Unit One:

The Researched Essay

Lecture Two:
Part Two

How to Analyze an
Assignment

To analyze a writing assignment, you have to look for:

1)

The Topic: what your writing will be about.

2)

The Purpose: the goal of your writing: information, entertainment,

explanation, or persuasion.

3)

The Audience: the reader of your essay (your teacher).

4)

The Rhetorical Mode: the type of your essay: comparison, cause

and effect, opinion, classification, or reaction.

5)

The Style or Format Length: the font, the style, and the length of
your essay.

6)

Due Date: the deadline to hand in your essay to the teacher.

Lecture One: The Researched Essay

How to Analyze an
Assignment

Exercise 1 Page 10
Lecture One: The Researched Essay

Signal Words of Rhetorical

Mode

to know the rhetorical mode of an essay, figure out the signal words:

Exercise 2 and 3 Page 11

Lecture One: The Researched Essay

Selecting and Narrowing a

Topic

To select a topic for research, you have to :

1)

limit your subject.

2)

make a list of what you already know.

3)

get an overview of the subject from an encyclopedia.

4)

review different media sources (books, journals, and websites).

5)

narrow down your subject to one specific topic.

Exercise 4 Page 12
Lecture One: The Researched Essay

Primary vs. Secondary

Sources

There are two types of sources:

Primary

Secondary

Original materials that give Materials that have been

first-hand accounts of history analyzed or explained by a
and historical records:
third person:

Legal documents,
Artifacts,
Letters
Interviews
speeches

textbooks,
journals,
Magazine articles
Interviews
speeches

Exercise 5 Page 13
Lecture One: The Researched Essay

Guidelines for Researching

a Topic

Follow

the following steps to begin your research:

scan

websites and articles

research questions based on your findings
use only reliable sources such as historical records, journals, university publications, and respected
websites.
avoid unreliable sources such as popular magazines, anonymous internet articles, blogs, tabloid
publications, or advertising.
Take notes by reading through articles.
Highlight important points that relate to your thesis.
the notes should include information about the source such as title, author, publication, date, page number,
and URL.
develop

Exercise 6 Page 14

Exercise 5 Page 13

Lecture One: The Researched Essay