Thinking on Paper: Composition Unit Essay Assignment
English 102 Summer 2023
President Obama delivers Eulogy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9IGyidtfGI
“Academic writing is always a form of evaluation that asks you to demonstrate knowledge and show proficiency with certain disciplinary skills of thinking, interpreting, and presenting” (Irvin).
For the Composition essay assignment, please write a four (or more) page essay on one, or you may combine two if you wish, of the topic suggestions given below. Please give your essay a title (but not a title page) and number all the pages. You must quote from Obama and at least three of the other readings, two of which must be from the six Composition articles (Bunn, Carroll, Irvin, two from Zinsser, hooks). We have identified and discussed some terms and concepts found in the readings on Composition and then applied them to Obama, Biden, and Gorman. That is what I am asking you to do in your essay: Identify some of the rhetorical terms and operations discussed in the Composition readings and use them to analyze Obama, Biden, and Gorman. However, the analysis of Obama must be the center of your essay, and an analysis of his eulogy must be the bulk of your essay.
If you wish, you may send a draft of your essay to my umb address as a Word document and I will get back to you in less than 24 hours. If you have any questions, or feel you need any advice or assistance, email me. Your opinions on the issues are most welcome but be sure they are grounded in the evidence (the texts). The essay is due June 17. Submit it on Blackboard.
Audience is a major consideration. Do not assume the reader of your essay has read any of the readings. Be sure to fully explain the points you make and the terms you use in the analysis.
“Writing organizes and clarifies our thoughts. Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own” (Zinsser).
Topic Suggestions
v Identify some of the terms and concepts from the Composition readings. Be sure to define them, using the texts. Apply them to an analysis of the Obama eulogy. You may also use Biden and Gorman to amplify your analysis of Obama’s eulogy. The bulk of the essay must be the analysis of Obama.
v Compare and contrast the Obama eulogy and the Biden statement (and add Gorman if you can find an acceptable way to do that). The bulk of the essay must be the analysis of Obama.
v Discuss the use of pathos in the Obama eulogy and the Biden statement. Remember, to be effective, pathos must be under the control of logos (reason). The bulk of the essay must be the analysis of Obama.
