ENGLISH 106
Textual Analysis Assignment Sheet - Analyzing Zeitoun
FALL 2012 / Broughan
For this writing assignment, you will be analyzing the nonfiction book Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, with
contextual help from When the Levees Broke directed by Spike Lee. The purpose of your analysis will be
to understand the author and director’s rhetorical choices by dissecting the book and film’s various
elements. You will conduct research relevant to your analysis. By doing so, you will be presenting your
interpretation of the text utilizing support from the texts as well as some basic research that addresses
the texts’ context. A brief summary of the text or texts will be also vital to a good analysis, but this
project cannot merely be a summary of the texts, nor should it be a review based on your personal
reaction to it.
Non-fiction and documentary film may not be the first mediums that come to mind when we think
about texts, yet they are all complex formats for recording aspects of our world. This project asks you to
analyze the textual and rhetorical strategies employed by the author and director in the construction of
the text’s argument.
1. Identify the main argument (thesis) and purpose of Zeitoun – This will likely be different for each
member of the class and it should be, but what is your personal interpretation of the books argument.
2. Examine the ways in which the thesis and/or aim of the work’s argument is supported through the
particular style and manner of the composition’s construction. That is, through rhetorical strategies and
techniques. In order to focus your ideas, you’ll need to choose a specific topic from the book and/or film
to analyze; do not attempt to discuss everything about the work. You will also need to choose specific
scenes or moments from the book and film that illustrate these techniques, and analyze how the creator
uses them to present the argument.
3. Interpret and explain, in terms of your own thesis, why you think that the authors of the text you are
analyzing made the particular compositional choices (this is what #2 covers) they did in an effort to
further his/her main argument (this is what #1 covers). You should answer the ‘so what?’ question;
these choices are not arbitrary, therefore you should interpret why the writers and artist made certain
compositional and stylistic choices. Again, support all claims with specific examples of scenes and
moments from the work and with independent outside research.
Research: Find at least two credible outside sources and cite them in your paper; they should provide
support for your interpretation of the text, be well integrated, and be listed properly in a Works Cited
page.
Length: 4 – 5 pages long: no shorter than 4 pages.
Format: Like everything else in this class, this essay must be written in the MLA format. Please consult
the MLA section of the Purdue OWL. The paper should be double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12 point
Times New Roman font.
Hand in your project in this order with a binder clip or rubber band:
 Final Draft
 All prior drafts


The peer review you completed someone else’s paper
Your Pre-Writing and Planning (including any writing we do in class)
Relationship to Other Assignments
In your textual analysis, you will also maintain the practice of self-inquiry that you developed in the
Personal Narrative. This paper will contain your own particular interpretation of this text and so bringing
out your own voice in the essay will be pivotal to persuading your reader. Your analysis will be based on
what you bring to the text. You can’t possibly address all of the topics covered in Zeitoun or the other
texts, so it is important that you narrow your paper down to an aspect that interests you. That’s how
you will put the “I” in your textual analysis.
Criteria
I expect you will learn and demonstrate an expanded notion of the word “text,” how to read the visual
aspects of texts for meaning, and ways to read closely and interpret various kinds of texts. I expect you
to put yourself in the writer’s seat for this one.
Grading
This assignment is worth 150 points out of a total 1000 for the course.
Important Dates:
Wednesday, February 22nd—The first draft of your textual analysis is due. Bring in two typed and
printed copies of your first draft to class.
Friday, February 24th —Peer Review your partner’s essay is due. Type out your peer review responses
and bring the copy-edited essay for your classmate. Be ready to discuss your classmate’s draft.
Tuesday, March 6th—Hand in Final Textual Analysis project. Bring in project (as described above) to
class, ready to hand in at the beginning of the hour. I will not accept the assignment at the end of the
class period; please be at this class and be there on time.
Wednesday, March 7th –Hand in Reflection of Textual Analysis. Bring in a hard copy of the Reflection to
class and hand it in at the beginning of the hour.
Reflection: Your Reflection of the project will be handed in separately. It should be about a page and a
half to two pages long, and its instructions will be handed out separately.