The Rhetorical Situation
Writer: you
*After assessing the rhetorical situation, you will be able to select the most appropriate techniques to use in order to respond to the prompt: narration, description, argument, analysis, etc.
- How will you represent yourself and your experiences in this essay?
- Voice?
- What do you know about the reader?
- What are the reader's expectations of you?
- What are your defining qualities?
- What unique experiences have you had that have shaped who you are today?
- What will you contribute to the college's community?
- What events led you to this point in your life?
- How has your community influenced you?
- Reveal who YOU are
- Demonstrate uniqueness
- What is your goal (not just college acceptance)?
*After assessing the rhetorical situation, you will be able to select the most appropriate techniques to use in order to respond to the prompt: narration, description, argument, analysis, etc.
Defining Qualities
How would your parents describe you? Your friends? Who else?
How do you feel when you are X? Why?
How might being X affect your future career/goals?
Hobbies
What are your interests or hobbies? How do you spend your free time?
What inspired your interest in X? Why?
What do you learn from X?
What qualities do you express or develop with this interest or hobby?
College major
What do you plan to study in college? Why does X interest you?
What qualities or skills do you have that would make you effective at X? How did you develop those? Why are they valuable?
Learning
What kind of thinker or learner are you?
How do you handle problems or challenges?
What qualities help you solve or face them? Where/when did you acquire those abilities? Why are they valuable?
How would your parents describe you? Your friends? Who else?
- Don't exclude "negative" characteristics; can they be turned into positives?
- What types of X things have you done recently?
- Academics, classes, programs
- Clubs
- Sports
- Extracurricular experiences
- Social experiences
- Use social media as a reference/inspiration
- As a child?
- What do you fondly remember doing/playing as a child?
- What are some of your favorite memories?
- Influential memory (not necessarily positive)
- Traditions
- Vacations
- Frustrated you?
- Pictures
- Ask your parents/family members to tell you stories/favorite memories
How do you feel when you are X? Why?
How might being X affect your future career/goals?
Hobbies
What are your interests or hobbies? How do you spend your free time?
What inspired your interest in X? Why?
What do you learn from X?
What qualities do you express or develop with this interest or hobby?
College major
What do you plan to study in college? Why does X interest you?
What qualities or skills do you have that would make you effective at X? How did you develop those? Why are they valuable?
Learning
What kind of thinker or learner are you?
How do you handle problems or challenges?
What qualities help you solve or face them? Where/when did you acquire those abilities? Why are they valuable?
thesis_revision.pdf | |
File Size: | 63 kb |
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Making Connections
It’s not enough to have a great, engaging story; the story must support your thesis and connect to other elements in your life (obstacles, inspirations, activities, future goals)
The Anecdote
Show, don't tell
Show, don't tell
narrative_tools.pdf | |
File Size: | 80 kb |
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sample_essay_b.pdf | |
File Size: | 68 kb |
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sample_essay_d.pdf | |
File Size: | 68 kb |
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narrative_tools_2.pdf | |
File Size: | 143 kb |
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Peer Editing Questions
- How does the introduction engage the reader? If it doesn’t engage the reader, why not? What should be changed?
- Does the introduction function to reveal something about the writer? What do you learn about the writer? Do you have any lingering questions?
- Describe the writer’s voice? How does s/he establish this tone?
- By the end of the introduction, do we know the focus/main idea of the essay?
- Is there a smooth transition from the opening to the body of the essay? Does the connection make sense? Is it clever/unique?
- As the writer continues with her/his essay, does her/his personality come through in the writing? Are there any patches of blandness?
- Do you get a sense of what the writer values? What does s/he value? How do you know?
- Is the subject interesting? Does it keep you engaged throughout the essay?
- Is the presentation of the information fresh/original? How does the writer demonstrate creativity?
- Is the essay clearly organized? Is the central idea fully developed? Are you left with any questions? What are they?
- Are the details and examples specific and vivid? Do they appeal to your senses?
- Does the conclusion make the essay feel complete? Is there a connection to the introduction?
- How does the sentence structure enhance the subject and/or voice of the writer? Give examples.
- How do the words the writer uses enhance the subject and/or voice of the writer? Give examples.
- Overall recommendation: what are the strengths of this essay?
- Overall recommendation: what needs the most improvement?
Revision
- Get rid of "to be" verbs (is, am, was, were, be, being, been) and replace with more active verbs
- Also, get rid of wimpy verbs (seem, appear, become)
- Identify adjectives. Can you replace adjectives with a more specific noun or description? We often use adjectives with "to be" or wimpy verbs to tell, rather than show our reader what happened.
- Identify adverbs. Can you replace adverbs with a more specific verb?
- Make sentences active (get rid of passive voice).
- Read your essay aloud to yourself. Does it sound like you? Can you make your sentences more succinct?
narrative_prompts_aligned_to_bac.pdf | |
File Size: | 246 kb |
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