ENG 112

Essay #1: Genre Comparison

 

Topic                       In your first essay, you’ll compare two articles on the same topic, one from a scholarly journal article and one from a popular source (could be a magazine or newspaper article, website). You can choose the two articles, but make sure your scholarly journal article comes from Proquest Research Library, JSTOR, or Science Direct (because I want you to demonstrate the ability to use the databases available at Durham Tech), and be sure that your second article is written by a credible source and goes into enough depth to form a fair comparison. In your essay, you will need to compare how the two articles are similar or different in the following aspects:

 

• Purpose: Why is the author writing? What is the bigger conversation? What is the author’s claim?
• Audience: Who is participating in this bigger conversation? What readers has the author targeted and what clues in the text indicate his or her intended audience?
• Use of Rhetorical Appeals (Logos, Pathos, and Ethos): How does the author use logos, pathos, and ethos, to convince you of the author’s claim?
• Mode and Media: Where and how was the article published? Is it digital or print? How does this affect the way the article is written?
• Elements of the Genre They Represent: What is the genre and what are some typical features of the genre represented in this article? How is the content organized? How does the writer use words, images, or other media to convey purpose and reach his or her audience?
• Style: What is the author’s tone? How would you describe the language of the piece? How much detail has the writer used?
• Design: What does the article look like? How do words and visuals and other media work together? What is the format?
• Use of Sources: What sources does the author use to support his or her ideas? How does the author incorporate and give credit to sources? Is there documentation? Hyperlinking?

 

Purpose                 The purpose of this assignment is to strengthen students’ understandings of genre conventions. Strengthen skills in critical reading and analysis, strengthen writing skills, essay organization, process approach.

 

Format                   Your comparison will take the form of an academic essay of 4 – 6 pages. You will need to use at least three quotes from both sources, and document your use of your sources using APA Style.

 

Deadlines                                                                                             

Two Articles Compared Using Grid                                                   (21 Jan)

Outline and References Page                                                            (28 Jan)

Rough Draft (optional—but I won’t read full draft                         (28 Jan)

after this date. Must be complete.)

Peer Review                                                                                         (2 Feb)

Final Draft                                                                                              (4 Feb)

 

Grading  This essay will count 15% of your total course grade.

A Paper                  In a thorough and interesting manner, fully explores similarities and differences in the two articles, fully covering all of the required aspects: purpose, audience, use of rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, and ethos), mode and media, elements of the genre they represent, style, design, use of sources. Demonstrates a thorough understanding of what the texts say, how they express their ideas, and how the author has made rhetorical choices based on purpose and audience.

 

Offers sufficient specific examples, including quotations, to support all assertions about the articles.

 

Correctly uses APA format for quotations and references page.

 

Organizes ideas effectively, including a well-developed introduction with clear thesis statement, body paragraphs with strong topic sentences, and a thoughtful, interesting conclusion. All topic sentences are ideas.

 

Avoids grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

 

B Paper                  Accomplishes all of the above to a lesser extent.

 

C Paper                  Contains one or more of the following problems:

 

Comparison is weak or fails to cover some of the required criteria.

 

Lacks sufficient examples, including quotations, to support assertions about the articles. Quotations are not introduced or cited correctly.

 

Fails to use APA format for references page and parenthetical citations.

 

Organization is weak. Paper lacks a clear thesis statement, well developed introduction, topic sentences for body paragraphs, or conclusion. Topic sentences are statements of fact rather than ideas.

 

Contains many grammar, spelling or punctuation errors.

 

D or F Paper          Has two or more of the problems listed for a C Paper.