Angel, English 102 B

Analytical Essay #1: The Non-Verbal Gap

Purpose: The first internet communication topic we cover in English 102 is the non-verbal gap, or
how difficulties in communication arise due to the constraints of the internet. This essay gives the
opportunity to practice putting together a formal research paper based around this topic.
This essay is one of our major, formal, academic essay assignments for English 102; as such, this
essay is where you will engage in a meaningful writing process in which you apply your learning so
far this term, with particular emphasis on process; structure; focus and organization; and thoughtful
and effective development of your thesis using your own thinking, observations, analysis, and
personal experiences, as well as engaging meaningfully with in-class and out-of-class texts.

Assignment:

How do internet users overcome the non-verbal gap when communicating?

As you generate your position that you will develop in your essay, consider the following questions to help
you brainstorm and organize:
Define the problem: Consider: What is the non-verbal gap? What problem does this pose to internet
communication? What are the stakes of this problem?
Establish your position: What strategies do people employ to be understood online? Is there a common
theme among these strategies that can be explained in a concise thesis statement?
Give three examples: Three examples of these strategies, ideally as one body paragraph per example, will
act as evidence and support of your thesis statement. These ideally will not be singular examples, but rather a
strategy that encompasses multiple examples, using a source as support.
Other connected areas you might consider as you brainstorm your thesis and examples:
- How do YOU communicate online?
- Have you been misinterpreted online before? How was the situation resolved?
- What is different between internet communication and communication through other mediums? Is this
due to the non-verbal gap?

Requirements - Your essay should:

 Be 500 words minimum, double-spaced, Times New Roman, and adhere to MLA style for
formatting.
 Be organized effectively, applying elements of essay writing. Your essay should begin with
an effective introduction with a strong, clear thesis and multiple body paragraphs that are
organized logically and effectively. Each paragraph should have its own focus and purpose, all
which support and develop your thesis. You should end with a conclusion that is impactful and
reflects on the importance of the topic.
 Use and reference at least THREE sources, either from in-class or out of class. Be sure to
introduce, CITE, and contextualize all references to texts. Imagine your reader is entirely
unfamiliar with your sources. The ‘one sentence summary’ can come in handy!
 Apply composition principles of a formal, thesis-driven academic essay. While your essay
should employ your own unique voice and be personal, rooted in personal experience and
observations, you should also apply a formal tone and academic essay components.
 All writing must be your own, and ideas should come only from the assigned texts and from
your own thinking, observations, and experience. Your essay must be written entirely by you,
in your own original voice and words, except for your use of class texts, for which you should
include basic citations and use “quotation marks” to indicate direct quotes.

Process and Due Dates: First, an important note that you CAN and should use any of your previous writing
this term that you feel is relevant as part of your essay. The planning of assignments is intended for you to
build on your thinking, reading, and writing on this topic!

 Complete rough draft submitted to Brightspace - DUE by Friday, September 8th at 11:59pm
 Revise your essay and bring to class on Thursday, September 14th for final self-evaluation and
editing.

 Final, Edited Revision of Essay, meeting all guidelines above (to be graded) - DUE Friday,
September 15th.
The process grade will be based on meaningful revision in which you make substantive changes from your rough
draft based on instructor and peer feedback, as well as applying your self-evaluation.

Grading Rubric – This major, formal essay is worth a possible 80 points, evaluated as follows:

 10 Points: Engaging in a Meaningful Writing and Revision Process – See points

breakdown above; this criterion also evaluates a meaningful final revision using all stages of
the process to continue improving your essay.

 10 Points: Meeting Requirements – Your final, revised essay should adhere to the essay
topic and prompt, and meet all requirements detailed above.

 15 Points: Academic Essay Structure – Effectively applying elements of academic essay

writing including: an effective introduction that engages your reader and provides necessary
information about the topic, ending with a strong, clear, direct thesis that responds to the
essay topic with a clear claim that effectively ‘controls’ your essay; multiple body
paragraphs that develop your thesis, each with a clear focus, developing one central idea
(Point) and applying the PIE method to fully develop each main idea using concrete
Information and Explanation; and an effective, impactful conclusion that reflects on the
importance of the topic.
 15 Points: Effective Organization; Cohesion and Focus – Clear and logical organization
of ideas both at the sentence level and paragraph level, so that ideas build clearly and
logically for your reader; use of transitions to signal how ideas build and create ‘flow’;
Making sure each paragraph has a clear purpose and focus, with each body paragraph
developing only one central idea; Avoiding Repetition and Redundancy; Making sure ideas
do not ‘jump around’ without clear relationship to one another

 10 Points: Content and Thesis Development – Substantive content as you write each
paragraph, with emphasis on developing your thesis using concrete details; critical thinking
and analysis; meaningful and relevant engagement with the topic and class texts.

 20 Points: Sentence level Editing; Clarity of Expression; Original Voice and Academic
Tone; Vocabulary – Writing that clearly expresses ideas at the sentence level, employing
correct usage and punctuation; clear syntax and sentence control; avoiding being overly
wordy or trying to say too much in just one sentence; unique, clear voice that is original and
distinctly your own writing; employing academic tone by avoiding slang (except where
appropriate with personal experience/expression), shortcuts, and abbreviations, and using
correct capitalization, punctuation, and general rules of grammar; and perhaps most of
important of all, applying strong, detailed word choice and new and appropriate vocabulary
that you have learned in the first half of this term.