BenchmarksTyped and double-spaced in proper MLA formatCompose at least 4 paragraphsClear, concise and argumentative thesis statementAdheres to all written instructions of assignment detailed below3 direct quotes with signal phrases. Quotes should take up no more than 25% of your paper.Complete and correct work cited page which includes the cited articleProofread, revised, and free of major errors of standard written EnglishWrite a proper textual analysis that includes analysis of appeals and argumentative strategies.FormatCompose and proofread a well-developed essay.Include a work cited entry for the article you select.Do not use any outside sources, only the articles.Avoid using first-person (I, me, we) and second-person voice (you).Your articles is : Johnna S. Keller: “The Politics of Stairs” (953-957) from the book : Northon FieldCritically read the article at least three times, each time making notes about what the author is doing to make his or her argument more persuasive. Then, compose an essay in which you analyze the argumentative techniques the author uses in the text.IntroductionIncludes: summary or description of text, attention to context, and clear interpretation or judgment.Your introduction may start with a hook or anecdote about the topic of the article.Your introduction can include background about the topic of the article.You should discuss who the target audience of the article is (this may be important for your analysis).You may discuss when and where the article was published (this may be important for your analysis).Your introduction must include a short academic summary of the article (include the full name of the author and title of the source essay). This should “lead-in” to your thesis which should come at the end of your introduction.ThesisYour thesis should come at the end of the introduction and you should provide an evaluative claim about the article (whether the appeals are effective, or how argumentative strategies were effective or ineffective, persuasive or unconvincing).Make sure your essay has a clear, focused thesis. Your thesis should provide an overview of where your paper will go.Your thesis should assert whether or not the article is convincing, persuasive or effective and WHY. Your answer to the why should be the topics of your body paragraph. You may consider writing a three-pronged thesis and organizing your body paragraphs around each prong.Note that you can’t simply hand in a list of rhetorical appeals you found in the text; instead, you should look at the notes you’ve made and determine whether there is an overall pattern of appeals that make the text effective or ineffective.Body ParagraphsReview: Effective ParagraphingEach body paragraph should have a topic sentence that supports and explains your thesis statement. Each topic sentence should include the last name of the author of the source essay and provide some analytical point (example: Nemko appeals to emotion by including heartfelt personal stories of struggling college graduates.) Your topic sentence should contain KEY WORDS from your thesis. KEY WORDS should appear throughout your paper.Each paragraph should support and illustrate its topic sentence in detail, using examples from the source essay. Your emphasis should be on analyzing and evaluating the source essay. Think about not only what the author says but also how he or she says it. What are his or her argumentative strategies? How effective are these strategies?You may include a counterargument in the body of your paper or in your conclusion. For example, if you thought two strategies were used effectively, but one needed improvement.ConclusionYour concluding paragraph should reinforce (NOT REPEAT) your thesis.You may express an important point about the source essay to leave a lasting thought with the reader.You may point out a counterargumentYou may return to a hook or anecdote that you used to begin your introduction.AnalysisEnsure you’re analyzing persuasive appeals and argumentative strategies used by the author.You should support your analysis with plentiful examples from the text, but remember that your essay should be your analysis, not a summary. Do not waste time telling your reader what the text says; focus on HOW the text says it.Your analysis should be just that—yours—in that you’re presenting and defending your own understanding of what the author is doing in the text. There’s no need, however, to mention yourself at any point in the essay. Phrases like “I think” or “in my opinion” tend to weaken this sort of essay, so avoid them.Likewise, your own opinion of the subject matter of the text is irrelevant. This assignment does not ask you to agree or disagree with the author, only to analyze how he or she is making a point.Consider viewing some of the student sample essays – Look at the thesis, topic sentences, and incorporation of evidence for each.QuotationsReview: Chapter 51 in The Norton Field Guide to WritingIntegrate three direct quotes from the source. Quotes should be preceded by a signal phrase (According to X, X claims, X argues that). If your source is paginated (such as the textbook article), then you should include an in-text citation with page number (see p551-557). See examples below:Nemko argues that “most of those college dropouts leave college having learned little of practical value” (37).Many students should not attend college: “According to the U.S. Department of Education, if you graduated in the bottom 40 percent of your high school class and went to college, 76 of 100 won’t earn a diploma, even if given 81/2 years” (Nemko 37).Quote within a source: According to David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, “We have too few college graduates” (qtd. in Leonhardt 34).TIP: Explain how the author has used the appeals or stylistic devices and evaluate whether each one is used effectively or whether it becomes a logical fallacy. DO NOT merely point out the appeals as they appear in the essay, BUT argue HOW the author uses the appeals and evaluate the rhetorical effect of the appeals.
