how-to-write-an-essay-5

Task: You will continue to analyze Assignment readings 3 and 4 and write a secondary analysis paper, in which you will analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the sources. There are a number of ways to organize this paper. You may compare and contrast the effectiveness of the two required readings, or you could focus on some specific rhetorical features and discuss how the authors engage the reader with that feature in each article. You should go beyond a simple summary of each article in your secondary analysis paper. You will instead make a statement about 1) the shared values and ideas about the topic and 2) how the authors accomplish their goals.

Topic: Attention economy (You have read about this topic in the required readings listed below)

Required Readings and Sources:

  1. “The Age of the Attention Economy Fueled by Social Media Addiction” https://www.goboldfish.com/attention-economy-social-media-addiction/
  2. “Can’t Put Down Your Device? That’s by Design.” https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/technology/personaltech/cant-put-down-your-device-thats-by-design.html

Purpose: You will synthesize your analysis of Assignment readings 3 and 4 to pursue your own interest of inquiry about the topic of attention economy.

Audience: academic audience

Learning outcomes that this assignment highlights:

  • Use sources for a specific purpose (to inform, explain, extend, question, and/or support)
  • Understand and apply knowledge of the underlying values and practices of one citation system
  • Develop sentence-level strategies for attributing sources in various writing situations
  • Compose a variety of sentence structures (simple, compound, complex) to fulfill a purpose and to engage a reader
  • Write with detail and specificity

Assignment Requirements:

  • Your final draft must be 650-800 words long.
  • There should be a main idea (claim/thesis) that holds your paper together.
  • You must use quotes or paraphrases from required readings with an in-text reference.
  • Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font and should include a heading, word count, and an effective title. Follow the formatting guidelines shown in class.

Evaluation Guidelines for Paper 2

Criteria

Evaluation

Content and Ideas

  • The paper fully responds to the essay prompt
  • Introduction provides enough background information to understand what will be discussed
  • The main idea (thesis) is effective & states a clear purpose
  • Ideas demonstrate critical thinking beyond simple observations.
  • Analysis of the sources is thoughtful and broadens the discussion
  • The writer uses sufficient paraphrases or quotations from one of the assigned articles, integrates it, & references it effectively
  • The conclusion fully analyzes the importance of the issue and leaves the reader with something to think about (purpose of the paper)

Organization

  • The paper is well organized with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • Division of paragraphs is effective, where each paragraph clearly focuses on one main point.
  • Paragraphs work together to build a cohesive narrative.
  • Transitions link ideas within and between paragraphs.

Language

  • Grammatical errors are rare and do not interfere with meaning
  • Language mistakes (such as spelling, punctuation errors) are not noticeable.
  • Writing demonstrates a variety of sentence structures.

Specifications

  • Paper followed all directions concerning formatting: header, word count, title, font, spacing

Advisory Grade: