What is the primary function of your topic/text?

ENG 2150 SRA (Hybrid) SP20 Dolack, Essay One So far, we’ve been discussing the concept of semiotics as found in entertainment and consumer culture, though if we look closely, we’ll find that it’s present just about everywhere in modern society. For your first essay assignment, you will identify a specific example of this kind of identity/meaningmaking and subject it to a rhetorical analysis. I. IDENTIFY YOUR TOPIC You are free to explore some of the topics that we’ve discussed in class, but I encourage you to look closely at your own lives to find examples that are varied and wide ranging. You can choose anything, really — videos, advertising campaigns, music, photographs, live events, fashion, etc. Semiotics is always lurking. Take some time. Find a good one. II. BEGIN RHETORICAL ANALYSIS After you’ve identified your topic, you will more formally analyze it. This is your opportunity to begin forming an argument for your paper. What is it about this topic/text that moves you, and what argument would you like to communicate to others? Below are some questions you might want to consider when thinking about what argument you’d like to make: • What is the primary function of your topic/text? Is it used to sell something, express an idea or opinion, create a personal or brand identity, actively change our society? • How does your topic go about this/these tasks? How successful are they? • Where in the topic can we see semiotics at work? How are things in your topic creating or expressing identity and meaning without overtly doing so? • Is there anything subversive about your topic? How and what is the reasoning behind such subversion? • Is there a relevant background or history of the example that plays a role in understanding the full meaning behind its expression? • How necessary is that background in fully understanding the rhetorical or semiotic meaning behind the example you’ve chosen? • What is the significance of your chosen topic in the context of popular culture, advertising and consumer culture, or just American society in 2019? • Does it change the way we live, think, create, consume, or relate to each other? • How does your topic make arguments to its audience, and how might we analyze these arguments through the lens of semiotics to learn more about what makes them successful, or what makes them fail? • Is there persuasion involved in this process? Think about how “persuasion” can be defined. • Please do not feel as though you should answer all of these questions of your paper. You cannot, and you should not. These are just points to consider to jumpstart your analysis. III. DEVELOP THESIS STATEMENT Next, you’ll need to come up with a thesis, or main argument, for what you’d like to say about your topic, given the analysis you’ve been working on. I encourage you to make arguments that you believe in, not those with which you think I would agree. Remember, however, our discussions of what makes argumentation valid and successful: among other things, you must propose a debatable position, you must take a stand, and your argument must be supported by evidence. We’ll talk more about thesis statements in class, and you will have a chance to draft and revise yours before you continue drafting your paper. IV. HERE COMES THE ESSAY ITSELF After your thesis statements are strong enough to carry a cogent argument, you’ll begin drafting the body of your paper, which will include much of the analysis and evidence you’ve been thinking about. We’ll talk more about what makes a successful argument soon. Also important: In this paper, you must use at least two of the sources we’ve read and/or discussed in class so far. This will also include essays that I will introduce in the coming weeks. Please do not feel as though you need to find outside sources for this paper. However, if you do and you would like to use them as evidence, you must speak with me first. Your full drafts should put equal emphasis on thesis, argument, organization, evidence, and technical aspects of writing such as grammar, sentence structure, and clarity. ALL of these will be taken into account when grading your essay. Though I will not strictly adhere to all terms on the rubric (specifically to those terms and ideas we do not cover in class), it is a good example of how to think about your essays and the process that will go into them. After your drafts, you will meet with your writing groups and, hopefully, a consultant in the Writing Center. You will also receive feedback from me and will be able to confer with me as necessary as you write, draft, and revise your paper. Quick note about audience: Though your task is to analyze, not summarize, your topic, you will likely need to give readers a bit of context in order to orient themselves. Go into your essay with the understanding that your readers have not seen or paid much attention to your chosen example/topic, so you must briefly and very basically explain it.