Paper 3: Close-Reading: Draft 2

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Paper Two: Close Reading Scoring

Choice of Passage 10%

Thesis 20%

Description of Passage 20%

Connection to Text 20%

Introduction/Conclusion 10%

Organization Overall 20%

100%

Choice of Passage (10%)

Select an original passage from one of the texts that we have read so far in this course. This passage should be an appropriate length, and should have interesting or telling use of textual features that make it a good selection. If you have doubts about your selection, email me or speak to me during office hours or before/after class. Should be color-coded (5%). Should be free of typos, and should use 1.5 margins.

Thesis (20%)

Present an arguable thesis that connects

· A) what the author has written and how the author has written it (placement in text, words with certain associations, metaphors with certain associations, repeated textual features, elements of the passage that hearken back to earlier (or foreshadow later) parts of the text, the pace of the text and the pace of the action, etc.)

and

· B) the author’s goals in this text or the relevance of this text for the reader.

Description of Passage Features (20%)

Your description of the passage features should note the types of words used and what those words are associated with. It should note repeated textual features. It should note the placement of the passage and its internal organization. It should note the type of situation that these textual features might be most appropriate for – i.e. is it formal, informal, is it used for a boxing match or for a legal court or for a curse or for friendly banter or for prayer or for job interviews or for joke-telling, etc. Is it serious, humorous, taunting, sarcastic, eulogistic, reverent, contemptuous, nihilistic, cynical, rapturous, parodic? Is it assuming a different voice than the author’s? Is it making appeals to pathos? To logos? To ethos? Does it reference Nature? Technology? Strength? Weakness? Savagery? Sexuality? Pride? Humility? Freedom? Imprisonment? Violence? Growth? Decay? Identity? Culture? And on and on and on. Be imaginative, but be try to be clear about why you interpret the connections you see.

You might also ask what the passage (or what a portion of the passage) is doing or is intended to do. Is it informing the audience? Is it attacking a person, a legacy, and idea? Is it satirizing something or some idea? Is it trying to defend its culture or trying to share the experience of a culture – and why? Is it trying to make us sympathize with a cultural idea, or to make us recognize the flaws in a tradition/way of life – or both?

This does not have to be coherent for the first draft – it can be a list or a grouping. It doesn’t even need to necessarily be expressed in sentences of your own. It should consist of approximately three short “paragraphs” devoted to each color-coded segment of the passage. Should be color-coded (5%).

Connection to the Rest of the Text (20%)

Your connection of the passage to the rest of the text requires you to reference the overall purpose and plotline of the text. Don’t spend time summarizing things that aren’tnecessary for your point – instead, explain how your passage (and its textual features) relate to the overall text. You should justify the connections you make with cited references to places in the text outside your close-reading passage. This section must also relate to your thesis in a clear way. Try to find or create parallels between how your passage is described, and similar descriptions throughout the text.

This should not be color-coded. It should be organized in one or two coherent paragraphs.

Introduction/Conclusion (10%)

The introduction should be concise and focused on the passage at hand. Its primary purpose is to give some idea of what the reader should see when they look at this passage. It should also include a thesis statement.

The conclusion should do one of two things: either look back or look forward. If you look back, it’s a revision the thesis statement, given that you have now provided more explanation. In other words, you look back at what you’ve shown in your essay and take scope of it, or interpret it as a whole. If you look forward, you’ll be saying what questions should be asked, given the new conclusions that you’ve made. Either way, your conclusion is taking account of how your own writing has changed the world – you look back at a world that now includes your essay, and you say “What now?”

Organization/Coherence (20%)

The overall organization should be clear. Each paragraph should have a distinct and relevant focus. Writing should thoroughly examine each point that is brought up, and neither leave individual ideas or arguments unfinished, nor lump together many disparate points in a single paragraph. Style should be academic and grammar should be natural, comprehensible, clear (5%). Use logos (10%).

Paper 3: Close Reading: Final Draft

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Paper Two: Close Reading Scoring

Choice of Passage 10%

Thesis 20%

Development of Argument 20%

Connection to Text 20%

Introduction/Conclusion 10%

Organization Overall 20%

100%

Choice of Passage (10%)

Select an original passage from one of the texts that we have read thus far in this course This passage should be an appropriate length, and should have interesting or telling use of textual features that make it a good selection. If you have doubts about your selection, email me or speak to me during office hours or before/after class. Should be free of typos, and should use 1.5 margins.

Thesis (20%)

Present an arguable thesis that connects

· A) what the author has written and how the author has written it (placement in text, words with certain associations, metaphors with certain associations, repeated textual features, elements of the passage that hearken back to earlier (or foreshadow later) parts of the text, the pace of the text and the pace of the action, etc.)

and

· B) the author’s goals in this text or the relevance of this text for the reader.

Development of Argument (20%)

You need to make a coherent argument here, with each paragraph having a single focus and each paragraph should prove/demonstrate/support some element of your thesis. Make sure you don’t leave any unfinished ideas or loose ends – if you bring up a point, make sure you give a thorough explanation of it before you move on. It should be clear for the reader what role each paragraph you write plays in supporting your thesis. Lastly, make certain that you give smooth transitions and properly frame what you’re saying, so that you give the reader enough orientation that they can easily navigate your paper. Do not color code these paragraphs.

These paragraphs must not be the identically framed as your first draft’s “Description of Features” section.

Connection to the Rest of the Text (20%)

Your connection of the passage to the rest of the text requires you to reference the overall purpose and plotline of the text. Don’t spend time summarizing things that aren’t necessary for your point – instead, explain how your passage (and its textual features) relate to the overall text. You should justify the connections you make with cited references to places in the text outside your close-reading passage. This section must also relate to your thesis in a clear way. Try to find or create parallels between how your passage is described, and similar descriptions throughout the text.

This should not be color-coded. It should be related to your overall argument in some clear way.

Introduction/Conclusion (10%)

The introduction should be concise and focused on the passage at hand. Its primary purpose is to give some idea of what the reader should see when they look at this passage. It should also include a thesis statement.

The conclusion should do one of two things: either look back or look forward. If you look back, it’s a revision the thesis statement, given that you have now provided more explanation. In other words, you look back at what you’ve shown in your essay and take scope of it, or interpret it as a whole. If you look forward, you’ll be saying what questions should be asked, given the new conclusions that you’ve made. Either way, your conclusion is taking account of how your own writing has changed the world – you look back at a world that now includes your essay, and you say “What now?”

Organization/Coherence (20%)

The overall organization should be clear. Each paragraph should have a distinct and relevant focus. Writing should thoroughly examine each point that is brought up, and neither leave individual ideas or arguments unfinished, nor lump together many disparate points in a single paragraph. Style should be academic and grammar should be natural, comprehensible, clear (5%). Use logos (10%).