Assignment 6 Lecture

English 1301 ONL / Skrabanek

Assignment 6 Lecture

How can you determine if an animal is a dog? Well, the animal might be a dog if it displays certain dog characteristics. Does it have fur? Does it bark? Does it have canine teeth? Does it wag its tail? Does it chase cars? If so, that animal is probably a dog. How can you tell if a writer's rhetorical purpose is referential or persuasive? Well, the purpose might be persuasive if the writing displays certain characteristics of the purpose, such as a claim, support points, persuasive appeals, and appropriate language. The purpose might be referential if it displays characteristics of that purpose, such as a thesis, factual information, objective language, and a third-person viewpoint. An analysis of an article for this assignment will determine the purpose and patterns used based on the characteristics displayed.

Assignment 6 is an exercise in referential-interpretive critical analysis and interpretation, similar to what you will be expected to do on the C exam.

Analysis is a form of the description pattern. To analyze means to examine the parts of something—for this course, a written work—to establish their relationship to the whole. In many written works, the whole means the achievement of some main idea or theme.

In this assignment, you will write an analysis using the referential-interpretive purpose. You will draw logical conclusions about how a reading selection has been written and use specific details from the selection to support your analytical conclusions. You may not use first-person or second-person pronouns in your writing of the analysis.

Remember, critical analysis is a thoughtful consideration of how a writer achieves meaning in a particular work. In this critical analysis, you are more concerned with how a writer conveys meaning than what that meaning is. An analysis is not an extended summary or unsubstantiated opinions. An analysis explains the process the author has used to create the work. How do the writing techniques that the author uses convey the meaning of the article?

To prepare for this assignment:

Estimated time needed to complete: 3-6 hours

Review all the purposes and patterns in the Purposes and Patterns Primer. Pay close attention to the sample analytical paragraph for each purpose and pattern.

Revisit the Purpose and Pattern Review for a handy overview of the purposes and patterns.

Review the Quotation Marks section in the Online Grammar Handbook for information on quotation formats.

Read "Two Views of the River," by Mark Twain. All reading selections for this assignment are available in Assignment 6 Reading Selections.

Read the following lecture thoroughly and study the sample analysis carefully.

Contents
What is Critical Analysis?
Keys to Success
Suggested Structure
Sample Assignment 6
ASSIGNMENT 6 REQUIREMENTS
Guidelines for Submitting Your Assignment Files

What is Critical Analysis?

As a form of the description pattern, analysis shows the relationship of the details to the whole. The whole is the meaning of the reading selection. The details are the purposes and patterns used to accomplish that meaning. Analysis considers how the parts yield the whole.

To analyze means to examine the parts of something—for this course, a written work—to establish their relationship to the whole. In many written works, the whole means the achievement of some main idea or theme. Critical analysis, in this assignment, is a thoughtful consideration of how a writer achieves meaning in a particular work. In this critical analysis, you are more concerned with how a writer conveys meaning than what that meaning is. You should, of course, identify and express the main idea of the work. But an analysis is not a summary of the work. An analysis explains the process the author has used to create the work.

Analysis of an article usually means to show how a writer's main idea or theme is accomplished through the use of writing purposes and patterns.
Analysis of fiction usually means to show how a writer's central idea is accomplished through the use of the elements of fiction, such as character, conflict, setting, and tone.
Analysis of poetry usually means to show how a poet's theme is accomplished through the use of poetic devices or poetic forms or other literary elements such as symbolism or irony.

In this course, we will consider the analysis of a short article. Your goal is to show how a writer accomplishes main idea in the reading selection.

The writer usually has a primary writing (rhetorical) purpose: expressive, literary, persuasive, or referential. The writer may also have a secondary rhetorical purpose. Indeed, the writer may seem to be using all of the purposes, and that is sometimes possible. Your task is to determine the writer's primary rhetorical purpose (and perhaps a secondary purpose, if you choose). Identify the rhetorical purpose and explain how it is used in the work by directly identifying specific characteristics of the purpose. Give examples to support your chosen characteristics. These characteristics are identified in the Purposes and Patterns Primer. [Note: Please do not call these reasons for writing literary purposes; they are rhetorical purposes. In this course, the literary purpose is a rhetorical purpose; it has particular characteristics that distinguish it from the other rhetorical purposes.)

You will also identify, characterize, and exemplify two rhetorical patterns that appear in the work: classification, description, narration, evaluation.

To analyze in this assignment, you must be familiar with the purposes and patterns of writing. You must know the difference between expressive writing and referential writing, or between referential writing and persuasive writing. You must know the forms of the patterns and the functions of those forms. For example, cause-effect is a form of the narration pattern; its function is to show the causal relationship between events. Review the Purposes and Patterns Primer for details about each purpose and pattern.

Purpose and Pattern Compatibility
In general, all the patterns get along fine, but some of the purposes are not very compatible. Referential writing is objective and expressive writing is subjective, so these two purposes are not really seen together often, though obviously facts can be used in expressive writing. The referential purpose might be a secondary purpose to the expressive purpose, but seldom is the expressive purpose secondary to the referential purpose.
Similarly, referential writing is factual and most literary writing is fictional, so these two purposes don't go well together, either. The literary purpose might be a secondary purpose to the referential purpose, but seldom is the referential purpose secondary to the literary purpose.
Finally, when persuasion is a purpose, it is typically the primary purpose. The attempt to persuade tends to overshadow all the other purposes.

In this assignment, you will be answering two basic questions.

What purpose is used to write the article?

What patterns are used to organize the information in the article?

These questions are what you have to answer in this assignment. To answer them satisfactorily, you must go beyond simple identification of the purpose and patterns, though that identification is required for a satisfactory analysis. In addition, you must directly identify the characteristics of the purpose and give examples to demonstrate the presence of those characteristics in the reading selection. You must also identify the forms of the patterns used by the author and give examples of those forms of the patterns. If necessary, explain how examples illustrate the characteristics or forms of the patterns.

The Purposes and Patterns Primer lists the major and minor characteristics of the purposes. It also lists the forms of the patterns. So, a good working knowledge of the contents of the Purposes and Patterns Primer is necessary for success in writing your analysis.

Keys to Success

When you analyze purposes and patterns,

assume your reader does not know much about purposes and patterns.

inform your reader directly.

do not make your reader guess or assume what your meaning is.

tell the reader directly what the characteristics of the purpose or pattern are.

See the sample analysis below to see how the characteristics are directly presented.

In Assignment 6, follow this process to write your purpose paragraphs:

Identify the purpose you are analyzing: expressive, literary, persuasive, referential-informative, referential-interpretive, referential-reflective.
First identify one main characteristic directly and give an example. Tie the example directly to the characteristic.
Then identify another main characteristic directly and give an example. Tie the example directly to the characteristic.
Then identify another main characteristic directly and give an example. Tie the example directly to the characteristic.
After you provide three main characteristics, you can discuss minor characteristics. You should give examples of minor characteristics, too.
Provide a summative conclusion that the presence of the characteristics demonstrates the use of the purpose. Don't end the paragraph with new information, such as an example.

In Assignment 6, follow this process to write your pattern paragraphs:

Identify the pattern you are analyzing: narration, description, classification, evaluation.
Identify the form of the pattern you are analyzing. For example, cause-effect is one form of the narration pattern.
Identify the function of the form. For example, the function of the cause-effect form is to show the causative relationships of a sequence of events.
Give a specific example or two. Tie the examples directly to the form and function of the pattern.
If you choose to analyze an additional form of the pattern, repeat the process.
Provide a summative conclusion about the use of the pattern in the article. Don't end the paragraph with new information, such as an example.

Remember, your goal in this assignment is to demonstrate that the author has used particular writing purpose(s) and patterns to write the article. You are discussing how the article is written, not what the article is about. You are analyzing in this assignment, not summarizing.

Suggested Structure

A typical critical analysis for Assignment 6 or the C exam would be structured as follows:

Paragraph 1: INTRODUCTION> Give the title, author, and subject of the essay. The essay's title is enclosed in quotation marks. Include a brief summary of the essay, telling the main idea and any key points. Then include an underlined thesis that identifies the purposes (at least one) and patterns (at least two) that the author has used to achieve the main idea.

Paragraph 2: BODY> Identify the primary rhetorical purpose. Tell how the purpose is used, what it does, and how it helps to achieve the main idea. Identify directly three main characteristics of the purpose, give examples, and explain how each example demonstrates your analytical point. For example, three main characteristics of persuasive writing are a directly stated claim, a general warrant, and the use of appeals. Identify each characteristic directly as a characteristic, and then give a specific example that illustrates that characteristic.

Paragraph 2a: BODY> If you have a secondary purpose, analyze it using the same process as the primary purpose.

Paragraph 3: BODY> Identify the primary pattern. Identify the form of the pattern used, and tell the function of the form. Tell how the pattern is used, what it does in the article, and how it helps to achieve the main idea and/or the primary purpose. Give examples, and explain how each example demonstrates your analytical point. For example, a form of narration is narration of events. The function of narration of events is to present a sequence of events in time. You could give details from the beginning, middle, and end of the narrative to illustrate the function.

Paragraph 4: BODY> Identify the secondary pattern. Use the same process as for the primary pattern.

Paragraph 5: CONCLUSION> In the conclusion you will basically restate the author's main idea and how the use of certain purposes and patterns allows the author to achieve that main idea. When you restate the main idea, use different words.

Sample Assignment 6

Note: Your Assignment 6 submission must be double-spaced.

The article used in the sample is "Two Views of the River," available in Assignment 6 Reading Selections.

Mark Twain Looks at the River

        In his poignant essay, "Two Views of the River," Mark Twain tells of his experiences as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. By narrating two separate occasions, Twain shows how his learning the ways of the river diminishes its sense of wonder for him. Twain uses the expressive and literary purposes, in combination with classification and description, to convey his theme that the loss of wonder often accompanies the gaining of knowledge.

        Using his primary expressive purpose, Twain tells of his personal experiences on the river, first as a novice pilot and then as a more experienced one. These personal experiences are a key characteristic of expressive writing. As he gains experience, he notices his changing perceptions about the river. As a young man, inexperienced in life, he admits that "I stood like one bewitched" in awe of the river's beauty, demonstrating two more characteristics of the expressive purpose: the expression of personal feelings and the use of the first-person "I." He tells of various features of the river—a floating log, the play of the currents, a forested shore, and the many colors sparkling on the water—and for him, each one of these sights is a marvel. Later, he has learned the river's secrets and its "language," and his feelings toward the river change. Twain displays another characteristic of the expressive purpose, self-definition, when he admits that as an older man, for him the "romance and beauty" are no more. The presence of these characteristics clearly illustrates Twain's use of the expressive purpose.

        Twain's writing gains its poignancy from the use of his secondary literary purpose. He employs the characteristic literary element of figurative language when he notes that the "broad expanse of the river was turned to blood" or that a path in the "somber" forest "shone like silver." Twain's vivid use of realistic imagery, another characteristic of literary writing, helps his expressive purpose to show the marked change in attitude he has for the river. This change in perception, between his younger self and his older self, illustrates the tension Twain has created in his essay, showing yet another literary characteristic. Contrary to the marvelous sights he witnesses as a young man, his later reporting of the same sights is very matter of fact and without the obvious tinge of wonder. Twain's use of literary characteristics is instrumental in the success of his primary expressive purpose.

        Though Twain narrates several of his adventures on the river, his main organizational pattern is classification. Using the comparison-contrast form of classification, Twain presents his altered attitudes about the river. He shows how his increasing knowledge of the river contrasts to his earlier wonder about it, producing a different reaction in him. As a young man, ignorant of the water's ways, he revels in its mysteries. For him, everything during one "wonderful sunset" dazzles him, and he absorbs it in a "speechless rapture." Just as surely, though, he admits that a time comes for him when he stops noticing the "glories and the charms" of the river. Eventually, in sharp contrast to his earlier wonder, he realizes that all "the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river." The use of comparison-contrast shows the two views of the river mentioned in the title of the article.

        Twain's imaginative use of the descriptive pattern also helps to illustrate his changing perceptions. His use of the physical description form allows him to makes multiple appeals to the senses as he chronicles the differing ways he comes to view the river. As a younger man, he watches as the sunset's "red hue brightened into gold." As an older man, he understands that such a sun only warns of wind the next day. Similarly, rings in the water that he first describes as being "as many-tinted as an opal" become only signs of changing river conditions. The "graceful curves, reflected images, woody heights, soft distances" he appreciates in his younger days become only commonplace cautions in his later, more experienced travels. The change in descriptive language helps to illustrate the change in Twain's character.

        Through his masterful use of the expressive and literary purposes and the patterns of comparison-contrast and description, Twain clearly demonstrates how his gaining of knowledge of the ways of the river helps him become a better steamboat pilot. At the same time, though, he discovers that he has lost something that he can never regain, his sense of wonder.

Notes on the Sample Analysis

Paragraph 1
In the first sentence, the analysis identifies the author and title of the article. Notice that the title of an article is enclosed in quotation marks, not italicized or underlined. The first sentence also provides an indication of the subject matter of the article. The second sentence states a concise summary of the article. The last sentence of the introduction is the underlined thesis statement. It tells the analytical intent of the essay (purposes and patterns) and also gives the main idea of the article. This essay should tell how the author uses a purpose and two patterns to convey the main idea. It should not give a summary or review of what happens in the article.

Paragraph 2
The first sentence identifies the primary purpose and gives specific details from the article. Notice how the first sentence uses the buzzwords "personal experiences." Such experiences are a characteristic of expressive writing; later they are directly identified as a characteristic. The fourth sentence directly identifies two characteristics of expressive writing used by the author. More examples that focus on personal experiences and the loss of wonder are presented. The seventh sentence directly identifies a third characteristic and gives an example. Always try to have at least three key characteristics of a purpose. Avoid using vague characteristics that could apply to any of the purposes. The paragraph ends with a summative conclusion.

Paragraph 3
The first sentence identifies the secondary purpose, and the second sentence directly identifies a characteristic of literary writing and provides an example. Following sentences directly identify two more characteristics of literary purpose, and the paragraph ends with a summative conclusion. This is an optional paragraph. You are not required to discuss a secondary purpose on Assignment 6 or the C exam.

Paragraph 4
This paragraph begins the discussion of the patterns. Discuss each pattern in a separate paragraph. The first sentence identifies the main pattern. The second sentence identifies the form of the pattern used by the author. Then specific examples of the contrast between the young Twain and the older Twain are presented. The ending sentence links the use of the pattern to the main idea of the article presented in the thesis.

Paragraph 5
The first sentence identifies a secondary pattern, and the next sentence identifies the form of the pattern used. The function of the pattern is also suggested. Then, specific examples illustrating the function are presented. The ending sentence links the use of the pattern to the main idea of the article presented in the thesis.

Paragraph 6
The conclusion identifies the purpose and patterns discussed and gives a general overview of their use in the article. The main idea of the article is restated, and a brief evaluation of the article is included.

meanteacher
ASSIGNMENT 6 REQUIREMENTS

Note these conditions regarding your submission of Assignment 6:

You may not submit Assignment 6 until you have successfully completed Assignments 1-5 and all three quizzes, even if the delay causes your Assignment 6 submission to be late.
Do not submit Assignment 6 until after you receive your graded, accepted Assignment 5 file.

First, read one of these articles:

"My Boyhood on the Prairie," by Hamlin Garland
"Empty Hands," by Jane Addams
"Race Evils," by Rev. G.W. Johnson
"San Antonio, 1841," by Mary A. Maverick
"Hunting the American Buffalo," by Theodore Roosevelt
"Black Hawk's Surrender Speech"
"The Story of an Eyewitness," by Jack London
"Austin, 1861," by Amelia Edith Barr
"Changes Observable During Puberty and Adolescence in Girls," by Mary Scharlieb, M.D.
"The Boyhood of Lincoln," by Elbridge S. Brooks

All articles are available in Assignment 6 Reading Selections.
You should read your chosen article at least twice.

Second, write a referential-interpretive analysis (600 words minimum, 800 words maximum).

Your introduction must include the title, author, and subject of the work; a brief summary of the work; a statement of theme or main idea; and an underlined thesis statement that details your analytical intent by identifying the purpose and patterns you plan to discuss. Identify the title and author of the article in the introduction of your analysis, not just in a title. Enclose the title of the reading selection in quotation marks. Do not italicize the title of the reading selection.
In the body paragraphs of your essay, analyze the workings of the primary rhetorical purpose (expressive, literary, persuasive, referential) and patterns (classification, description, narration, evaluation) in the work. You must analyze at least one purpose and at least two patterns. (Note: On the C exam, you are required to analyze at least one purpose and one pattern. However, I recommend you analyze two patterns on the C exam.)
Directly identify the primary rhetorical purpose of the author, directly identify at least three main characteristics of the purpose, and explain examples that illustrate the use of that purpose. If you are analyzing the referential purpose, you must specify which form of the referential purpose the author has used: referential-informative, referential-interpretive, referential-reflective, etc. You may analyze a secondary rhetorical purpose if you desire using the same process.
Also, directly identify two patterns of organization (classification, description, narration, evaluation) used in the work, directly identify the form and function of each pattern you discuss, and explain examples that illustrate the function of each pattern.
The best way to build a paragraph of analysis is first to identify and define the purpose or pattern. Then identify one main characteristic and give an example. If necessary, explain how the example illustrates the characteristic. Repeat with a second and a third main characteristic. Finally, provide a concluding sentence that indicates that the presence of these characteristics suggests the use of the purpose or pattern.
Treat each purpose and pattern in a separate body paragraph. Indent the first line of all paragraphs five spaces.
Your conclusion should contain a restatement of the thesis, a brief summary of the analysis, and a restatement of the central idea. You can also present your evaluation of the author's achievement of purpose and quality of expression in your conclusion.
To maintain the referential-interpretive purpose, do not use first-person or second-person pronouns to write the analysis. (You may use these pronouns only if they are contained in direct quotes you incorporate in your analysis.)
Write complete sentences. Maintain a consistent present tense verb usage. Double space your analysis.
Limit your use of direct quotes to no more than 10% of the total word count. Quote accurately.

Finally, at the end of your essay, include the following label. Indicate how many direct quote words you have used in your analysis. Be aware that you are limited in your use of direct quote words to 10% of the total word count.

Number of direct quote words in my analysis:

Submit this assignment using the Submissions button in Blackboard.

Guidelines for Submitting Your Assignment Files

If you are not sure how to submit your assignment file by now, review the guidelines at this link to Assignment 1.