n this assignment, you will write a first draft of your rhetorical analysis and submit it to your instructor for feedback. While this is only a draft, you will get maximum points for getting as much drafting done as possible, as you want to give your instructor most of your material to work with when giving feedback.
One of the ways to come to understand how writing in a particular field works is to choose some examples of the discourse and analyze them. For this assignment, you are going to choose a scholarly, peer-reviewed article in your field (perhaps from one of the journals you identified in Unit 2), and write a 5-page essay in which you draw from the course readings to analyze the article as a representation of the field’s writing conventions. Keep in mind that a good analysis often focuses deeply on one issue (or perhaps a couple of related aspects) rather than listing many points, none of which are analyzed in any detail. In other words, you should not try to analyze every aspect of rhetoric you can find in your article, but perhaps focus on one or a few connected aspects that seem particularly compelling or important to understanding your field’s discourse conventions.
As you analyze your article, consider the analysis we have been doing in class, as well as these questions (you needn’t answer all of these in the essay itself, but they may help you find and focus a thesis).
What main argument is the author making and why is this important to the field he/she works in, to other scholars, etc? What knowledge, ideas, and arguments are they adding to the field? What has the field already said about the topic?
Who, specifically, is the intended audience for this article? Is it the entire field, certain members of that field, a sub-discipline, people outside that discipline? What do they already think, believe, and know? What assumptions does the author make about the audience?
What persuasive strategies does your author use and why? Are the kinds of strategies typical to the field in general? Does the author depend more heavily on certain types of strategies and why might this be?
What kinds of evidence does the author look at? What counts as evidence in this field? What does you author do with that evidence?
What choices has the author made in terms of organization and why? Are there standard formats in this field? Why might your field have (or not have) standard formats?
In your essay, you must use and quote from at least one of the readings we have done so far to help you analyze your article (Thonney, Golafshani, Hyland, or Bahls et al. for example).
Notes On Choosing
Look at lots of articles before you choose – make sure you have a general sense of what articles in your chosen field look like and choose one that seems to represent those trends.
You cannot choose book reviews or pedagogical articles (articles on teaching that field) unless pedagogy is central to the field you choose (for example, Education would necessarily have to deal with pedagogical issues).
You also can’t choose textbooks or other material aimed at students or a general audience. Choose articles written and researched for other scholars in the field.
Your article must be at least 10 pages long, unless your instructor approves something shorter for fields where longer articles are not the norm.
If you aren’t sure if an article fits the criteria, talk to your instructor or send them a link, abstract, or digital version and they can review it with you.
Evaluation Criteria
When evaluating your essay, your instructor will be looking for
A clear, specific, and analytically focused thesis
A well-developed argument with sound logical reasoning and support for the argument
Effective use and integration of evidence from primary and secondary sources
Effective organization
Effective introduction and conclusion
Effective style, punctuation, and grammar
In-text citations correctly formatted according the citation style preferred by your field
Evidence of revision from the first to the final draft
ARTICLE THAT NEEDS ANALYSIS IS UPLOADED
Golafshani’s article is linked use and quote to analyze article.
Last Completed Projects
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