ENGL 1013 Writing Studies

Module 4: Academic Writing

Essay 2: Analysis Rough Draft

To analyze is to take something apart and examine it closely. In an analysis essay, you break down a text/issue/topic to show exactly how and why an author appeals to a particular audience. This essay asks you to not merely summarize a text (what it says) but analyze a text (show us how/why a text is effective in appealing for a specific audience). In short, analysis asks how and why something is persuasive or not.

For your second essay, you will rhetorically analyze a commercial, print advertisement, or a political ad produced within the last six months (you may NOT use a written article). In other words, your essay should discuss why your author designed their ad in this particular way and how those choices are effective or not. Who are they trying to persuade? What rhetorical appeal(s) are they using to persuade that specific audience?

The skills that you will practice in the essay include:

Demonstrate your ability to analyze the rhetorical situation surrounding a text (e.g. the relationship between author, audience, and the message of the text)
Identify and analyze the use of rhetorical appeals (see rhetorical appeals videos and SPACE CAT worksheet)
Identify and analyze the use of manipulative language (weasel words, slanting, etc.)
Demonstrate your ability to make an argument about how effective the rhetorical strategies used by an author are

To support your analysis, use evidence from 1-2 of the following:

Newman Birk and Genevieve Birk, “Slanting, and Charged Language”
Nick Horne, “Fake News Starts with the Title”
Gaby Barrios, “Why gender-based marketing is bad for business” (TED Talk)
Bill Bryson, “The Hard Sell: Advertising in America”
William Lutz, “Weasel Words: The Art of Saying Nothing at All”
Jib Fowles, “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”
Kiera Butler, “The Creepy Language Tricks Taco Bell Uses to Fool People into Eating There”

Essay 2 Peer Review

Peer review, or the process of having a few of your classmates read your draft and provide feedback, is an essential part of the writing process. Research shows that the instructor is often not the best source of feedback on an early draft. The more eyes on your paper, the better, as you’re revising to make your paper as strong as possible!

Read the essays of ALL your group members. Give the type and number of comments you want to receive on your own paper. No one likes being in a group when they are the only one participating and doing the work.

In-Text Edits/Comments: Leave comments and edits even if you do not think you are the strongest writer. Everyone can highlight a sentence that is not clear (even if you don’t know the grammar issue) or give kudos for a sentence that is really strong. This kind of feedback is helpful for everyone!

Answer the Peer Review Questions: Copy and paste the peer review questions below at the end of each peers’ draft. Answer the questions for every member of your group. The questions correspond with the rubric and are questions you should think about for your own paper.

Guidelines

For each student in your group, answer the following peer review questions (copy and paste them) AND provide in-text edits to their paper. For the in-text edits, focus on flagging sentences that are unclear or where they are missing key details from the prompt. Your grade is determined by doing BOTH the answers to the peer review questions and leaving comments/in-text edits in the Google Docs.

Intro and Thesis Statement: Does the essay have a clear thesis statement? Does the introduction clearly set up the focus of the essay and what will be analyzed?
Structure: Does the author have a clear structure to the essay? In other words, does the author use paragraphs and have a clear direction throughout the essay, with each paragraph building on the one that came before?
Body Paragraphs: Does the author have clear body paragraphs throughout the essay? Is it clear what the main idea/specific point will be for each body paragraph in a topic sentence? Does the author lead with the evidence in the first half of the paragraph (i.e. quotations/visual details, etc.)?
Summary: Does the author accurately summarize the sources throughout the essay? Is it clear what is summary vs. what is an original argument made by the author?
Analysis: Does the author clearly break down the text to analyze how/why it is persuasive for a specific audience? Does the author refer to the rhetorical appeals/SPACE CAT worksheet/texts we’ve read in this unit to help break down why/how it is persuasive?
MLA: Does the essay use proper MLA citation for quotations?
- List two things you think the author did really well in this draft.
- List two things you think the author could improve upon for the final version.

Essay 2: Analysis Final Draft