Final Draft due Wednesday, September 3

Grammar Version due Friday, September 5

Topic: To what extent did Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth succeed in convincing you? In this essay you will summarize what you take to be Al Gore’s purpose in making the film.  Then you will analyze how well Al Gore achieved that purpose with you.  Note: We will study rhetorical strategies in more depth this semester; in this essay I am interested in what jumps out at you in the course of viewing the film and how you articulate your reactions, not necessarily in technical terms like audience, ethos, pathos, logos, etc.

Introduction: Your introduction should summarize Gore’s purpose in a few sentences. 

• What was his overall message and whom did he want to convince? 
• How would you describe his overall strategy?

Thesis: Your introduction should finish with a thesis which evaluates how well Gore succeeded with you personally. 

• Did he convince you of his message?
• Give a sense of the main reasons why or why not in the thesis itself.
• Note: You may consider the film a total success or a total failure, but you may also have a more mixed reaction.  Some parts may convince you and some may not. The thesis should give an overview of your response. 

Body Paragraphs: The essay should include at least three body paragraphs. Each body paragraph should analyze one aspect of your reaction to the film.  It should include a focused topic sentence that summarizes the main point of the paragraph. You may want to focus each body paragraph on a strategy that Gore used. 

Each body paragraph should include at least two examples from the film.  An example could mean a direct quotation, a description of a visual image or a quick description of a scene.  Do not assume that your readers have seen the film. When you give an example, give enough information for the reader who hasn’t.

Conclusion: The essay should end with a paragraph which returns to the question of the film’s overall success or failure.  See pages 220-226 of From Inquiry to Academic Writing for conclusion-writing ideas.

Format: Follow the MLA essay format guidelines in the handout at the beginning of your reader.  You do not need to do a Works Cited page for this essay.

Grammar Version option:  I generally read your papers twice: once for content and ideas and once for grammar.  I underline all grammar errors and then give the paper back to you and ask you to correct as many as you can.  The more errors the paper has, the more work you have to do later.  The grammar version option is an extra chance to proofread your paper before you turn it in.  Your final draft is due Wednesday, September 3, but you can do a final proofreading and turn in a grammar version on Friday, September 5.  I will read the grammar version only for grammar, not for content.