Essay #4: Rhetorical Analysis/Imitation

English 101

Due Dates

Thu 11/17: Seminar Paper on “On Being a Cripple,” by Nancy Mairs (259-271).

Fri 11/18: Seminar paper on “The Death of the Moth,” by Virginia Woolf, available on Canvas.

Wed 11/23: Imitation worksheet due.

Tue 11/29: Essay #4 due in Workshop groups. Bring three copies. This does not include the Introduction,

just the Imitation.

Wed 11/30: In-class writing on the Introduction to Essay #4. Bring your essay as it is so far and the text

of the essay you are imitating, and be prepared to write.

Fri 12/2: Essay #4 due.

Essay #4: Rhetorical Analysis: An Imitation

Length: Hard to predict, as there are so many choices, but to write a fully developed essay will probably take about 750-1000 words, or 3-4 pages. This essay will be accompanied by an introduction that is about 1 ½ - 2 pages, or approximately 350-500 words.

Format:

· word-processed and double-spaced

· MLA format for headers, title, margins, paragraphs, etc.

· Submit in a folder that contains the following, in this order:

1. The Introduction

2. The Imitation

3. The version you brought to writing groups in class.

4. The Imitation worksheet

5. Any other notes and drafts of the Imitation and/or the Introduction.

Introduction: Your essay must be preceded by an introduction which explains what you noticed about the original writing and what features you were particularly aiming to imitate. Include the introduction at the beginning of the same document as your essay. Further instructions for the introduction are below.

The Assignment: Write an essay of your own which imitates the structure, form, and the writing style of one of the following essays that we’ve read for class. You will also write an introduction (instructions below) which explains your process of decision-making in composing your imitation. You may imitate any one of the following essays:

“Superman and Me: The Joys of Reading and Writing”

“Joyas Voladores”
“Once More to the Lake”
“The Ugly Tourist”
“A Modest Proposal”

“On Being a Cripple”
“The Death of the Moth”

Choosing a topic: Think of a topic that somehow will work with the form and style of the original essay. For example:

· If you choose “Superman and Me,” you might choose a childhood event that has had lasting effects and is focused on a theme.

· If you choose “Joyas Voladores,” you might write a meditation and exploration of some aspect of nature, or even some man-made object, and connect it to human emotions.

· If you choose “Once More to the Lake,” you’d might write about a place that is important to you and write about it a way that evokes a theme and point of view about that theme.

· If you choose “The Ugly Tourist,” you might write about something in society that angers or troubles you, and let yourself fully express your bitterness about it, while also finding the ways in which you are, yourself, culpable.

· If you choose “A Modest Proposal,” you might write a satire.

· If you choose “On Being a Cripple,” you might write about some aspect of your identity, showing others what it is like to be you in the world.

· If you choose “The Death of the Moth,” you might write about a view out of a window, or an object of some kind, or an animal. In describing these, the speaker will work out ideas about an issue or decision on her mind. For example, the speaker might be meditating about some aspect of the meaning of life: what does it mean to be alive? How should we use our lives? Or perhaps the speaker faces some sort of important choice: should I move? Should I stay here? Should I take this new job? Should I get married? The speaker’s ideas about the meaning or decision are illustrated in the descriptions of the view or object or animal.

These are only a few ideas about what topics might suit each essay. You might have additional wonderful thoughts for topics.

Does the imitation have to be in exactly the same style as the original? Although your writing will be flavored with your own voice, your essay should steal as much of what’s amazing and wonderful and applicable from the style of the original. It will not come out sounding very much like you.

Sentences: Your sentences do not have to be in the exact language of essays written in earlier times: They will probably be in contemporary General English, as Trimble calls it. However, your essay must show close observation of the sentences in the original. Imitate many, many of the sentences as closely as you can. For those sentences in your essay that are not specifically imitations, write some of the same kinds of sentences as in the original—similar lengths, similar grammatical structures.

Vocabulary: Consider the vocabulary the original uses: why is it apt for the topic, why did the author choose it? Does a similar level of vocabulary suit your topic? Perhaps you will be inspired by the original and by the needs of your topic to use some different kinds of words and to extend the range of your vocabulary.

Overall structure: Consider how the original conveys the information: What order is it in? How big are the paragraphs? What is the structure within each paragraph? Again, you do not need to copy the original exactly, but you do need to understand the structure of it and deliberately decide how various elements of that structure can serve your topic and purpose.

Introduction: Your Introduction (see instructions below) will discuss your process of developing the imitation and will explain all the ways that you see your essay imitating the original. That’s how I will know what you are learning about writing, so the introduction is very important.

How to get started with the imitation:

1. Think of a topic that will work, and that you would like to write about.

2. Do the worksheet to help you study the style of the essay you are imitating.

3. Freewrite and brainstorm and in general write as much as you can, a zero draft, in which you get all your ideas down while also trying to channel the style of the original.

4. Read over this first draft and see what you want to keep. Of it.

5. Keep on shaping and cutting and re-writing and adding and rearranging your own essay while also checking in with the original to see if you are keeping to its style and using its features to your own essay’s best advantage.

6. When your own essay is complete, write the Introduction.

The Introduction

Length: About 2 pages, typed and double-spaced, or approximately 500-600 words. Can be longer.

Format of Introduction:

· Typed, double-spaced.

· Title your introduction.

· Begin your document with the Introduction.

· At the end of your Introduction, put a page break.

· Title your imitation and include it after the page break.

What to say in the Introduction: Write this introduction in sentences and paragraphs and not simply as the answers to questions. Give specific examples from both the essay you are imitating and from your imitation as you discuss the following questions: Which essay are you imitating and why did you choose it? How did you pick your topic and why do you think it fits with the style and structure you’re imitating? What aspects of the original did you especially intend to imitate? Be specific: Discuss word choice, sentence structure, sentence length, paragraph structure, overall order, etc. What aspects of the original do you think your essay is the most successful at imitating? What aspects of theoriginal do you think your essay is the least successful at imitating? If you have done research for this imitation, what sources did you use? Give the specific names of these sources, and say what information you found there, for example, “For the names of the different cat-breeds, I looked at the website 100 Breeds of Cats. On the website Cats & Gravity, I found out why cats always land on their feet.” Finally, what have you learned about writing from doing this imitation? How do you think having done this imitation might affect your writing (and reading) in the future?

Grading: 100 points total

Basic MLA format & materials (3 points):The essay follows the required MLA format for header, title, spacing, margins, paragraphing, etc. All required material is contained in the folder.

Introduction (37 points): The Introduction details the process and intentions of your imitation, answering the questions in the assignment, and citing specific examples from the original text and from your imitation. Paragraphs are organized. Quotations are documented in correct MLA style.

Imitation (40 points): Your essay successfully imitates the structure and style of the original at all levels: overall structure, tone, sentence style, and word choice. It fulfills the intentions laid out in the Introduction. As long as your imitation is close, you will automatically end up with a strong opening, a stated or implied main idea, plenty of evidence, and a clear organization, possibly using leaps and jumps, depending on the original, so these elements are not evaluated separately, though your essay must indeed contain all these elements.

Grammar and proofreading (20 points): The essay is free of distracting errors in grammar, and it has been carefully proofread.