Text Analysis Paper.
Prompt: Interpret a chosen text in a formal analysis paper.
Major Focuses: CRITICAL THINKING, selecting/refining topics; developing, organizing and supporting ideas; considering context, audience and purpose; incorporating appropriate resources into a text.
Requirements for your critical analysis
Your paper will be at least 800 words in length. It must be formatted in a 12-point font and double spaced. Set your margins to 1” on all sides. Your paper is formal, so it should only employ a third person point of view.
Critical elements: Write an essay that closely examines a text for both what it says and for how it does so, with the goal of demonstrating for readers how – and how well – the text achieves its effects.
What type of text must I select?
Writing (poem, novella, short story),
image (photograph, illustration, video, film),
sculpture,
building,
music,
advertisement (in series),
fashion (in series)
Consider the rhetorical situation of your text:
Purpose: Was there an event, situation, or reason for the text?
Audience: Who was this text created for?
Stance & Subject: Is the text taking a position? Is it making a statement? Is the message overt? What is the text about?
Tone & Attitude: What is the tone (attitude) conveyed by the creator of the text. Consider the context in which it was created.
Author Bias: Is the creator trying to persuade? What do you know about the creator?
Media/Design: What is the medium of the text you are analyzing? Would it have been better suited to another medium? Would the message have been stronger/weaker/different?
Consider the rhetorical situation of your essay:
Genre: Formal essay
Audience: Classmates, instructor, ______?________
Stance: What is your point (thesis)?
Purpose: Why did you choose this text?
Media/Design: MLA format for internal citations and work cited. The final is uploaded to Blackboard, draft is printed.
Important: with this exercise, you will need to include the text (3D text should be photographed). Make sure you have time to scan the text (if needed) to include in your essay submission.
