In this second writing assignment, you will practice analyzing a challenging text.
Begin your work by thinking about a reading that made you feel frustrated, confused, or excited (or a combination). Avoid passages that we have already discussed in class or covered in plenary.
Before you begin writing, we encourage you to make an appointment with a faculty member, a CTL writing tutor, or a fellow to discuss your choice of passage and the approach you will take to it.
Different disciplines will approach text analysis in diverse ways. Here are a few examples that will help you develop your mode of analysis:
Argument analysis: How does the difficult passage play a part in the author’s creation of an organized, persuasive argument?[1]
Close reading/rhetorical analysis: What kinds of rhetorical devices and uses of language produce certain effects in the reader? How do those effects illuminate the work as a whole?
Definition/concept analysis: How does the author define the text’s central term or concept? Is this definition adequate?
Part-to-whole analysis: How does close analysis of this small but important passage help elucidate the entire source’s argument?
Requirements:
Choose one relatively brief passage from one text from the course so far (including the Sapere Aude reader).
Your analysis should be 1000 words in length (approx. 3-4 pages double-spaced with standard margins and 12-point font). Submit initial and final drafts in Moodle as PDFs.
Use MLA formatting and citation style (see https://tinyurl.com/HumesMLA). Always proofread citations produced by a citation generator (e.g., Zotero).
Initial draft due Friday, October 27, by 5pm. Final draft due Friday, November 10 by 5pm.
[1] This sense of “argument” does not mean an unreasoned dispute or rowdy fight but instead refers to a “well-reasoned perspective . . . supported by logic or evidence, presented fairly.” See Charles Lipson, How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018), 127.