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English 101
Essay #2: A Review: 100 points
Due Dates
Thu 1/28: Worksheet for Essay #2.
Mon 2/1: Seminar paper due on “Our Vanishing Night,” by Verlyn Klinkenborg, pp 240243, and “The Ugly Tourist,” by Jamaica Kincaid, pp 199-202.
Fri 2/5:
Essay #2 in Workshop groups. Bring 3 copies.
Tue 2/9: Essay #2. Paper submission. Due in class at the beginning of class. Remember
that late essays earn only half credit, and even a few minutes late counts as late. Your
essay folder must include all of the following, in this order, from top to bottom:
1. The revised, finished essay.
2. The version you brought to class on 2/5. The exact copy! There should be
written notes all over it from the class discussion on that day.
3. The Worksheet which was submitted on 1/28.
Assignment #2: A Review
Length: The revised, completed essay should be approximately 750-1300 words, or
approximately 3 ½ - 5 pages.
Format: 12-point font, double-spaced. Use the Modern Language Association (MLA) format,
same as for Essay #1.
Audience: A general audience of smart and curious people, including this class and the
instructor. This audience might not be familiar with your specific topic
Topic: Write a review--a review of something not normally reviewed, something only you, with
your particular perspective, could review. That is, do not review a movie, music, a play, a show,
a restaurant, a videogame –any of the things you normally see reviews of in magazines or
newspapers. Instead, think of something that's interesting to you, that you have an opinion about,
and that perhaps no one has ever reviewed before. For example, you could review:
The autumn leaves this last fall
Your wardrobe
A relative (your mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather…)
A particular party (a 21st birthday party, a particular New Year’s party, etc.)
A custom or tradition
A household task
You must review a specific thing, not a whole category of things. For example:
 My 21st birthday party (not birthday parties in general)
 The pick-up basketball game I played last Saturday with my friends (not basketball in
general).
 The bedtime story I made up and told to my son last night.
DO NOT WRITE ABOUT A PET OR A CAR OR YOUR PHONE OR ABOUT METRO
BUS SERVICE
I have seen too many essays about these things and I do not want to read about them any more,
even if your pet or car or bus ride is the best or worst in the world.
Overall Rhetorical Strategy: This assignment uses the rhetorical strategy of Comparison and
Contrast. To review something, you have to compare the specific thing you're reviewing to the
ideal version of that thing. For example, if I'm reviewing yesterday's Mariner's game, first I have
to think of what makes for an ideal baseball game (from the point of view of a spectator). So I
make a list of criteria. The ideal baseball game to watch will have all these features. Note that
everyone's list of criteria will be different, making your review different from anyone else's
review. Other people might choose different criteria for their ideal baseball game to watch.
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The teams are well-matched.
The pitchers are especially talented.
There are some exciting plays, moments of extreme suspense.
The score ends up close, rather than one team winning by a lot.
At least one of the players is extremely good-looking.
Ideally, my favorite team wins.
As I write my review, paragraph by paragraph I compare the specific game I watched with the
criteria I've developed. So one paragraph would be about whether the teams were well-matched.
The next would be about the talent of the pitchers, and so on.
Structure of the Finished Review
Interesting and Meaningful Title for Essay
First Paragraph
Here is a vivid scene or image or anecdote that illustrates the item you are reviewing. This
might include description or dialogue or a short narrative or all of these.
Here is a sentence or two that transitions from the previous image or anecdote or scene to your
thesis.
The last sentence of the first paragraph is the thesis sentence, which makes a claim about how
well your item meets the requirements for the ideal of a thing in its category. There are basically
three choices: your item either meets the requirements perfectly, imperfectly, or not at all. Sample
template: My __(item)___ is ___(great, not great, or sort of great) _____ because it ____(does,
does not, or partially does)_____ meet all the requirements for my ideal item of this kind.
Second Paragraph
This paragraph finds a graceful and interesting way to introduce the criteria that are essential
for an item of this kind. Discuss them in an order that is meaningful: most to least important, least
to most important, etc. Let’s call that order A, B, C, D, E.
Third Paragraph
Here is a topic sentence that says how well your item meets criterion A. For example, “This
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item fully accomplishes A.” Use keywords from your thesis and/or from your wording in
paragraph 2 about this criterion.
Illustrate the point in the topic sentence with examples, descriptions, anecdotes, scenes, dialogue,
stories of your experience, etc.
If this paragraph has been very long or the criterion is very complex, it may need a closing
sentence to summarize what’s been said or put it in context. Shorter paragraphs probably won’t
need this.
Fourth Paragraph
(and fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, depending on how many criteria you have and how much you
have to say about them)
In this and the next several paragraphs, repeat the third paragraph pattern for your other
criteria, B, C, D, and E. These paragraphs are in the same order the criteria are presented in
paragraph 2.
Possible exceptions to this order: Some criteria might take a long time to discuss—your many
examples might be lengthy; in that case, the discussion of one criterion might take more than one
paragraph. Also, if you’re using dialogue, you’ll have to start a new paragraph each time the
speaker changes, because that’s how dialogue is formatted.
Counterargument 1
Present the first counterargument and make your answer or accommodations to it. People might
disagree with either your criteria for evaluating the item or with your evaluation of the item.
Continue this pattern for as many counterarguments as you have. There are no specific requirements for
how many you have to have. Imagine some reasonable readers analyzing your arguments and address the
questions or objections you predict they would have.
Counterargument 2
Present the next counterargument and make your answer or accommodations to it.
Counterargument 3
Present the next counterargument and make your answer or accommodations to it.
Revisiting the Thesis
This paragraph re-considers the thesis as it was written at the end of the first paragraph and makes
some adjustments to it. After all the discussion that has come before, it might be expanded or qualified in
some way. You might want to add more becauses or buts or ifs or ands or maybes for a full expression of
your thesis in all its complexity.
Building toward the Close, and Closing
This ending considers the extensions of your idea. The following questions can help you: Why is it
important? How does it relate to other things—both in your life and perhaps in others’ lives? What
matters about it? What do we learn from having analyzed the topic in this way?
Remember the three things Trimble tells us closer should do: 1) Revisit the thesis (You’ve already done
that in the paragraph above, so no need to repeat that here unless you have more to add); 2) provide some
new twist or angle or expansion; and 3) add emotional punch, or some sort of mood or feeling. This
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emotional punch could involve sensory imagery or a re-visiting of the opening scene of the essay, or you
may think of another way—look at the “Logos, Ethos, Pathos” sheet for a reminder of the signs of pathos
in a piece of writing.
Developing the Review
We will do this development in the worksheet, but it is described in detail here. The following
steps will help you develop the material for your review, and will help you work toward the
structure of your final review. In the worksheet, you’ll be writing out all these steps.
1. First, think of the category that the thing you’re reviewing belongs in. For example, my
21st birthday party would go in the category of all 21st birthday parties, or perhaps the
category of all birthday parties that mark a significant age. Last Saturday’s pick-up
basketball game would go in the category of all pick-up basketball games. The bedtime
story I told last night would go in the category of all bedtime stories, or perhaps in the
category of all bedtime stories made up and told by parents to their children.
2. Now list the ideal qualities of anything in this category. For example, let’s say I’m
reviewing my purse. What are the ideal qualities of a purse? What would I look for in a
purse?
 Big enough to carry what one needs to carry.
 Has pockets that are convenient for the specific things one carries around.
 Not so big that the items inside sink to the bottom and are hard to reach.
 Goes with one’s clothing.
 Sturdy, takes a lot of wear and tear.
 Waterproof
3. Now, make a lot of notes in which you relate the subject of your review to the criteria
you’ve listed. For example, if you’re reviewing your mother, and one of the criteria for
being a good mother is that she sings you to sleep at night when you’re a baby, you’d
consider the question of whether your mother fulfilled that requirement, and if so, how
well. Maybe she did sing you to sleep, but she chose annoying songs. Maybe she didn’t
sing you to sleep, but she did put on soothing music for you to listen to. Maybe she did
sing you to sleep, but her voice was so out of tune that you couldn’t sleep. Write as much
detail as you possibly can!
4. Write your thesis: Now that you’ve looked at whether your subject of review meets your
review criteria, you’re ready to write your thesis. Your thesis will be a statement about
whether the subject of your review meets, does not meet, or partially meets the criteria by
which you are evaluating it. A thesis would be something like “Except that she’s not a
great cook, my mother is the very best mother a person could have because she is kind,
loving, supportive, and tough when necessary.
5. Think of counterarguments: who might disagree with you and why?
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6. Think of ways to accommodate or refute those arguments. Consider whether, in the light
of these arguments, your thesis needs revising.
7. Extend your idea by considering the following questions:
 What is this thing good for?
 Why is it important?
 Does it benefit individuals?
 Does it benefit society?
 What do you learn in the process of evaluating this thing?
 What do you want to tell others about this subject?
Grade of the Finished Essay: 100 points
1. Basic MLA format; portfolio complete and in order (5 points): The essay follows the
required MLA format for header, title, spacing, paragraphing, etc. The portfolio contains
the final revision, the version you brought to the writing group, and the worksheet, as well as any
other notes and drafts.
2. Opening and ending (10 points): The opening (including the title) is vivid and
engaging, and helps a reader focus on the topic and idea. The ending helps a reader know
what to make of the idea and provides a satisfying sense of closure, a feeling that the
significance of the idea has been explored.
3. Main idea (15 points): The essay has a clear, meaningful, and explicitly stated thesis at
the end of your first paragraph. This thesis is developed as the essay proceeds, and is
clearly connected to all parts of the essay.
4. Example and evidence (20 points): Your thesis is supported with vivid and plentiful
details about the item under review, showing how it differs from or meets the standards
for an item of this kind. These supporting details include elements of ethos, pathos, and
logos: shows why you are a credible reviewer, provides reasoning and evidence, and
engages reader emotion with description, short anecdotes, memories, and sensory
imagery.
5. Organization (20 points): The essay follows the required structure: The thesis is stated
at the end of the first paragraph. The second paragraph introduces, in meaningful order,
the criteria for evaluation, and the following paragraphs explore, in order, whether the
reviewed item meets that criterion. The paragraphs begin with topic sentences that
contain key words connecting to the thesis and include transitions if needed; the
sentences within the paragraphs are organized to support the paragraph’s main point; the
paragraphs within the essay all relate to the whole, and follow logically from one to
another; and all the parts as a whole fit together and are easy for an attentive reader to
follow.
6. Style and voice (10 points): The writing is efficient, so that every word counts. Verbs
are vivid and active, clichés are avoided, the thinking is original, the writing contains
elements of surprise and in general conveys the sense that there’s a writer behind the
work, an actual person with unique and worthwhile perspectives.
7. Grammar and proofreading (20 points): The essay is free of distracting errors in
grammar, and it has been carefully proofread.
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