The Assignment
·
For
this assignment, you will find two longer (5 pages) articles on a topic that interests you. These won’t necessarily come from
peer-reviewed, scholarly journals, but they at least should come from print
publications such as newspapers and magazines (though a full text may be
accessed online, they must have page numbers).
o
You
are welcome to use the essays from our textbook, specifically Part 5, Chapters
23, 24, 25, 26, and/or 27. If you do use essays from the textbook, it is
recommended that you pick two essays from the same chapter so they focus on the
same general topic.
o
The
other option is to find your articles in the DMACC Library databases.
·
Read
the articles closely. Think in terms of
a topic on which you would like to do further study, and/or have an opinion
about. You may use this same article in upcoming assignments if it works for
you. This article should make a claim, if not an argument.
·
Then,
write a 5-6 page essay in which you compare the persuasive techniques,
perspectives, and credibility of the two essays/texts.
·
Your thesis should address if one essay is more or less
persuasive or credible or your thesis should explain why the two essays are
persuasive or credible in different ways.
·
Justify
your evaluation by narrowing your subjects’ target audience and applying an
appropriate set of criteria. Your criteria should justify your evaluation and
address the chosen articles’ persuasive strategies, perspectives, and /or
rhetorical appeals.
·
To
support your evaluation, you should critically interpret at least three direct
quotes from each article for a total of at least six (6) quotes.
o Choose quotes that express ideas or thoughts, not just facts. It will help you in analyzing the strategies that
the writer might be using to focus on ideas
and thinking from sources. The purpose of this essay is to examine the
purposes behind an article, the strategies the writer is using to fulfill that
purpose, and the language or form they’ve chosen in the writing as a part of
that strategy.