English 1121 -- Critiquing an Argumentative Essay -- Spring 2008

English 1121: College Writing and Critical Reading

Spring 2008 / Sections 06 and 18

Essay #4 -- Writing about Argumentative / Persuasive Writing

Writing Assignment:

Write an essay of 3-5 pages in which you critique a piece of argumentative writing by another writer. The goal of your critique is to:

summarize the writer's argument,
analyze the writer's purpose and audience,
evaluate the argument based on the intended purpose and audience, and based on the "framework" of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, and then
add further support to and/or refute the writer's argument.

In other words, you are writing your own argument about and in response to another writer's argument (two distinct parts). Click here for another page which gives good information about the various parts of a critique.

Remember: "a thesis is a statement in which the writer or speaker takes a supportable position on an issue." In the case of a critique, your thesis statement will have two parts:

Your position on the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen writer's argument -- that is, your overall evaluation of the writer's argument; and,
Your position on the issue your chosen writer is arguing about -- that is, your opinion/stance on the argumentative topic.

As you are preparing to write your argument, keep in mind that you will need to have plenty of evidence and support for both (1) your position on the strengths and weaknesses of the writer's argument and (2) your position which affirms or refutes the writer's argument.

And, remember, you will have your own "opposition" to consider in both parts of your paper: some of your readers may not agree with your evaluation of the writer's argument, and some of your readers may not agree with your position on the argumentative issue, so you will need to be thoughtful about how you will respond to anticipated objections or arguments. Of course, you yourself might be "divided" in your own opinions, which might lead you to "argue both sides," so to speak.

Doing the Research:

Challenge yourself, and challenge your reader, by picking some things that are not only interesting but are really worth exploring. Remember: the best academic writing makes the familiar strange and creates new knowledge about everyday life. You won't be able to do this if you always take the easy way out and pick the most obvious things.

To aid you in writing your essay, you must also do some research and find at least six (6) sources which inform you about both sides of the argument -- look for essays and articles which argue both for and against the argumentative essay you have chosen to work with -- and strive for a variety of researched sources. Then, use at least three (3) of these sources to write your evaluation and response to your chosen essay.

The reason I’m asking you to do some research as you write your essay is to encourage you to find some good ideas and evidence/support for both sections of your paper and for both "sides" of the argument. Remember, if you are going to write in support of the author's argument, you will need to offer new arguments, not merely repeat ideas mentioned by the author. Similarly, if you are going to try to refute the author's argument, you need to be prepared to offer good counter-reasons and counter-evidence. And, for example, if you are going to claim that the writer uses "bad" evidence, you might need to demonstrate what "good" evidence is. Researching other arguments might help you in all these areas.

Keeping Track of Your Sources:

When you find your sources, you must print or photocopy them (if the source is a book, copy the pages you read) and be sure you have the following information for each source:

the author’s name.
the title of the source -- a chapter, an essay, an article, a webpage, etc.
the title of the “place” where you found the source -- a book, a magazine, a newspaper, a journal, a website, etc.
the original publication information of the source -- city, publisher, date, etc.
the date you printed the source, if it is an electronic source.
the web address of the source, if it is from the internet, or the name of the database, if it is another kind of electronic source, or the location in the library, if it is a print source.

You will need all of these items as you compile your working bibliographies and works cited pages. In addition, I will require you to submit the sources you use in your analysis with the final draft of your essay.

Formatting Requirements:

Your essay should be at least three (3) pages but no longer than five (5) pages -- double-spaced and word-processed -- with 1.0-1.25” margins, and a 12-point “normal” font (Times New Roman or Arial or Calibri). No title page is needed; put your name, the course, my name, and the date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page (see LBB on pages 41-43 and 521-530 for a picture of what the format should look like). We will continue to use the MLA documentation style for in-text signal phrases and parenthetical citations and end-of-text bibliographical citations.

Evaluation:

When I grade your essay, I will look for:

an introduction which clearly identifies the author and argument you are focusing on, and which clearly states the focus -- the argumentative thesis -- and perhaps the direction of the essay. Think of your introduction as a promise you are making to your readers -- it's what you hope to accomplish, show, or prove -- and the body of your essay needs to deliver on that promise.
Several body paragraphs which follow the guidelines and structure of a critique -- see information above. Each body paragraph should focus on one main idea, it should include "textual evidence" from the argument you are critiquing, it should include your own critical thinking, and it should possibly include information from one or more research sources which support the point you are trying to make. Finally, your readers should be able to move clearly and smoothly from paragraph to paragraph.
A conclusion that brings things together in a satisfying way. A typical conclusion restates the focus or central idea (and perhaps the main ideas) of the essay, but a really good conclusion keeps readers thinking long after they put down the essay.
A pleasing style, an attention to sentences and words, that shows you care about what you are writing about. Sentences should be clear and complete, they should not be "comma splices" or "run ons," and fragments should be used sparingly and only for emphasis. Words should be carefully chosen, vivid, and used correctly -- remember, words can be spelled correctly but they might not be the right word.

Any questions?