Murphy 1
Student Name
Prof. Name
ENGL 1101-section number
Date
Essay One Guidelines
o Choose a specific song or image from music media. Choose carefully—your sign needs
to be one you’re interested in and that you believe has import. Climb the ladder of
specificity so that you start with a tight enough topic to keep you grounded and parallel
throughout your study. Use ONE primary source through which to make your assertions,
but feel free to use contextual evidence (ie. official video, lyrics, album image) to back up
one or more of your claims.
o Type your essay in MLA format and submit via CourseDen prior to the beginning of
class on the due date AND bring a hard copy to turn in at the beginning of class on the
due date. Your essay should be three to four pages in length.
o Give your essay a title that’s relevant to your study. You can be quirky or serious with
your title, but you must have one.
o Stage your study by making your sign the star. After reading your introduction, I should
know exactly which cultural phenomenon you intend to investigate in your essay. Refrain
from including interpretation or analysis of your sign in your staging. Instead, make your
sign shine; make it visible.
o Pose driving theoretical questions about your sign at or near the end of your introduction
paragraph OR present an umbrella thesis (in other words, an overarching claim) that
clarifies the direction of your study.
Murphy 2
o Fully develop the body of your essay.
o Present at least three theoretical claims (also known as S-S-S sentences, ideas,
topic sentences) about your sign in the body of your essay. Each claim needs its
own paragraph or paragraphs. Each claim needs its own illustration and
interpretation. Otherwise, you haven’t fully developed your ideas. At least one of
your claims should include rhetorical analysis of your sign/topic. In other words,
at least one of your topic sentences should explore a particular rhetorical strategy
employed by media to shape or influence audience perception of your chosen
sign.
o I reiterate: Present a theoretical claim about your sign (using the sign-signalsignificance model) in each body paragraph. This will be your topic sentence,
your IDEA. Make sure that you ILLUSTRATE your idea in each body paragraph
and that you INTERPRET your idea in each body paragraph. Of the three “I”s,
your interpretation should be the largest part; it should constitute the bulk of the
essay’s body.
o Remember: pick a sign and stick to it. Keep your reader grounded in your topic
throughout the essay.
o Write a conclusion that either restates your ideas about your sign OR that briefly sums up
your ideas and then invites consideration regarding other potential readings of your sign.
It’s impossible to conclusively interrogate and consider a cultural or textual phenomenon,
and it’s okay and intelligent to acknowledge this in your conclusion.