homework

Rhetorical Forms Homework #2 with Prompt for Essay #2 

Process Analysis 

In process analysis, a certain process or procedure is broken into steps that help explain the value of the process, why it does or does not work, or any other thought. Make sure you clearly state your understanding of the process and its result, which may be its usefulness or its lack thereof. It does not have to be an earth-shattering topic.  

 

For example: 

My cat, Maverick, is a great hunter.  

In my description, I would explain how he hunts and the results.  

 

Some possible topics: 

1. Why Medicare is good or bad, or why it detracts from or adds to the quality of life in this country 

2. Which musicians, teachers, friends, recreation areas, libraries, colleges, etc., are good or bad  

3. Recipes  

4. A how-to essay 

5. Our social or political system 

6. Health or healthcare 

 

In making judgments, we must analyze what we are judging. We can discuss ideas that are abstract, but which should be able to be analyzed, for example, political, historical, social, or fashion movements or belief systems such as Christianity, Buddhism, existentialism (any of the isms). 

 

Anything can be a process. Recipes and how-to essays involved process analysis. The digestive system or any system in the entire universe can be discussed in a process-analysis essay. 

 

Exercise 

Choose a topic for a process-analysis essay; then write down its steps and what you would say about it. Discuss with the class. 

 

Description 

We use the senses to describe a thing, idea, situation, or emotion. To describe makes a thing or situation more real. For example: 

 

Before I unlock the door, I hear his panting. As I enter the house, sparkly eyes make me glad I am there. His warm breath feels comforting after the cold outside, and his cozy fur invites me to hug him. Ooh, but what is that smell? He has pooped on the floor, and I need to air the place out.  

                                                                                                                                     

I could get more detailed about the type of pooh smell or whether the dog has long clean hair or short spiky hair. Details in description make it more powerful and immediate.  

 

“Touch” can happen with more than the fingertips. Remember, that the entire skin is the largest organ of the body. It is alive. An atmosphere bumps against our skin. The wind, a mood, a head rush, are all examples of things that touch. 

 

“Smell” goes more deeply into our reptilian (at the base of the neck) part of the brain and our prehistoric memory than any of the other senses. A smell attracts, repels, angers, and excites.  

 

Some things we could describe: 

a campus 

a home or room 

a neighborhood 

a person 

a food 

a situation 

a job 

your fantasy home, job, sweetheart 

an object 

 

There are numerous others. 

 

Exercise 

Choose one thing to describe. Under each of the five senses (see below), write a description of the thing you are describing. Then in a paragraph write a description using the list. 

 

Taste 

Smell 

Touch 

Hear 

See 

                                                                                                                                     

For Example 

Many of us say or write, “For example …” To explain something to someone, and to ensure the person will understand, we use examples, which can be descriptions, statistics, quotations, stories or anecdotes, or any other rhetorical form. Read the below sentence: 

 

It has taken a great deal of work for Marcielle to write Fun with Grammar. She first had to get the education that would enable her to understand and absorb the concepts of English language usage. She then taught her subject for many years, after which she began writing the book, which also took several years. 

 

Notice that the writer never said, “for example” or “an example of this is …” It is understood that everything following the first statement is an example. Within those two sentences are three examples.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise  

Write three statements, and add two examples for each one. 

1. Statement 

a) 

b) 

2. Statement 

a) 

b) 

3. Statement 

a) 

b) 

 

From Fun with Grammar