Analyze an argument from the reading

WRITING ASSIGNMENT #1 ANALYSIS OF AN ARGUMENT

For the first assignment, analyze an argument from the first reading cluster in the text, “Masterpieces of Argument.” Even though we may have discussed one or more of the arguments in class prior to your work on this assignment, there is still much you could say. Your analysis should identify the model of argument the piece seems to use—Classical, Toulmin, or Rogerian. Identify the claim(s) the piece makes and the types of support and appeals the piece uses to bolster its claim(s). Your analysis should include an assessment of the strength of the argument—appropriateness of the support for the claim(s), appropriateness of the claim(s) and support for the intended audience, and so on. As part of your analysis, you might need to consider the validity and strength of the support, the warrants (implied or explicit), and the sort of language the piece uses to establish its tone; in these matters, as well; you would assess their appropriateness. Be sure to check the date of the piece as well as the intended audience when you assess the appropriateness of a feature of the text. If you choose the Carter photograph, be sure to research and consider the context and history of the photograph and the photographer.

Be sure also to have a point to make about the piece as a whole so that your essay has a thesis of its own to support, something beyond the analysis. You may find yourself making the thesis your assessment of the work as a whole, such as its appropriateness for its intended audience or the pertinence of the work as conveying a point still relevant today; if so, you would therefore support that claim about the piece in the body of your essay, using your analyses to support your claim, your thesis. Recall that conclusions that merely summarize are useful for papers that deal with complex matters or that are longer than six to eight pages, so your conclusion should perhaps do something other than summarize. (Review the section on conclusions in Chapter 1 if you need to remind yourself of different strategies for conclusions.)

The essay you write may be as short as three pages or as long as five pages, depending on the selection you have chosen. As it is the first essay you will be submitting for this class, you should look on it as fact-finding for you and me both: a way for you to see how I respond in writing to student papers and whether you are rusty when it comes to writing; a way for me to see the level you’re presently writing on and the level of the class’s writing as a whole. If you would be reluctant to show others your essay, then revise it further before submitting it to me for assessment. Remember that it should be the result of your own work, from the start through the editing and proofreading stages. If you have any questions, make sure you ask me during office hours.

Readings

1. Pulitzer Prize Photograph: Sudanese Child and Vulture

2. Allegory of the Cave – Plato

3. To His Coy Mistress – Andrew Marvel

4. A modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift

5. Keynote Address at the first Woman’s Rights Convention – Elizabeth Cady Stanton

6. I Hear the Mournful Wail of Millions – Frederick Douglass

Your paper should be no less than three (3) pages or at least 750 words