Essay Triage

AP Language. Tue, Sep 3rd, 2013 at 12:28 pm

Themes: Analysis, Triage, Writing Process

Today was the first essay triage of the year. I gave you a few things (below) to look for in your draft; if you found any, you have the option to revise. If you didn’t wrap up your revision in the computer lab today, the completed analysis is due tomorrow (Wednesday the 4th). We’ll be moving into presidential rhetoric then, and it isn’t a good idea to overlap.

Three things to always avoid in a rhetorical analysis:

• A thesis statement that merely summarizes the author’s argument. You should have two parts to your thesis statement (as you do in each of your major points): a statement of his argument and the means by which he makes it appealing.
• The use of “you,” “me,” “our,” etc. This conflates his audience with your audience. They are different.
• An argument in favor of his position that poses as an analysis. If you find statements that mean effectively “and this point makes sense because” or “we’ve all been in a similar position,” you are bolstering, not analyzing, his argument.

If your analysis contained two or more of these, bookmark this page to remind yourself for next time.

2 Responses to “Essay Triage”

1. Vance Howald says:

   September 3, 2013 at 9:37 pm

   Good thing I have feedly there were 5 people in the classroom who were never told the due date.

   • JStallings says:

     September 3, 2013 at 10:59 pm

     Yay Feedly! As I said Friday, the essays were due today (that’s why we were in the lab then). After viewing a number shared with me over the weekend I felt it best to do a bit of “triage” before you guys turned them in, as I explained at the beginning of class. A number turned them in at the end of the hour; I’ll expect the rest tomorrow. Thanks for spreading the word to those who didn’t hear.