can read.
Thesis
The thesis for this paper is your main focus or main idea, which you will support with quotations throughout. One way to craft your thesis is to directly answer the question in terms of the text you chose, by replacing the “someone” or “one” in the question with the author’s name.
Style
Your paper should be written in a formal, academic style, and is intended as short analysis paper. You can use “I” but use it sparingly. This is your paper, so unless you write otherwise, I know that this is your opinion, and taking out the word “I” isn’t going to change that. These are not freewrites or personal responses, nor are they full summaries of or reports about the text you choose.
The paper should be formal in tone. That means written in full sentences, is divided up into paragraphs with one main idea each, and adheres to rules of standard American English grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Academic style means that you need to use quotations and cite the sources and page numbers where those quotations come from. You should not rely on the personal or atemporal (e.g. “this reminds me of my life because…” “the same thing happens today…” –Save these for your synthesis paper) for your paper’s content. These kinds of papers will not be accepted and will have to be rewritten with a grade penalty of one full letter grade.
Analysis
To analyze means to break down, to unpack, or to dissect. One way to think of analysis is actually descriptive or expository. Explain what is happening in the quotations you chose. This is not summary because you are taking a short piece of text (your quotation) and writing more about it than the length of the quotation itself (by definition, summary condenses and pulls out the most important points from a longer narrative). Analysis expands, and also points out what is not directly stated in the text. Analysis fills in the gaps to explain what you notice as a reader that perhaps other people wouldn’t notice.
Explain the significance of your quotations. It is not enough to point out that a metaphor is there. You have to conjecture as to why the metaphor is used. What does the metaphor show readers about the character or situation? What is the subtext? Is the author using any literary devices to challenge our beliefs or to make us think about something in a new way?
This paper should be based on your careful reading of the texts assigned, and not on research. Also, your paper does not need to come to any hard and fast conclusions. Instead, it should expand your thinking about a text we’re reading. You do need a thesis statement, but this thesis will be a summary of your paper’s main focus.
Synthesis Paper
For our second unit, you have read excerpts from Plato’s Apology, from Montaigne’s Essays, and Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman. You can focus your second paper on just one of these texts, or, if you prefer, you can choose more than one and find commonalities. Notice that the following questions are worded differently from the ones in the first paper assignment, and that they ask you to consider not only what the writers believe but what you believe as well.
Choose one of the following questions to help you focus your essay:
- What is the examined life and why is it worth living?
- To what extent is there a contradiction between virtue and pleasure?
- How does the contemplation of death influence life?
- What is the value of education in terms of our self-discovery?
Choose one of the above questions and write an answer in 3-4 pages, typed, double-spaced, in a 12-point Times New Roman or similar font. You must organize your paper using paragraphs. You must include a number of quotations from the texts in your paper to support your ideas. Papers must be uploaded as a file format that Blackboard can read.
Thesis
The thesis for this paper is your main focus or main idea, which you will support with quotations from the text and other evidence (like a personal story) throughout. But unlike in the last paper, this thesis could be shaped by your own ideas that synthesize the ones in the text or texts and apply to yourself. You can still craft your thesis by directly answering the question, but this time you will want to use “I” or make your thesis more general, rather than using the author’s names.
Style
Again, I suggest using the first person sparingly, unless you’re telling a personal story (which in this case is ok if it is relevant). This is your paper, so unless you write otherwise, I know that this is your opinion, and taking out the word “I” isn’t going to change that. These are not freewrites or personal responses (as in “I liked this text” or “I didn’t like it”), nor are they full summaries of or reports about the text you choose.
The paper should be formal in tone. That means written in full sentences, is divided up into paragraphs with one main idea each, and adheres to rules of standard American English grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Academic style means that you need to use quotations and cite the sources and page numbers where those quotations come from. Here, you can make connections between the text(s) and your own life, but be very careful to make sure that the connections are truly relevant.
Synthesis
Remember that synthesis means analysis and then some. Again, to analyze means to break down, to unpack, or to dissect. One way to think of analysis is actually descriptive or expository. Explain what is happening in the quotations you chose. This is not summary because you are taking a short piece of text (your quotation) and writing more about it than the length of the quotation itself (by definition, summary condenses and pulls out the most important points from a longer narrative). Analysis expands, and also points out what is not directly stated in the text. Analysis fills in the gaps to explain what you notice as a reader that perhaps other people wouldn’t notice.
Explain the significance of your quotations. It is not enough to point out that a metaphor is there. You have to conjecture as to why the metaphor is used. What does the metaphor show readers about the character or situation? What is the subtext? Is the author using any literary devices to challenge our beliefs or to make us think about something in a new way?
This paper should be based on your careful reading of the texts assigned, and not on research. Like the first paper, this one should expand your thinking about a text we’re reading, but now even further to an application to your own life. The thesis, once again, is a synthesis of the text(s) and its application to you.
Documented Essay
For our third unit, you have read Huey P. Long’s “Every Man a King,” Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” and Andrew Carnegie’s “The Gospel of Wealth.” You should focus your third paper two or more of these texts, and then you will have to find a third source (I suggest legislation or a supreme court decision) on your own to support your thesis. Notice that the following questions are worded differently from the ones in the first paper assignment, and that they ask you to consider not only what the writers believe but what you believe as well.
Choose one of the following questions to help you focus your essay:
- Who should be responsible for helping the poor?
- What, if any, limits should there be to individual wealth?
- To what extent should the government regulate economic issues like labor rights, corporate responsibility, and equal pay?
Choose one of the above questions and write an answer in 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, in a 12-point Times New Roman or similar font. You must organize your paper using paragraphs. You must include a number of quotations from the texts in your paper to support your ideas, and also quote from a 3rd source that you find on your own. Papers must be uploaded as a file format that Blackboard can read.
Thesis
The thesis for this paper is your main focus or main idea, which you will support with quotations from the texts and common sense. This paper is not really suited toward personal experience. Like in the last paper, your thesis could be shaped by your own ideas that synthesize the ones in the texts you use. But instead of applying this idea to yourself, you are applying it as a general rule.
Style
Again, I suggest using the first person sparingly, unless you’re telling a personal story (which in this case is ok only if it is highly relevant, which may be hard). This is your paper, so unless you write otherwise, I know that this is your opinion, and taking out the word “I” isn’t going to change that. These are not freewrites or personal responses (as in “I liked this text” or “I didn’t like it”), nor are they full summaries of or reports about the text you choose.
The paper should be formal in tone. That means written in full sentences, is divided up into paragraphs with one main idea each, and adheres to rules of standard American English grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Academic style means that you need to use quotations and cite the sources and page numbers where those quotations come from. Here, you can make connections between the text(s) and your own life, but be very careful to make sure that the connections are truly relevant.
Synthesis
Remember that synthesis means analysis and then some. Again, to analyze means to break down, to unpack, or to dissect. One way to think of analysis is actually descriptive or expository. Explain what is happening in the quotations you chose. This is not summary because you are taking a short piece of text (your quotation) and writing more about it than the length of the quotation itself (by definition, summary condenses and pulls out the most important points from a longer narrative). Analysis expands, and also points out what is not directly stated in the text. Analysis fills in the gaps to explain what you notice as a reader that perhaps other people wouldn’t notice.
Explain the significance of your quotations. It is not enough to point out that a metaphor is there. You have to conjecture as to why the metaphor is used. What does the metaphor show readers about the character or situation? What is the subtext? Is the author using any literary devices to challenge our beliefs or to make us think about something in a new way?
This paper should be based on your careful reading of the texts assigned, as well as of the text you find on your own. We will be discussing how to find a third source in class and/or in a library research session.
Practice Final Examination
Read the three questions below carefully and then choose only ONE.
The questions are based on “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “The Elements of Success” by Mike Kubic. You must cite and engage with both in your essay.
Write an argument-centered essay of at least 500 words in response to one of the questions below. Don’t forget to use quotations and paraphrasing from the texts, and also rely on what we have studied this semester, what you have learned in other classes, common sense, and personal experience.
You have 90 minutes to compose, revise, and proofread your work.
You are permitted to use: (1) a paper dictionary (no electronic dictionaries, phones, or any other electronic device), and (2) the two texts and any notes that you made in the margins.
At the top of your paper, make sure you write which question you’re answering.
________________________________________________________________________
Chose one of the following for your essay:
- To what extent is self-reliance important to achieve success?
- How might one’s cultural background influence one’s level of success?
- What commonalities might exist between the ideas of self-reliance and collective cultural traits as indicators of success?