Essay Exam
Read the prompt and then write your response, using detailed
evidence from the relevant text(s) to develop and support your ideas.
Consider how you want to begin your essay, as well as how you will
conclude it. Avoid writing a formulaic, 5-paragraph essay. Let your
essay have a natural development to it. Don’t simply repeat your
introduction as your conclusion. A conclusion can simply be your last
idea. Otherwise, have the conclusion be your ultimate insight about the
question. The introduction does not always need to start with your
ultimate insight. If it does, write the conclusion so that it is much more
significant than a restatement of your introduction, or have it end with
your final idea on your theme. When you are unsure of what to say or
how to say it, let the writing be simply stated and a genuine reflection of
what you think.
Choose only one topic from the following:
 In “The Company Man”, what is Ellen Goodman’s attitude (tone)
towards the company Phil works for, and what rhetorical
strategies does she use to convey her attitude?
 In the excerpt from Eat Pray Love, what is Elizabeth Gilbert’s
commentary about American culture, and what rhetorical
strategies does she use to support her critique?
 Compare the values Ellen Goodman and Elizabeth Gilbert promote
through their stories, “The Company Man” and Eat Pray Love.
Or, choose one of the following four texts and address it in the next
prompt:
“The Company Man” by Ellen Goodman Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert,
“When an Ethic is not an Ethic” by Paul Hawkins Stranger Than Fiction by Marc Foster
 In your chosen text, what rhetorical strategies does the author use
to critique the way people’s approach to work impacts other parts
of their lives?