: Critical Analysis Essay
ENG 122 Assignment 2: Critical Analysis Essay Guidelines and Rubric “My mind,” he said, “rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere . . . But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.” —Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Overview The second final project for this course is the creation of a critical analysis essay. Writing is a craft that people spend a lifetime refining and one that allows people to express themselves in various ways. Effective writing has the ability to shape and inform the opinions of its readers. The ability to articulate a message through writing is essential in any career. The writing process can be very intimidating; however, the more you work with it, the more comfortable the process becomes. Something key to remember is that the writing process is never truly complete. In this assignment, you will revise your first draft from Assignment 2, Milestone 1. Next, you will develop a claim about the information presented in that reading and support that claim through a critical analysis essay. There is no right or wrong claim. It is how you support your claim that makes your essay effective. To thoroughly revise the work, be sure to refer back to your instructor’s feedback. The project has one milestone, which will scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. This milestone will be submitted in Module 5. The final submission of Assignment 2 is due in Module 8. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: Discuss stylistically appropriate writing strategies for various audiences, subjects, and purposes Identify main ideas, supporting evidence, and conclusions through critical analysis for utilizing these components in one’s own writing Interpret the writing process as a means for generating ideas, drafting, and revising for improving the quality and effectiveness of one’s own writing Integrate appropriate and qualified evidence into one’s own composition through effective research Prompt For this essay, you will analyze a reading and develop a claim about the author’s goal in the article you selected. Once your claim is established, you will use examples from the reading to support your claim throughout your essay. Critical Elements Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction: This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you planned out, while also stating your claim. A. Provide an overview of the work you have analyzed, briefly describing main points and your thoughts about the writing. B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the claim that you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give direction to your essay and should be well thought out. II. Body: The body is your opportunity to describe and support your claim in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand. A. Be sure to write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from one to the other, building the thesis argument as the essay progresses. These paragraphs also need to deploy evidence from the selected reading. B. Your body paragraphs should support your claim by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from the writing. There is no such thing as a right or wrong claim; the key is how your claim is supported and the quality of the evidence used. III. Conclusion: Think of the conclusion as a review of your analysis. Use this section to restate your claim and remind readers of your supporting evidence. Think of this as your last chance to prove your point. A. Review your claim and summarize key supporting points. This section should consist of a review of your main points employed to support your argument. B. Your conclusion should articulate insights about your claim established through your analysis. This should follow logically from your argument, referring to key points or quotes used to support your claim. Milestones Assignment 2, Milestone 1: First Draft In Module 5, you will return to your selected reading and analysis in a guided walkthrough activity. You will approach each section using the same eLearning paper generator that was used for Assignment 1, except that the questions will be aimed more toward re-evaluating your posts. You will pull out quotes and paraphrases and develop summarizations that will be used to further support your points. You will also apply your instructor’s feedback from Assignment 1. When you are done responding to the prompts in this guided activity, you will have a transformed, more developed draft that addresses the critical elements outlined in Section I: Introduction, Section II: Body, and Section III: Conclusion, above. You will be able to use the reverse outline in Module 6 to make sure that this draft has a clear, fluid, detailed approach. Whatever is completed in MindEdge by the deadline will be sent to your instructor for grading. This assignment is graded with the Assignment 2, Milestone 1 Rubric. Assignment 2 Submission: Critical Analysis Essay In Module 8, you will submit your critical analysis essay in its final form. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the Critical Elements associated with Assignment 2. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained and revision opportunities presented throughout the course and revision. This assignment will be graded using the Assignment 2 Rubric (below). Assignment 2 Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your analysis essay must be 3–4 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in MLA or APA format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least three references from the selected reading cited in MLA or APA format. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions. Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value Introduction: Overview Provides an overview of the work being analyzed (100%) Provides an overview of the work being analyzed, but it contains issues regarding clarity (55%) Does not provide an overview of the work being analyzed (0%) 12 Introduction: Thesis Meets “Proficient” criteria and thesis is exceptionally clear and concise (100%) Composes a thesis that states the claim that will be proven throughout the essay (85%) Composes a thesis, but contains issues related to clarity or relevancy (55%) Does not compose a thesis (0%) 12 Body: Intent Meets “Proficient” criteria and writing is well-qualified with specific examples (100%) Writes multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and build the thesis argument (85%) Writes multiple paragraphs, but writing does not build the thesis argument (55%) Does not write multiple paragraphs (0%) 12 Body: Body Paragraphs Meets “Proficient” criteria and supports claim with a masterfully constructed combination of thoughts and evidence (100%) Body paragraphs support claim by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence (85%) Body paragraphs support claim, but do not combine thoughts and ideas with evidence (55%) Does not support claim through body paragraphs (0%) 24 Conclusion: Review Meets “Proficient” criteria and response is clear and contextualized (100%) Reviews claim and summarizes key supporting points of essay (85%) Reviews claim and summarizes key supporting points, but contains issues regarding alignment to the intent of the thesis (55%) Does not review claim (0%) 12 Conclusion: Insights Meets “Proficient” criteria and offers a nuanced insight into the relationship between the evidence and the claim (100%) Articulates insights about claim established through your analysis, and follows claim logically, referring to key points or quotes used to support claim (85%) Articulates insights about claim established through your analysis, but does not follow claim logically or refer to key points or quotes used to support claim (55%) Does not articulate insights about claim (0%) 24 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format (100%) Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization (85%) Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas (55%) Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas (0%) 4 Total 100%