Text Analysis Essay

Overview
This assignment will give you practice with analyzing texts, thinking critically, identifying rhetorical strategies, supporting claims with details and examples, and citing sources.

(Write an essay, at least 800 words and a “Dear Reader” letter of at least 75 words. The essay should be analyzing a text and using the instructions below. Please choose an article written within 3 months, and it should be on a prevalent topic. Please discuss the article with me before writing.)

Follow the instructions below:
1. Remember that opinion or persuasive articles are better to analyze for this essay.

2. You will analyze the article itself, not the broader topic, so you must be able to remain objective and level-headed in your analysis.

As you write, consider the following:
Your classmates and instructor are your audience.
Be respectful of others’ ideas, viewpoints, and backgrounds.
Keep a neutral tone, especially if the article you are analyzing is about a
controversial topic.

3. Write an 800-1250 word full draft of your Text Analysis Essay about your chosen and approved text. Your essay will define the text’s primary purpose, describe its rhetorical situation, and use details and examples from the text to show how the author achieves his or her purpose. To do this:
o First paragraph
• Introduce the title and author
• Write a brief, neutral overview of the text. Refer to the text/author
when you summarize or paraphrase the text, using signal phrases and/or in-text citations to differentiate the text’s ideas from your own. (The Purdue OWL has guidelines for summarizing, using in-text citations, and formatting quotations.)
• At the end of the introduction, provide an analytical thesis that puts the author’s main claim or purpose into your own words and indicates how the text achieves that purpose. Your essay will point out two to four main strategies used to achieve this purpose.
o Body paragraphs
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Text Analysis Essay ▪ Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that lets your readers know which aspect of the text you will analyze in that paragraph. Stay on topic within each paragraph. Use transitions to connect paragraphs to each other and to your thesis. (See these Purdue OWL paragraph guidelines.)
▪ Use specific details and examples from the text to support your thesis. You might consider some of the following:
▪ How well the article achieves its purpose: where it succeeds and where it fails
▪ How the author demonstrates audience awareness
▪ How context is considered
▪ How the author uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and
pathos
▪ How the text uses repetition, examples, compelling diction, etc.
▪ How any logical fallacies affect the text’s effectiveness (be sure
to define them and analyze their use in the text)
▪ How the text’s publication place, appearance, form, or genre
influences your understanding and analysis.
• Use MLA-style in-text citations for all summaries, paraphrases, and
quotations. Use signal phrases to distinguish the author’s ideas from
your own.
o The conclusion paragraph might do one or more of the following:
• Answer the question “So what?” Why is this text important, or what are the broader implications of your analysis? You might mention any questions or concerns the text does not answer or address.
• Answer the question “Who cares?” Based on your analysis, who is the targeted audience for this text? Who else should care about it or pay attention to what it is saying?
• Your concluding statements should maintain the same neutral tone as the rest of your paper. You can discuss the broader topic and how well the text addresses that topic, but remember that this essay is an analysis, not an argument. You will make your own argument on a chosen topic later this semester.
5. Include an MLA Works Cited page.
• Insert a page break at the end of your document. For instructions on
inserting a page break in Microsoft Word, see the Insert a Page Break
webpage.
• Center “Works Cited” at the top of the page.
• Enter your source(s) in alphabetical order and MLA format. View a
sample Works Cited page here. Part 2: Dear Reader Letter
1. Write a 75-150 word Text Analysis Essay “Dear Reader” Letter and include it on the first page of the Text Analysis Essay document, before the beginning of your Text Analysis Essay.
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Text Analysis Essay 2. In your letter, provide a 1-2 sentence description or summary of this essay, including which text you analyzed and why you chose it. Then, answer the following questions in paragraph form:
a. Describe your process of writing this paper. How did you approach brainstorming, drafting, revising, etc.?
b. What did you learn (about the work of writing, about yourself as a writer) as a result of the work you did on this draft?
c. What are your draft’s strengths?
d. What are your draft’s weaknesses?
e. What questions or concerns do you want your readers to address as they
review your paper?

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