We can all remember situations in which others have passionately stood upfor their belief, and we often consider the purpose of these declarations to be persuasive or evangelistic: “My belief is...



This I Believe


We can all remember situations in which others have passionately stood upfor their belief, and we often consider the purpose of these declarations to be persuasive or evangelistic: “My belief is validated if I win you over to it.” And yet, as executive producer Dan Gediman introduced theThis I Believeseries on NPR in 2005, he stated that “The goal ofThis I Believeis not to persuade Americans to agree on the same beliefs but to encourage Americans to pursue the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”


As a step toward developing this kind of mutual respect, we’re going to explore a variety of This I Believe essays and write an essay that evaluates and analyzes a This I Believe essay of your choice.



The Essay Project



The goal of this essay is to analyze the strategies the author of the ThisI Believe essay you selected used, and to evaluate how successful you think the author was at conveying their belief.


Begin by visiting the This I Believe website atwww.thisibelieve.org.(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Click on the Explore tab on the website and review several of the essays.


Guiding Questions



Once you have determined which essay you would like to analyze and evaluate, consider the following questions to guide your text analysis essay:


(Note, it is not necessary to address ALL of these questions in your essay, but you will want to consider at least three or four in your analysis)



  • What is the author's goal-what is the purpose of the argument?



  • What audience do you think the author is writingfor? What clues in the essaylead you to believe this?




  • Who is the writer of this essay and how do they establish their credibility or trustworthiness? How does the writer's personal experience, or qualifications allow them to establish trust with their audience?



  • What claims does the writer make in the essay? What issues are raised, or what issues are ignored or evaded?



  • What are the contexts- social, political, historical, cultural? For instance, an essay that addresses the topic of gender roles written in the 1950s might address that topic very differently from one written last year, due to the historical, social, and political situation that was in place.



  • How is the essay organized or arranged?



  • How does the language, style, or tone work to promote or detract from the success of the essay?




    Be sure that your essay features the following:



    • An interesting and well-developed introduction

    • Aclearly stated thesis(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.that lets your reader know your position and what you will be analyzing

    • Avery briefsummary (no more than 3-4 sentences) of the This I Believeessay you are focusing on (the best place for this would be the intro or first body paragraph).

    • Clearly organized body paragraphs that provide your reasons and supporting evidence for the claims you are making. (Including quotes from theThis I Believeessay you are analyzing)

    • A thoughtful conclusion

    • At least 800 words

    • MLA format


    Resources



    Guide to writing a thesis for a text analysis(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.



    Info about rhetorical appeals(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.


    MLA format and citation


    Sample essay









      Rubric

      Song Analysis EssaySong Analysis Essay





































      CriteriaRatingsPts
      This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeContent and Focus










      30.0ptsExcellent • The essay provides a sophisticated and nuanced textual analysis arguing a unique and interesting interpretation of a major theme in the selected episode/s. • The thesis of the piece is original, analytical, and goes deeper than simple summary of the texts • The essay demonstrates a close, analytical reading of the texts and uses relevant quotes or examples from the primary texts • The essay is of appropriate length, depth, and complexity (4-5 pages approximately)25.0ptsACCOMPLISHED • The piece is a sound textual analysis arguing a cogent interpretation of the episode. • The thesis of the piece is clearly stated, analytical and goes beyond simple summary. The thesis may benefit from a slightly more precise focus. • The essay mostly demonstrates a close, analytical reading of the texts and uses relevant quotes or examples from the primary texts. Some additional text evidence may be needed • The essay is of appropriate length, depth, and complexity (4-pages minimum)20.0ptsADEQUATE: • The piece is offers a general textual analysis arguing a basic interpretation of the episode • The thesis states the main topic of the essay, but may either over-generalize, or is so specific that the supporting evidence will be extremely limited. • The essay demonstrates some degree of a close, analytical reading of the texts. Some support is provided from the primary texts, but at times this may be disconnected from the thesis • The essay meets or is close to the appropriate length, depth, and complexity (4-pages minimum)15.0ptsDEVELOPING: • The piece is working toward textual analysis and interpretation. The focus may be less specific than the guidelines call for. • The thesis states states a main idea, but opinion but is too generic to get a clear sense of the writer's point. • The essay relies more on a summary of the text than on an analysis or interpretation. More support is needed from the text, or the quotes and evidence need to be more clearly linked to the analysis of the theme • The essay may be short of the requirements for length, depth, and complexity10.0ptsSTRUGGLING: • The essay does not fulfill the basic guidelines for the assignment and lacks a clear analysis. • The thesis cannot be clearly identified • Text evidence and support is not adequate to develop the essay • The essay only meets half of the minimum page requirement or less

      		30.0pts

      This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAnalysis and Interpretation










      30.0ptsEXCELLENT: A clear and adept summary that includes the most important ideas, details/facts about the episode. A cogent explanation of how the author uses the rhetorical strategies is included, and/or an insightful interpretation of the underlying message is provided along with important supporting evidence to justify the interpretation.25.0ptsACCOMPLISHED: A clear summary that includes many important ideas and some details/facts of the selected texts is provided. A general explanation of how the author uses the rhetorical strategies is included, and/or a reasonable interpretation of important text implications/the underlying message is provided along with relevant supporting evidence to justify the interpretation20.0ptsADEQUATE: A general summary is provided that includes some important ideas. Additional details/facts may be needed to convey the main ideas of the selected texts. A basic explanation of how the author uses the rhetorical strategies is included, and/or a modest interpretation of important text implications/the underlying message is provided along with some supporting evidence to justify the interpretation.15.0ptsDEVELOPING: A partial summary is provided that includes a few details. May include misinterpretation, or an over-reliance on summary. Provides generalized and/or vague statements about how the author uses the rhetorical strategies. An incomplete interpretation of important text implications/the underlying message is provided along with little supporting evidence to justify the interpretation.10.0ptsSTRUGGLING: Does not include an adequate summary of the primary texts or the content does not move beyond plot summary. Little or no understanding of important text implications or underlying message.

      		30.0pts

      This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOrganization and Structure










      20.0ptsEXCELLENT: Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s purpose/ plan and consistently demonstrates effective and appropriate topic sentences and rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs15.0ptsACCOMPLISHED:Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s purpose/ plan and usually demonstrates effective and appropriate topic sentences rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs.10.0ptsADEQUATE: Organization is coherent and unified overall in support of the essay’s purpose/ plan, but is ineffective at times and may demonstrate abrupt or weak transitions between ideas or paragraphs.5.0ptsDEVELOPING: Organization is confused and fragmented in support of the essay’s purpose/ plan and demonstrates a lack of structure or coherence that negatively affects readability.2.0ptsSTRUGGLING: The paper fails to use basic paragraph structure and lacks cohesion and coherence. The reader is unable to follow the logic of the essay.

      		20.0pts

      This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSentence Structure, Grammar, Mechanics, & Spelling










      10.0ptsAll sentences are well constructed and have varied structure and length. The author makes no errors in grammar, mechanics, and/or spelling.8.0ptsMost sentences are well constructed and have varied structure and length. The author makes a few errors in grammar, mechanics, and/or spelling, but they do not interfere with understanding5.0ptsMost sentences are well constructed, but they have a similar structure and/or length. The author makes several errors in grammar, mechanics, and/or spelling that interfere with understanding.3.0ptsSentences sound awkward, are distractingly repetitive, or are difficult to understand. The author makes numerous errors in grammar, mechanics, and/or spelling that interfere with understanding.0.0ptsStruggling: Grammatical and mechanical errors are pervasive, creating incoherence in the essay

      		10.0pts

      This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProcess








      10.0ptsExcellent: Full participation in the process of writing, including producing a full draft and engaging in peer review.5.0ptsPartial Participation: A draft was submitted but the writer did not follow up to secure a review. Or, a review was completed for a partner, but the writer did not submit a draft of his/her own.0.0ptsNo participation: A draft was not completed, no participation in peer review

      		10.0pts

      Total Points:100.0


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      Feb 19, 2021
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