Critical Analysis Essay

Draft for Peer Review of minimum 1200 words due: 10/12/2020 by 11:59 p.m. Central Time
Final Draft of 1500-2000 words (including works cited) due: 10/21/2020 by 11:59 p.m. Central
Time

A Critical Analysis Essay asks the writer to make an Project Goals

argument about two peer-reviewed journal articles. The
goal is two-fold: one, identify and explain the argument  Explain an argument made by a
that the authors are making, and two, provide your own text or series of texts.
argument about the efficacy of those arguments. You  Analyze an argument to
are not writing a “book report” that summarizes the understand how it is constructed.
author’s argument but evaluating the effectiveness of  Evaluate the effectiveness of the
the author’s rhetorical strategy and techniques. argument for its intended
audience.
Sometimes it can seem intimidating to pick apart an  Use outside sources to help you
argument made in a formal text; after all, these texts are make your own argument about
often composed by experts. However, part of this
exercise is to expose the fact that even though these authors might be qualified in their respective fields,
they are still advancing an argument and providing their own evidence to support that argument. Their
aim is to persuade you that their argument is true—not just to present facts. Once you recognize that
these authors are making arguments, you can analyze whether or not you find their argument persuasive.

For this essay, you will find two sides within the topic you have been exploring for the final
researched position paper and evaluate which source from which perspective is the more persuasive and
why. Each side must be represented by a peer-reviewed, scholarly article you have found. Do not use the
same sources that you used for the Exploratory Essay. Ask Dr. Kenley if you have questions about the
suitability of your sources.

Extra Credit
You can earn up to 2% points of extra credit on this assignment by completing two tutoring sessions at
the University Writing Center and filling out Writing Center Visit Forms for each appointment. If you
were to complete one tutoring session and your essay were graded at an 85%, your grade would be
raised to an 86%. If you were to complete two tutoring sessions, your grade would be raised to an 87%.
Remember to schedule your University Writing Center appointments well in advance of the essay’s due
date. Remember as well that the UWC contacts Dr. Kenley after each tutoring session, so she will have a
record of your attendance.

Purpose and Audience

The Critical Analysis Essay is a research-based essay that analyzes a text or a series of texts to make a
new claim about the text. Your overarching purpose is to examine your research question through a new
lens and perhaps take your inquiry in a different direction. The audience for this essay is our class—a
diverse group of people who may be neutral or slightly skeptical of your argument.

Essay Structure
I. Introduction
 Begin with an interesting hook that identifies the issue at hand; framing this as a point of
contention between the two sources is a useful strategy here. Try to make the sources look far
apart/play up the contrast between the sources
 Introduce the authors of the two viewpoints using their names and the titles of their articles.
 Include a 1-to-2 sentence summary of each article you will discuss
 Have a thesis statement that clearly articulates which of the two texts is ultimately more
persuasive and why. Think of the thesis statement as the topic sentence for your essay: it’s the
broadest version of the “interesting observation + implication” formula.
 Try to come up with a snappy title for your essay as well

II. Position A Analyzed (1-2 Paragraphs)

 Begin with a topic sentence that uses the interesting observation + implication formula
 Identify the intended audience. Where did this text originally appear? Do you feel you are part
of the intended audience?
 Determine the writer's purpose in creating this text. Is its intent to answer a question, pose a
problem, add to research on a given topic, introduce a new idea, argue a point, etc.?
 Explain the rhetorical situation. Are there factors that might affect how the audience receives
this text? Is the topic related to a current controversy? Are there economic or social conditions
that might affect how the audience responds to the text?
 Examine the components of the text. What is the author’s claim, and on what evidence is it
based? What assumptions underly that claim, and what backing is provided for those
assumptions? Does the author make any rebuttals or qualify the argument at any point?
 Be sure to include paraphrase as well as direct quotes from the article you are using for Position
A. Please continue to use the templates we have learned about in TS/IS.

III. Position B Analyzed (1-2 Paragraphs; essentially, you’re repeating the process from Position A
above with your second source)

 Begin with a topic sentence that uses the interesting observation + implication formula
 Identify the intended audience. Where did this text originally appear? Do you feel you are part
of the intended audience?
 Determine the writer's (or composer's) purpose in creating this text. Is its intent to answer a
question, pose a problem, add to research on a given topic, introduce a new idea, argue a point,
etc.?
 Explain the rhetorical situation. What, from the context in which it appeared or the text itself,
can you tell about its audience? For example, are they experts in the topic or novices? Are there
factors that might affect how the audience receives this text?
 Examine the components of the text. What is the author’s claim, and on what evidence is it
based? What assumptions underly that claim, and what backing is provided for those
assumptions? Does the author make any rebuttals or qualify the argument at any point?
 Be sure to include paraphrase as well as direct quotes from the article you are using for Position
B. Please continue to use the templates we have learned about in TS/IS.

IV. Evaluation of Persuasiveness

  Begin with a topic sentence that uses the interesting observation + implication formula
 For this section, it will be particularly important to use the voice markers templates from pages
70-74 in TS/IS.
 For position A, evaluate the author's decisions. How well has the author crafted the message to
reach the intended audience? What strategies does the writer use? Examples of strategies include
use of classical rhetorical appeals (e.g., ethos, logos, and pathos). Are these strategies necessary
or sufficient for persuasion? What is the style of the piece? If specialized vocabulary is used, is it
explained or are readers expected to know it?
 For position A, identify any logical flaws. If there are flaws in the author’s logic, it can
undermine the overall claim. Is that the case here?
 Now, for position B, evaluate the author's decisions. How well has the author crafted the
message to reach the intended audience? What strategies does the writer use? Examples of
strategies include use of classical rhetorical appeals (e.g., ethos, logos, and pathos). Are these
strategies necessary or sufficient for persuasion? What is the style of the piece? If specialized
vocabulary is used, is it explained or are readers expected to know it?
 Again, for position B, identify any logical flaws. If there are flaws in the author’s logic, it can
undermine the overall claim. Is that the case here?
 Based on all of the information above, provide your final analysis. Develop two or three criteria
to assess the author’s effectiveness. Which of the two sources is more persuasive based on your
criteria and analysis of the authors’ rhetorical techniques? Why?

V. Conclusion
 Summarize your analysis and recap, briefly, why you have selected one source as more
persuasive than the other. In order to do this succinctly, try using the self-translation technique
from TS/IS (pp.122-23)
 As a note to end on, consider using one of the conclusion templates from TS/IS (p.139).