Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Self/Peer Assessment of Comparative Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Self/Peer Assessment of Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Q2) comparing Jamaica Kincaid’s “On Seeing England for the First Time” and James Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son"

Prompt: In a well-organized, well-developed essay compare and contrast the ways the two writers use rhetorical strategies to convey their evolving responses to the complex role ethnocentrism and cultural hegemony play in their lives.

Thesis.

Does the introduction end with a clear, bold, nuanced insight comparing Baldwin and Kincaid's responses? _____  Does the introduction include a precise, accurate statement of the rhetorical strategies that Baldwin and Kincaid use to convey their responses? _____

In your draft both parts of the thesis should be identified. The thesis may be more than one sentence. (Look at the prompt for one way to identify the different parts.)

Introduction. (The purpose of the introduction is to engage the reader with a big idea essential to the thesis and to let the reader know what the essay will be about.)

Is there a big idea that leads into the essay? _____  What is the big idea? _____  Is it clearly stated? _____  How is it relevant to the thesis? _________________________________________________ 

Is there an effective transition between the big idea and the thesis? _____  Where? _______________

In your draft the big idea and transition should be identified.

Body Paragraph Draft. (The purpose of a body paragraph is to develop and support a part of the thesis.)

Have you kept all the promises made in your thesis? _____  In other words have you developed each part of the thesis in a particular body paragraph? _____ 

Mark your draft to show where you’ve developed each part of the thesis (the attitude and the strategies)?

Is there a statement at the beginning or near the beginning of each paragraph that indicates exactly what part of the thesis (the attitude and the strategies) that paragraph will develop? _____  These statements are called “topic sentences” or “mini-theses” or “body points”. It’s likely that each of your body paragraphs will either focus on comparing Baldwin and Kincaid's use of a particular strategy to convey their responses to injustice or will focus on comparing how they use various strategies to convey the responses to injustice in particular sections of the essays. In other words it is likely that the essay is organized strategy-by-strategy or section-by-section. In the rest of the paragraph have you kept the promise made in your topic sentence/mini-thesis/body point? _____ 

Mark your draft to show the “topic sentences” / “mini-theses” / “body points”.

Within each paragraph you need evidence (including direct quotation) that support your comparison of how Baldwin and Kincaid's convey their responses to injustice with rhetorical strategies. Where is the evidence specific? _____  Where is it precise? _____  Is it thorough or are parts of the essays neglected? _____ 

Mark the evidence.

You also need to explain clearly and convincingly how each piece of evidence supports your comparison of Baldwin and Kincaid's use of strategies to convey their responses to injustice. Is the connection between each piece of evidence and the thesis explained? _____   Is the explanation accurate? Is the explanation well-developed? Is the explanation convincing? _____ 

Mark the explanation.

Conclusion. (The purpose of the conclusion is to drive home the point of the essay and to drive home the significance of that point.)

Do you return to the big idea? _____  Have you woven the big idea together with your thesis? _____  (Consult the example essay JJ1 if you have questions.) Have you given the reader a sense of why the ideas explored in your essay matter? _____ 

Mark where you see the big idea and the thesis in the conclusion.

Style. Have you created a title that indicates the essay topic and your take on the topic? _____  Have you created logical transitions between the paragraphs? _____  Have you varied your sentence structure? _____   Are all your word choices precise and nuanced? _____ 

Conventions. Does the essay have any run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, or homophone errors? _____  _____  _____  Does the essay use third person and present tense when analyzing the text? _____  Does the essay handle all quotations, including block quotes, correctly? _____

Write questions and comments in the space below.

Notes on conventions: (1) In the introduction make sure you mention the author's full name and title of the piece you are analyzing. (2) Use present tense when writing about literature: "Kincaid implies...," "The author illustrates..... " or "Baldwin suggests..." (3) Cite a quotation from page 587 of James Baldwin's essay: "like this" (Baldwin 334). Or, if the previous quotation was from Baldwin, do it "like this" (334). (4) Avoid stand alone quotations. Consider using a colon after a complete thought to introduce the quotation: "like this" (Cook 4).

Option if you're stuck:
Plan. (The purpose of the plan is to give the essay a provisional structure.)

Have you organized your essay by strategy (strategy 1, strategy 2, etc.) or by working through sections/passages of the two essays (the beginning of the essay, the next section, etc.)? _____  Have you outlined a comparison of how responses to injustice are conveyed by rhetorical strategies? _____  Have you found the specific evidence supporting your comparative ideas? _____  Are you able to explain how the evidence supports your comparative ideas? _____ 

The parts of the plan should be evident in the plan you have in your notes.