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The purpose of this essay is to
- continue to develop skills in supporting a written argument
- raise student awareness of the complexity of public discourse
- help students develop skills of analysis
- encourage students to think analytically about their culture
- allow students to join the public discourse through critical
thinking, reading, writing, and analysis
The Task
Using MLA style, analyze and evaluate a popular culture, diversity,
or social justice issue or a public text. Public texts can range
from the latest Nike print advertisement to a newspaper editorial
to a billboard to the physical layout of a big business such
as Bank One.
In analyzing and evaluating texts, your job is to examine
and interpret their possible meanings by asking yourself questions
such as
- Who is the audience and what is the purpose of this text/artifact?
- What messages, explicit or implicit, accurate or inaccurate,
does this text produce?
- What fantasy, if any, is being advocated/sold, and how?
- What language and visual images are incorporated into this
text and for what purpose?
- What might the success or failure of this text and its representations
tell us about this culture?
In creating your evaluation argument (whether you choose an
issue or a text), you will need to introduce your criteria for
evaluation and then show how what you are analyzing and evaluating
does or does not measure up. Depending upon your understanding
of your audience and the criteria you choose, you might need
to defend your criteria with evidence. The final draft should
be 3-5 pages long.
Sample topics
- Evaluate a film for use as an educational tool in English
110.
- Evaluate two candidates for public office and recommend one
over the other.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a current or proposed law,
such as affirmative action, the death penalty, the US embargo
against Cuba, etc.
Due Dates
- Peer Reviewed Draft (posted to Discussion board in RTF format) - Wed.
5/8 (go to Peer Response Sheets for
this essay)
- Revision (posted to Discussion board in RTF format) - Mon.
5/20
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