Elements of arguments are included.

This posting defines both claim and support. It further explains how claim and support relate to one another.

Persuasive appeal is the focal topic.

This posting assesses essays based on these questions: 1. Rank them in the order of persuasiveness. Explain why you found them persuasive or not. 2. The title of an essay should have a clear and purposeful relationship to the context of the essay. Which essay had the best title? Explain why, making sure you explain how the title worked on you as a reader, and how the title related to the content of the essay. 3. Now do the opposite for the ending of one of the essays. Which essay has the weakest ending, and what makes it weak? Explain its weakness in terms of its effect on a reader.

Audience Analysis

This posting analyzes the argument’s relationship to readers. Specifically, it analyzes a selection for all aspects of audience in the following areas: Who is the ideal or intended audience for this piece? In what ways is audience important to the work? Where and how does the writer appeal to this audience? What audience values does the writer appeal to? How and where does he or she do so? Why will the audience read this work? What benefit will they receive by doing so? What should the audience be able to do after reading this argument?

Claim and Support are identified.

This posting analyzes a chosen selection for the claim and support of its argument. It also analyzes a selection for all aspects of claim, support, and the relationship between the two using these core questions: What is the central claim (thesis) of the essay you’re analyzing? Where is it located in the essay? What type of claim is it? What evidence does the writer provide as support for this claim? Is the evidence appropriate for the claim? Does it fit? Is it convincing? Is the support organized in the best order to support the claim?

Authority and Narrative are explored topics.

This posting addresses the following questions as models: 1. Which attached essay moved you most emotionally? Tell us which one, and then explain in detail what the writer did that made it so moving. (Focus on what the writer did, not on your response.) 2. Select another of the attached essays (a different one than you used in #1). Tell us what it is, and then describe and evaluate the ethos of the writer. Go into detail. Spell out what sort of person the author seems to be, and support that claim with observations about the essay. Discuss tone, ethics, group identity, and so on. 3. Each of the attached essays uses stories in some way. Some are nothing but a personal story (for ex... click for more