PURPOSE: Your purpose two-fold: exposition and persuasion. In part, you are to identify and explain the tools used by the author; in part, you are trying to persuade your audience that your point about the text is valid. Review the model essays from our textbook to see how those authors approached this task and organized their textual analyses.
AUDIENCE: Your audience is your classmates and your instructor. Assume that we have read the essay, but we may not have noticed the techniques you discuss or may not attach the same significance to those details that you do.
TONE: Your tone should be formal. Remove contractions and eliminate any first person use, such as “I think,” “I believe,” and “in my opinion.” After all, this is your essay; any opinions that are not yours should be credited to the painter, the advertiser, or the author of the article
QUOTATIONS: You are expected to quote from the essay where applicable to illustrate your point. Since page numbers for all of the essays have been reproduced on the photocopies, use standard in-text parenthetical citations for any quotations from