Basic Web Research and Response- Topic of your choice

Basic Web Research and Response- Topic of your choice. For this assignment, you will locate, analyze, and respond to a review or critical viewpoint related to a television show, podcast, movie, album, video game, social media platform, or other cultural product that you enjoy. You should choose an article that reviews or makes a critical argument about the tv show, movie, podcast, album, or cultural product. (Here is an example of the type of article you might analyze about Game of Thrones: “Game of Thrones and the Paradox of Female Beauty  (Links to an external site.)“.) After reading this assignment, you should start looking for an article on the internet that might interest you. Good examples of publications with thoughtful reviews and analysis include The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.

In order to respond to the text, you must first read it and comprehend the author(s) viewpoint, position, or argument. The first part of your assignment will therefore be an explanation of the author’s position using a summary, paraphrase, and perhaps some quotation. The second part of the assignment will be your response, using the concepts you learned in Chapters 4, 5, and 6 of They Say, I Say. Your essay will start to bring together and synthesize your growing understanding of the templates in They Say, I Say, and the practice with them we have been doing in this course, as well as introduce basic internet research.

Therefore, on this assignment, you will be assessed on comprehension, summary, analysis, understanding of the rhetorical situation, and the logic of your own response. You will also begin to use MLA format in order to design your document and cite your source(s) and practice generating an original title for your essay. Remember, you are not expected to know everything there is to know about academic reading, writing, and rhetoric, but to show that you are building the skills necessary for success in academic and professional contexts. The more practice you have, the better you will become!

Example Student Essay

Assignment Criteria

An essay that “Achieves Excellence” will be distinguished by the following criteria:

• The writer explains the author’s ideas, position, and/or point of view using the concepts and methods addressed in Chapters 1-3 of They Say, I Say.
• The writer identifies the reasons and/or evidence upon which the author is basing his or her position.
• The writer identifies the conclusions drawn by the author.
• The writer uses summary, paraphrase, and/or some quotation appropriately in his or her explanation of the text.
• The writer responds to the text with his or her position using the concepts and methods addressed in Chapter 4 of They Say, I Say (“Yes/No/Okay, But”).
• The writer distinguishes his or her position from that of the author (Chapter 5).
• The writer anticipates and responds to potential objections to his or her point of view using the concepts in Chapter 6.
• The writer defends and supports his or her position with sound evidence and reasoning.
• The writer draws well-supported conclusions about the position taken by the author.
• The writer demonstrates reading comprehension, analysis, and critical thinking.
• The writer meets the standards for effective communication (clarity, logic, precision, accuracy, significance, and fairness).
• The writer adheres to MLA guidelines for formatting, in-text citations, and the Works Cited page.