Assignments

                            

                                                       ENG103 Assignment Sequence

Writing project 1: Rhetorical analysis of editorial cartoon

       In the writing project 1, you will compose a two-page rhetorical analysis essay. Choose an editorial cartoon or comic strip and write a rhetorical analysis. Find an editorial cartoon on the Envision Website resource page for chapter 1 or Yahoo news. You can choose a recent issue concerning politics, society, economy and culture. But make sure to find a cartoon for which you can discuss the deeper meaning and write a full two-page paper.

         After choosing your image, describe the image of cartoon and analyze it. The key of this assignment is making an argument from your analysis of image. Consider these questions for visual rhetoric analysis: What is the topic of a cartoon? What do you think is the overall argument and purpose of a cartoon? What rhetorical appeals operate in this visual rhetoric?  How do visual and verbal work together to convey an argument? Also consider who will read your paper. You need to clearly describe who your audience is. If you choose a political cartoon which targets a certain party, then your intended audience will be supporter or upholder of the party.

The purpose of the rhetorical analysis essay is to help you to understand the rhetorical situation and relationship between audience, text and purpose. Keep in mind the rhetorical triangle while you are writing. The paper will be evaluated by how you analyze the cartoon rhetorically and how you discuss and establish arguments. You are required to write a paper in MLA format. You need to include description of your cartoon and rhetorical analysis and detail evidence should be presented in your paper.

Writing project 2: Historical Analysis of advertisement

       For this assignment, you will write a historical analysis paper of 2-3 advertisements.Choose a series of advertisements for the same product spread for a long time, in other words, the product which has long history of advertisement such as cigarettes, cars, and personal computers (ex) Coca-Cola). Try to find advertisements that are related to specific historical context. You can choose your own intended audience. But, keep in mind that you need to fully explain historical context to your audience who are not familiar with it.

        The purpose of this assignment is to understand rhetorical appeals and write both a contextual and rhetorical analysis. You will have to investigate the resources for specific historical and ideological periods of advertisements. Consider the rhetorical situation and specific kairos of an advertisement. Also remember that you have to address how strategies of persuasion operate, what appeals are being used and what the effects are on the audience as well as a description of context.

           As you write your own essay, consider some of the following questions: How can I use rhetorical appeals and strategies of development effectively in my writing? How much historical background do I need to give my reader to provide a frame for my analysis? How can I achieve an effective balance between description and analysis of the advertisements? How can I use visual rhetoric purposefully in this essay? Where should I place the ads? What sorts of captions should I include?

        You are required to write more than three-pages in MLA format. A clear thesis statement should be presented in the paper. Your paper will be graded by how you use visual rhetoric and strategies effectively.

Writing project 3: Formal research proposal

        In the writing project 3, you will write a detailed research proposal that discusses your research topic, purpose and explanation about your resources. This research proposal is preparation for your final project research argumentative essay.  For this paper, you will identify the social issues (regional, local) and the topic will be discussed during the class.

       The research proposal is designed to organize your thoughts to help you solidify your topic and move into the next stage of the research process; it will also lead you to plan a formal structure for developing a project; it will introduce you to a new genre of writing which has different organization and content than what you may have written before. (Read Envision chapter 4)

       In the introduction, introduce your research topic and identify your research questions and thesis.  Outline your methods you will use in your research. Be as specific as possible; provide your key primary and secondary sources. You will also include your perspective, the audience’s perspective and historical perspective, etc. List your sources for investigation. Explain briefly why the sources would be useful for your research.  Set up a detailed timeline for your investigating the topic.  Be sure to identify key steps in the research process: finding sources, evaluating sources, constructing thesis, peer review, drafting and revising. Explain your specific purpose or goal and importance of this research in your conclusion. (Why do you choose this topic? Why does it appeal you? Who is your audience? )

       You will compose a 3-5 page document to “propose” your research idea. The paper will be evaluated on the entire organization and whether all the elements are included or not.

Writing project 4: Argumentative research essay

       The final project will be the most important assignment in ENG 103. You will write more than 5+ page essay that argues the issue you’ve researched in your research proposal.

        You will have to research at least three sources: one print primary source and two secondary sources. Your primary source must be a print material. You can choose two secondary sources from the Internet. Also you can consider visual images such as picture and clipart as other secondary sources (This does not count as your one of your sources). The goal of the writing project 4 is writing research arguments for specific audiences. When you write this essay, you have to think about your audiences. If you pick the local community or campus issues as your topic, your audiences will be our classmates who are both BSU community member and resident of Indiana. Your written argument will be presented in front of the class.

        When you compose the research paper, consider these questions: What points will you make? Which side will you be on? How you will persuade the audience? What sources will be useful for your argument? How you will use sources as your supporting detail? How will you include visuals in a paper? Review the Envision chapter 3, 6 and 8 before you start writing.

         Your paper should include a clear thesis and primary and secondary sources. Present credible sources to support the entire argument. You should quote accurately and paraphrases the text appropriately. You will use MLA format. Your presentation will be 10 points and your writing assignment will be 40 points. The paper will be evaluated how the overall contents of the paper meet the goals of the assignments.