Assignment  750+ word Rhetorical Analysis essay Format Guidelines  MLA format

Assignment
 750+ word Rhetorical Analysis essay
Format Guidelines
 MLA format for the essay and the citations (in-text and on the works
cited page)
 Typed, double spaced in Times New Roman, 12 point font
 The first four lines in the left corner of the first page should include:
your name, professor’s name, course and section, date of submission
Assignment Prompt
 Choose one poem that we covered in class on a common subject—
for example, love, nature, war, art, or death—and write a paper in
which you draw some general conclusions about the relative
effectiveness of the poem’s use of figurative language to examine
that subject.
This paper should be at least 750 words in length and follow the MLA
guidelines. It should also follow the Classical Argumentative Format.
Classical Argumentative format uploaded along with poem
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46313/porphyrias-lover
CLASSICAL ARGUMENTATIVE FORMAT
The Classical Argumentative Format is as follows:
 Introduction- This is a little different from the type of introduction you may
have written in other classes. If you’ve done the typical 5-paragraph
essay before, then you’ve written a generic first paragraph that introduces
your topic. Do not do that here. This introduction should be an attention
grabber. Use a personal experience, startling statistic, quote, joke, or
fictional story to hook the reader in. This intro should still be relevant to
your overall point. Therefore, if you are discussing a short story about an
abusive husband, then your intro should deal with some aspect of that
topic.
 Statement of Background- This is where you write the type of thing you
would normally write in an introductory paragraph. This is an intro to your
actual topic. Most of the time, if you were arguing a controversial issue,
you would talk about the history of the debate. For example, if you were
talking about abortion you would use this space to bring up Roe v. Wade
and other legal proceedings relevant to the topic. However, we are
discussing literature. Therefore, the easiest thing to do here is give a brief
plot synopsis. Don’t go overboard. Four or five sentences will suffice.
 Proposition- This is your thesis statement. Now, you may notice
something. A thesis statement is just one sentence, and one sentence
cannot stand by itself as a paragraph. That shows you that this format is a
content format and not a paragraphing format. You may have one
paragraph for your intro and one for your statement of background, but
your proposition will either have to be at the end of your statement of
background, the beginning of the next proof section, or a paragraph will
have to be built around it. Otherwise, the proposition itself should be a
normal three-part thesis statement.
 Proof- This is the meat of your paper where you put your examples,
support, and data. If you used a three-part thesis for your proposition,
then you can follow that essay map here to form three paragraphs. Be
sure to use evidence from the text without simply retelling the whole plot.
Bring out relevant events and literary points to prove your point.
 Refutation- The refutation is very different from writing you’ve done in the
past because it deals with counter-arguments. You need to bring up
arguments from the opposing side and counter them. Now, you’re
probably wondering what opposing side there is in literature. There is
always more than one side to everything. Some people may argue that a
person succeeded in their struggle against authority, while others
disagree. Even a simple statement such as “the sky is blue” can be
debated. Was it blue at midnight last night? At dawn? What shade of
blue is it really? What about the clouds? Everything, and I mean
everything, has more than one side to it. So, you need to bring up an
opposing, or differing, side, and then you need to counter that side by
saying why your ideas are right and their ideas are wrong. It’s ok to use
some of your proof info again. Be sure to be fair to the opposing side, and
bring up their points with a neutral tone.
 Conclusion- Most of the time, students summarize their paper here and
write down two or three of their main points that they feel are especially
important. That’s fine. However, you can also give a call to action
(abusive husbands should be stopped) or a warning/forecast (if we don’t
stop abusive husbands, we will allow their children to continue the cycle).