Karen Gaffney
English Composition I
Thurs., Oct. 17
Mon., Oct. 21
Tues., Oct. 22
Wed., Oct. 23
Mon., Oct. 28
Thurs., Oct. 24
Essay #2 Assignment
 Bring
an electronic version of a working thesis for Essay #2

Create outline in class

Bring 3 printed copies of your draft of Essay #2 for peer workshop

Your draft should be about 3 pages long
 Your draft can include an introduction, but it doesn’t have to.
At minimum you can start with your thesis. And then, your draft must include all of your support paragraphs. Keep in mind the organizational structure we’ve been discussing.

If you do not bring your rough draft or if you skip the peer workshop, your Essay grade will be lowered a full letter grade, and you will lose the opportunity to revise.

Sign up for individual conference with me (to take place on
Wednesday)

Bring your draft in an electronic form (either have it saved as an email to yourself or bring it on a flash drive)

Continue to work on your draft in class
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Print out your draft at the end of class, and that will be the focus of your individual conference on Wednesday

No class meeting

Instead, meet with me (in my office S-333A) for an individual conference about your rough draft of Essay 2. Bring any questions you have.

Bring your draft in an electronic form

Essay #2 due

When you submit Essay #2, it should be in a folder with the following: peer workshop sheets, rough drafts from peer workshop, and the rough draft with my comments.
 Please mark your final draft “FINAL” so I know which version to grade.

The final draft should meet the following criteria: 5 pages, double-spaced, word-processed, proofread, spell-checked, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman, font size 12, page numbers, in-text citation MLA style, with a Works Cited page (this page does not count toward the 5 page requirement)

For every day you submit your essay late, its grade will be lowered a full letter grade and you lose the opportunity to revise.
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Purpose:
In your first out-of-class essay assignment, you probably followed one of the following patterns: arguing that one essay was presented more effectively than another, arguing that two essays that addressed different topics actually had the same underlying argument, or arguing that two essays that appeared to address the same issue actually took two different approaches. Regardless of which angle you chose, you put the two essays side by side and analyzed a relationship between them.
Your second out-of-class essay assignment will allow you to take your analytical skills one step further. For this assignment, you will have the opportunity to explore how reading one essay impacts your reading of another essay. Instead of asking yourself which essay is more convincing, you should ask yourself: What does one essay reveal about another essay? Or, how can one essay help me better understand another essay?
Step one:
Figure out your overall argument. While Essay #1 encouraged you to balance the weight of your analysis fairly evenly between the two essays, this essay will be shifted more towards one particular essay, the essay that is influencing your reading of another essay.
Sample overall argument (you haven’t read these authors):
Miller’s argument that global warming is a serious crisis sheds light on Jones’s analysis of the rise in hurricanes.
Step two:
Figure out your areas of support, or points of comparison. Think about a few different ways in which the first essay influences your reading of the second essay. Your points of comparison should come from your first essay, the essay that is doing the influencing.
Sample argument with points of comparison (a sample thesis):
Miller’s argument that global warming is a serious crisis sheds light on Jones’s analysis of the rise in hurricanes. In particular, Miller’s analysis of the causes, consequences, and solutions to global warming can help us understand Jones’ essay.
Sample outline:
See attached handout.
Which essays can you write about?
You can focus on any combination of two essays read for class so far, from Hacker and Dreifus all the way to Mallaby.
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Important things to keep in mind:
 Your thesis should be an argument; do not state the obvious.
 Your reader has read the two essays you are discussing, but your reader has not analyzed them in the depth that you have.
 Create clear topic sentences and fluid transitions that will help your reader follow your logic. Your
 topic sentences should introduce your specific area of support and link it to your argument. If your topic sentence states a fact, then it is easy to fall into the trap of summarizing throughout the whole paragraph, rather than analyzing.
 You may weave in personal experience if you feel that it would strengthen your argument. However,
 the focus of your essay should be on analyzing a relationship between the two texts.
 Make sure you are bringing in quotes from the essays and analyzing those quotes in depth.
It is probably to your advantage to discuss three areas of support. Two supports are probably not enough, and four is probably too many.
Feel free to use “I.”
Reminder about the revision opportunity:
As long as you are prepared for the peer workshop, attend your conference with me, and submit your essay in on time, then you can revise this essay. All revisions are due on or before the last day of class.
Future essay assignments:
This essay assignment is the last out-of-class assignment where I am asking you to focus solely on analyzing essays from the textbook. Essay #3 will ask you to choose one essay from the book and apply its analysis to one piece of popular culture (a song, TV show, advertisement, etc.). Essay #4 will ask you to choose one essay from the book and develop one particular aspect of that essay into an argument that you can support with research.
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Karen Gaffney Suggested Outline for Essay #2 (English I)
INTRODUCTION
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Start your introduction with some general comments (do not dive into your thesis right away).
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Put your thesis at the end of the introduction
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Sample thesis: Miller’s argument that global warming is a serious crisis sheds light on Jones’s analysis of the rise in hurricanes. In particular, Miller’s analysis of the causes, consequences, and solutions to global warming can help us understand Jones’ essay.
SUPPORT PARAGRAPHS
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Analyze how Miller addresses the causes of global warming
● Apply Miller’s analysis of the causes of global warming to Jones’ analysis of hurricanes
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Analyze how Miller addresses the consequences of global warming
● Apply Miller’s analysis of the consequences of global warming to
Jones’ analysis of hurricanes
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Analyze how Miller addresses the solution to global warming
 Apply Miller’s analysis of the solution to global warming to Jones’ analysis of hurricanes
CONCLUSION
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Start specific and get more general
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Summarize your main idea(s)
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Suggest other directions for analysis
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