Thursday May 23 in Cyberia, ARTS Extension 265

For this essay, choose one of the readings we have done since midterms: Field Notes from a Catastrophe, Blessed Unrest, "The Flora and Fauna of Las Vegas", "Fecundity," "My Thoreau Problem," or any reading of your choice of at least 10 pages from American Earth.

Next, identify one or more rhetorical strategies that seem crucial to the writer's style and attempt to affect the readers. Your essay should analyze the author's use of these strategies and assess their effectiveness. To what extent do the strategy or strategies work to help convince you and help the text fulfill the author's purpose?

This essay is similar to the definition analysis essay except that instead of listing all the strategies at play in a text, you will choose to focus on just one or two of the most important (or possibly three, if you can integrate them into a unified thesis).

Key: Do not just list a variety of strategies. I don't expect you to cover everything the author does. Instead, try to identify the one or two strategies that most define the writer's style and approach to convincing the reader and are most distinctive and interesting. If you write about more than one strategy, you should choose strategies that are related so you can talk about them together in a focused thesis.

For ideas on which strategies to focus on, look back through the Rhetoric chapters on logos, pathos, and ethos and on definition, causal, evaluation and proposal arguments. You might also review the suggestions and assignment for the definition essay.

Requirements:

• An introduction and focused thesis
• A brief summary (a few sentences) of the piece you are writing about and a description of the author's purpose.
• Focused paragraphs that draw on ample references to the text for support.
• A conclusion that assesses the effectiveness of the strategy or strategies in furthering the author's aim.
• Your analysis should show a strong understanding of concepts from Rhetoric that relate to the strategy(ies) you have chosen.
• At least 3 pages long
• MLA format (no Works Cited required)

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As you know, this will be an in-class essay, but you are encouraged to prepare and bring your prewriting materials. However, you may not bring anything with more than two sentences in a row that end up in your essay. You will turn in any materials you use on the test. Also, you might not have internet access or any form of access to electronic data during the exam. Internet may be turned off.  At the end, though, you can email yourself a copy of the exam. 

Bring the following to the exam:

• American Earth and/or Field Notes from a Catastrophe
• Any additional sources you plan to use (not required).
• Your outline (topic sentences, thesis, and quotations or other supporting details)
• Your notes (no 3 sentences in a row that end up in the essay)
• A dictionary (optional)
• Rules for Writers (optional)

I encourage you to prepare for this exam as thoroughly as possible by revising your outline, by visiting the Writing Lab, and, if you are nervous about in-class writing, by practicing writing out the essay under time pressure at home. (You just can't bring that practice essay with you to the real exam.) 

Grammar, word choice, and formatting do count for in-class essays (though not quite as much as for out of class essays). Do your best in the time you have. Good luck! See me with questions.