Module 3: Applying Analysis

Module 3: Applying Analysis

In this module, you will review analytical strategies and create a writing plan using the elements of a critical analysis.

3-1 Reading: Preparing for Your Writing Plan

Reading: Preparing for Your Writing Plan
As you learned in previous modules, developing analysis skills is an
important step in becoming a strong reader and writer. Your Writing
Notes in Module One helped you to complete a literal reading
analysis of your selected reading. In Module Two, you used active
reading strategies to complete a deeper analysis of a sample text.
Both of these activities will now help you engage in the process of
critical analysis.

Critical analysis is the process of studying a text and evaluating the

author's claim, also known as their main argument. When completing
a critical analysis of a text, you look closely at what the author says
and how they are saying it. You explore both the strengths and the
weaknesses of the argument. Ultimately, your goal is to form an
opinion or evaluation of the author's claim and then present your
analysis of the work in the form of a written essay. Critical analysis
essays are written in the third person. Avoid using "I," "you," and
"we."

The Critical Analysis Essay

Your critical analysis essay will build on your responses from your Writing Notes from Module One. You should take some time
to review your notes to help prepare you for the upcoming assignment.

When writing this essay, you will consider something like these questions:

What is the author's claim?

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 Can you find key points that the author uses to support their claim?
Who is the author's target audience?
What choices does the author make within their writing to connect with this target audience?
Is the author's claim or argument strong or weak?

State Your Opinion Clearly

Do not be shy about stating your opinion about the author's claim. Be clear with your opinion. This opinion will be the
starting point for your essay.

Use Evidence

Support your opinion with detailed evidence from the text in the form of key points, which means that you will quote,
paraphrase, and summarize direct phrases and sentences from the selected reading throughout your essay. (More
information about using quotations, paraphrases, and summaries is available in Module Four.)

Focus on the Text

Avoid using phrases like "I think" or "in my opinion." Your audience can assume these points are your thoughts and
opinions since you are writing the essay. Also, avoid using personal experience as evidence. Focus instead on
supporting your opinion of the reading with key points from the text.

Be Open to Revision

One of the most important steps in the writing process is the final one—revision and editing. When you revise your
essay, you will use feedback from your instructor to improve your argument. You will work on strengthening the
organization of your ideas, making your sentences clearer and easier to understand, and increasing the overall
effectiveness of your writing.

Remember that your essay will focus on your previously selected reading. Check thelibrary guide to access another copy of
your text.

3-2 Assignment: Writing Plan (GRADED)

Assignment: Writing Plan (GRADED)

In Module One, you did a literal reading of

your selected reading. In Module Two, you
learned some active reading strategies and
applied critical analysis. Finally, you identified
some important features of your selected
reading and evaluated the author's purpose
for writing. Now you will take a step further to
identify the author's claim.

Now it is time to start the planning phase of

your Critical Analysis Essay that is due in
Module Seven. This week, you will answer
some questions that will guide you through a
closer analysis of your selected reading from
Module One. Next, you will use the analysis
strategies you practiced in Module Two to
learn more about the meaning of your
reading. Finally, by answering these
questions, you will complete the first step in
the writing process: a Writing Plan.

The assignment below will ask you to consider your selected reading and how it relates to the following critical elements:

author's claim
author's key points

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 author's audience
author's connection to the audience
your evaluation

If you need a copy of your reading, refer to thelibrary guide for this course. You will continue to work with your selected reading
throughout the course.

Follow the guidelines and rubric in Brightspace to submit your assignment.

Assignment Guidelines and Rubric

Please note, this assignment will be submitted via Brightspace.

Be certain to check the library guide for assignment submission examples.

Overview

To complete this assignment, do an active reading of your selected reading using the reviewed analysis techniques. Be sure to
take notes. Next, you will make a plan for writing your critical analysis essay, which will guide you through the first steps of
drafting the critical analysis essay due in Module 7.

As you work on the Writing Plan, remember to refer to the assignment guidelines and rubric below to make certain you fulfill
each aspect of the assignment.

Prompt

For this Writing Plan, you will analyze your selected reading and state an opinion or evaluation about the author's claim. You will
then use evidence or key points from the selected reading to back up your evaluation.

Note: Remember to cite any works you use in your assignment. You will not be graded on the citations; the purpose is just to
make certain you are practicing using citations.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. What is the author's claim in the selected reading? In other words, what do you believe the author wants their audience
to learn or understand better once they have finished reading?
2. Have you identified new key points that the author uses to support their claim in the selected reading? If so, include them
here.
3. Describe the author's target audience: what group or groups of people is the author trying to reach with their message?
4. What choices does the author make within their writing to connect with this target audience?
5. Explain your evaluation of the author's claim: is the claim strong or weak? What evidence or key points from the writing
best support the author's claim? If you found the claim to be weak, explain why the evidence or key points provided did not
effectively support the author's claim.

Guidelines for Submission

Save your work in a Word document and include a page with references. It must be written inMLA or APA format. Use double
spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.

This assignment will be submitted in Brightspace.

Module Three Assignment Rubric

Assignment Rubric
Criteria Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Shows progress toward proficiency, but
Determines the author's claim with errors or omissions; areas for
Author's that will be addressed in the improvement may include more clarity in Does not attempt criterion 18
Claim analysis essay determining the claim that will be
addressed in the analysis

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Determines the author's key
Author's points and reasoning that will
Key Points help understand the author's
overall claim
Explains who the author's
intended target audience is and
Audience why the author's message is
relevant to that group of
readers
Explains the choices the author
Connection
makes within their writing to
to
connect with this target
Audience
audience
Evaluation Explains the effectiveness of
of Claim the author's writing
Shows progress toward proficiency, but
with errors or omissions; areas for
improvement may include key points that Does not attempt criterion 18
are more helpful in understanding the
author's overall claim
Shows progress toward proficiency, but
with errors or omissions; areas for
improvement may include an analysis of Does not attempt criterion 18
the target audience that clearly explains
the relevance to the group of readers
Shows progress toward proficiency, but
with errors or omissions; areas for
improvement may include a clearer
Does not attempt criterion 18
explanation of the choices the author
makes to connect with the target
audience
Shows progress toward proficiency, but
with errors or omissions; areas for
improvement may include a more clear Does not attempt criterion 18
and concise explanation of the
effectiveness of the author's writing

The submission has critical

Clearly conveys meaning with
Shows progress toward proficiency, but inconsistencies in grammatical
Articulation grammatical choices, sentence
with inconsistencies in grammatical conventions, sentence
of structure, and spelling that 10
conventions, sentence structure, and structure, and spelling,
Response demonstrate an understanding
spelling, negatively impacting readability preventing understanding of
of audience and purpose
ideas
Total 100%

3-4 Reading: Creating an Outline

Reading: Creating an Outline

Now that you have decided on a topic, it is time to use outlining to move toward an essay form. An outline uses symbols and
formatting to organize ideas in an essay (or other writing pieces). On this page, you will learn more about how to construct a
standard outline. You must use an outline to get your ideas into shape before you even write because it will save you a lot of
time and worry in the long run. Students who carefully outline their essays before writing tend to write much better final drafts.

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It is important to remember that outlining is still part of the prewriting process. You can—and probably should—play around with
your outline to try different ways of organizing the information in your essay. There is no one right way to do it, but you might find
that some structures lend themselves better than others based on your topic. For example, if you are writing about an obstacle
that you have overcome, it might make sense to do it chronologically. On the other hand, if you are writing about the best advice
that you have ever received, you may want to think about the different areas in which the advice has helped you and structure
your essay accordingly.

The most common convention in outlining is to use alternating symbols (including roman numerals, capital letters, numbers, and
lowercase letters) to show which parts are your main points and which ones are the points that support them. Prepare an outline
to organize your essay by following the steps below. You will use this outline to complete the activity in the next section.

1. Use Roman numerals (e.g., I, II, III, IV, V) for the components of your outline. Remember that the components of a reflective
essay are the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Therefore, each of these sections would be given a Roman
numeral. For example, the top-level outline of an essay with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion would
look like this example:

I. Introduction

II. Body paragraph 1

III. Body paragraph 2

IV. Body paragraph 3

V. Conclusion

However, when you write it out, use the themes of the paragraphs.

I. All schools should have recycling programs (Introduction)

II. Recycling programs will increase environmental awareness (Body paragraph 1)

III. Recycling programs will help keep the school clean (Body paragraph 2)

IV. Recycling will cut down on cost of waste removal (Body paragraph 3)
V. Why all schools should have recycling (Conclusion)

2. Within each component, use capital letters (e.g., A, B, C) for the main points that you wish to make. These letters are both
written below the Roman numeral and indented (usually one tab space) from the left (indenting helps make the structure of your
outline visible at a glance).

I. All schools should have recycling programs

A. Why is recycling important?

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3. Use numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3) within each main point to provide supporting points. Examples of supporting points include
examples, reasons, and elaborations. These numbers should be indented under the capital letter that they follow.

I. All schools should have recycling programs

A. Why is recycling important?

1. Increase environmental awareness

2. Reduce amount of waste that goes into landfills

B. Implementing a recycling program would benefit the school as well as the students

4. Sometimes, a supporting point will have its own supporting point(s). For these points, use lowercase letters (e.g., a, b, c) and
indent under the number. Here is an example that might be part of the first body paragraph.

II. Increase environmental awareness (Body paragraph #1)

A. Recycling programs in schools will increase environmental awareness and promote an earth-

friendly lifestyle
1. A school-wide recycling program will make students aware of their own environmental

impact
a. Students will be more likely to consider the environment if everywhere they go they

see a recycling bin

2. Students who have access to recycling bins in school are more likely to recycle at home

3. Students will be more likely to look for other ways to make a positive change
a. Students who recycle are more likely to think twice about buying or using
excessive packaging

5. If your sub-supporting points have supporting points of their own, use lowercase Roman numerals (e.g., i, ii, iii), and indent
them under the lowercase letter.

II. Increase environmental awareness (Body paragraph #1)

A. Recycling programs in schools will increase environmental awareness and promote an earth-

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 friendly lifestyle.
1. A school-wide recycling program will make students aware of their own environmental
impact
a. Students will be more likely to consider the environment if everywhere they go they

see a recycling bin

2. Students who have access to recycling bins in school are more likely to recycle at home
3. Students will be more likely to look for other ways to make a positive change

a. Students who recycle are more likely to think twice about buying or using
excessive packaging
i. Studies show that people who actively recycle are less likely to purchase
goods that come in excessive plastic or paper packaging

3-5 Activity: Outline (GRADED)

This assignment does not contain any printable content.

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