Paper #2 (3-5 pages)
Thesis Sketch (paragraph or preliminary list of ideas): due Thursday, March 17, 2016
Rough Draft: due Thursday March 24, 2016 (hard copy in class)
Final Version: due Tuesday, April 5, 2016 (hard copy in class)
Please let me know by Thursday March 17th which texts you will write about.
Thursday March 17th will be a mini-workshop on this paper, so bring your thesis sketch, your ideas and your questions to class.
Please choose two of the texts we have read thus far this semester and write a paper that compares these two works. Please note that the term “text” also includes visual materials, such as advertisements and photographs. Your aim in this paper is to write a comparative analysis, using the paired texts. Your aim is not to simply compare places where the texts are similar and then shift to where they differ. Such an exercise does not really illuminate either text for your audience. Instead, identify your grounds for comparing these two texts. That is, what relationship do you see between them? Does one text influence the other? For example, does Stokely Carmichael’s speech on Black Power influence the marketing of Newport cigarettes and the aesthetic of Newport’s 1969 advertisement? Or, how has the Apollo space program shaped the television commercial for Tang breakfast drink? You might want to compare the similar political aims of two pieces. How, for example, do two authors deal with civil rights, or with gender equality in their pieces? There are several ways to approach a comparative analysis. The key, however, is to identify your grounds for comparison (e.g., what drew you to bring these two texts into conversation with one another in the first place?) and your very reasons for making the comparison (why bother comparing these texts? what do we learn about these texts in a comparative framework, that we would not learn by simply reading them separately?). The broader aim of this paper is to help position you for your research paper, in which you will be placing multiple texts into conversation with one another around a thesis of your own design. No outside research is required for paper #2, but since you will use more than one text, you will need a Works Cited page.
For Paper #2: The paper needs to have a good title. Your thesis paragraph will identify both texts, and your thesis statement will identify what you see as a common thread between the two works. Your body paragraphs will offer points of comparison and contrast, with quotations from the texts (OWL Purdue will be of great help here, as will our handouts). You also need to have 1” margins on all four sides of the page. Please adjust your settings in Word. You also must use Times New Roman, 12-point font. The Works Cited page must be a separate page at the end of your paper, with the words “Works Cited” centered at the top of the page. Please also number each page (except for the first page), and type your surname in the heading, to the left of the page number. Please follow MLA formatting throughout the paper (see OWL Purdue, or the MLA guidelines page on the Newman Library page).
Paper #1: Rhetorical Analysis of a Speech (2-3 pages)
Thesis Paragraph (rough draft): due Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Rough Draft (Paper #1): due Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Final Draft (Paper #1): due Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Please choose one of the speeches we have read thus far this semester (spoken by Dwight D. Eisenhower or John F. Kennedy) and write a close textual analysis of this work.
Your rhetorical analysis will be thesis-driven. In this paper, you will take a position on the effectiveness of the particular work in conveying its message to the audience. What is the author’s or speaker’s purpose in his work? How is the work constructed to win the audience? If the work largely succeeds in being persuasive, how has it done so? What rhetorical modes of persuasion has the speaker employed? If the speech does not succeed, what are some of the reasons why this is the case? Please remember to take into account the genre of the work (speech) and the socio-historical context in which this work was produced and initially disseminated. You do not need to use the questions above as a blueprint for the layout of your paper. Rather, use these questions as springboards into your argument-driven paper.
FORMAT:
Your first paragraph must include a clear thesis statement in the first paragraph. Please set the context for reader: this means providing just enough background about the text so that your reader feels anchored in your subject. Do not begin your essay with phrases such as, “Since the beginning of time…” or “Speeches can often be dull, but an example of a speech that’s exciting is…” Please conclude the introductory paragraph with a thesis statement. Remember, the thesis statement presents the argument that you will substantiate in your essay. You will present your textual evidence in paragraphs that are the “body” of the essay. While an overview of the text can illuminate your argument, please avoid summarizing the text. Summaries do not constitute evidence or analysis. Similarly, move beyond opinion into analysis. Aim for substantive paragraphs, each of which must begin with a strong, focused topic sentence. Your paragraphs must build upon each other in order to construct logical, clearly developed support for your argument. Aim for smooth transitions from one paragraph to the next—that is, use specific words or phrases that alert your reader to a transition moment. Think of each paragraph as a unit of evidence. Your quotations must be contextualized within a sentence of your own design. Do not leave a quotation standing all by itself, as its own sentence (“lonely quotation syndrome”)! You should also immediately follow up your quotation with a brief explanation of its significance to the point you are making.
Your conclusion does not repeat your opening paragraph, but speculates on the significance of the connections you have made. The conclusion must not be a one or two sentence effort to run away from the paper now that its end is in sight. Lastly, please proofread your essay. This includes reading your essay aloud to yourself and sharing your draft with classmates. Please avoid contractions, colloquial phrases, and other examples of casual, conversational language. Aim for correct grammar and syntax.
You may use the first-person, but please do not overdo the “I.” Your essay must be 3-4 pages, doubled-spaced, typewritten, with 1” margins on all four sides (MLA Style). Please use 12-point Times New Roman font. Please single-space your name, the course name and section (see above), my name, and the due date in the upper left side of page one; double-space and type your title, double-space and begin your essay. This means that your essay should begin approximately 1⁄4 of the way down the page. The header of each page must include the page number of the essay, preceded by your surname. Please place this information on the upper-right side of the page. Do not number page one. The title of your essay must include the title of the text you are writing about.
Please visit me during office hours if you have questions about your draft-in-progress. If you cannot make it to my office hours, please contact me and we can try to arrange an appointment. Or, we can correspond via email.