second essay assignment

Eng264, Second Essay Assignment – Media Analysis – Critical-Précis

Draft Due: W, Oct 31st (10/31) [BRING 2 COPIES!!!! HARD COPIES!!]
Final Draft Due: M, Nov 5th (11/5)
I will ask you to submit the FINAL COPY (ONLY) of your essay electronically.
Length: 4-5 pages
Percentage: 15%
Text(s): ANY CRITICAL TEXT READ IN THE COURSE (OR AN OUTSIDE CRITICAL TEXT THAT I APPROVE IN ADVANCE)
Possible texts: McCloud; Hayles; Boal; Barthes

Your essay should follow a consistent style convention

***If there is something in particular you would like to write about, please let me know – YOU SHOULD CONTACT ME IN OFFICE HOURS OR ON EMAIL BEFORE YOU BEGIN WRITING

Assignment:

You will construct a précis-analysis of one critical text we have read in class, and then use your analysis to talk about a critical term or concept that will inform your work on the final media project.

Before writing your summary of the article, you should decide what the author’s main claims are, prioritize and summarize them, and mention some of the most important evidence the author offers to prove his or her main claims.

Pay attention to topic sentences and repetition, and try to determine when the author is introducing a new argument, and when s/he is simply providing examples or explaining the evidence s/he has offered. Your summary should be 
as “objective” as possible. That is, you should try your best to represent the argument as you think the author would and reserve your commentary for the critique section of the paper.

Steps in Writing:

In part one of this essay, you will develop a précis, or concise summary, of the main arguments in the critical work you are analyzing. You will need to be selective in what material you include as representative of the main claims within the piece.

In part two, you will pick one of the author’s principal claims and offer a critique of this concept or argument. For example, if you were critiquing Scott McCloud’s work, after offering a précis of the main elements of his argument, you might focus in on his concept of “subjective motion” and critique this idea by….
Possible critiques:
Talking about how apt the concept is and how it might be extended to other media or contexts.
Emphasizing an aspect of the concept that needs more explanation or demonstration.
Connecting this concept to another theory or idea in another work.
Taking issue with the way the concept is defined or delimited.

Finally, in the last section of your paper, talk about how the critique you’ve offered of a specific concept, argument, or theory will inform your own work on the final media project.

Some things to consider

*** REVIEW MY COMMENTS ON THE LAST ASSIGNMENT

*** This is a short assignment, and thus you need to avoid generalities and instead be very specific. You should spend quite a bit of time before you begin writing reading over the text and taking notes. You will need to be incredibly attentive to the specific details of the work.

***Think carefully about the structure of your paper.

*** Who is the audience for this particular work? Identify and analyze the rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, and context).

*** Identify a strong claim for your essay (different from new media text claim/purpose/affect)

*** Try writing the first essay draft without the introduction. In a paper of this length, you have to limit and constrain your prefatory comments. You should spend the majority of your words on making claims and backing those claims with demonstrations.

General Guidelines/Requirements:

1) Meeting with me in office hours is a great way to get help with your papers.
2) Make sure I am not the first person to read your essay.
3) You must have a strong claim that organizes and guides the essay. Avoid summary description.
4) All of your arguments must be supported with the text (words, images, spaces, gestures…). Avoid openings like “Since the beginning of time technology has ruled our lives…”
5) Define your terms.