Friday, October 25, 2013

Essay #2 Assignment Sheet

Here is the prompt for Essay #2, just in case you need it to finish your drafting questions over the weekend:



Essay #2 Assignment
ENG. 1010/Emily Whitby
Due: November 4, 2013
In this assignment, your task is to compose an essay in which you describe how one text attempts to persuade the reader.  You need to draw on examples from the text and evaluate the persuasive language in these examples using rhetorical appeals, advertising appeals, and logical fallacies.
Remember, this is not an essay about your opinion of the text, or whether the text is “good” or “bad.”  This is an essay in which you make an argument about how the text persuades readers, and then support your claims with examples from the text.  In order to accomplish this, you will need to discuss 1) what the author is trying to achieve, 2) how the author uses persuasive language to do it, and 3) whether the author is successful in persuading the reader and why.  You must focus on these three things in your essay in order to get credit for the essay.
Formatting:
    3-4 pages
    Double spaced
    12 pt. Times New Roman
    1” margins
    Include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay (this does not count as a page of your essay)

Essay #2 Drafting Questions
    What is the author trying to make us think, feel, or believe?
    Why does the author want us to think, feel, or believe this?
    What rhetorical appeals does he or she use?
    What logical fallacies can you find in the text?
    Give specific examples of how the text tries to persuade us.
    Give specific quotations from the text that are particularly persuasive or manipulative.
    What specific words or images does the author use to persuade us?
    Does the author succeed in his or her purpose?  What makes him or her successful?
    What makes the author’s argument important or significant?
    What else needs to be said about the persuasive/manipulative language in the text?
    Overall, what can be gained by considering the text’s persuasive language?
 



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