English 1102 Sample Assignment 1Rhetorical Reading Responses*The purpose of this assignment is to encourage rhetorical reading and writing. Rhetorical reading calls attention to the author’s intentions on readers and focuses on how texts work to change readers’ minds. As you read texts, you’re not just learning about the world; rather, you’re learning what the author claims about the world in the text.Before writing the response:1. Do a fast preview of the text for as much information as possible—length, complexity, original publication and date, author, time to read, etc.2. Slowly and carefully read the essay; take marginal notes so you’ll remember your reactions (or use post-it notes).3. Make a brief list of does and says statements for each paragraph. Does indicates the paragraph’s function, such as “summarizes opposing views,” while says summarizes content.The Written Response:1. Using your memory and notes, write a rhetorical précis in your own words with no wordsborrowed directly from the text:Sentence 1: Name of author, genre, and title of work, date in parentheses; a rhetorically activeverb (such as “claims,” “argues,” “asserts,” “defines,” “explores,” or “suggests”); and a “that” clause containing the major assertion or thesis statement in the work in your own words.Sentence 2: An explanation of how the author develops and supports the thesis (i.e. evidence),usually in chronological order.Sentence 3: A statement of the author’s apparent purpose, followed by an “in order to” phrase.Sentence 4: A description of the intended audience and/or the relationship the author establishes with the audience.2. Write your reaction to the text. Are you confused? Annoyed? Delighted? Tickled? Do youagree? 3. Write about what you agree with in the text or stuff you learned. Include your personal experiences, values, and beliefs that affirm the author’s argument (Elbow’s believing).4. Write a paragraph about your questions, objections, doubts, or confusion about the author’s argument (Elbow’s doubting game).5. After re-reading, write a more detailed, analytical response. This section should include aclaim supported with textual evidence from the argument. Think of a question that can be answered with a close reading of text and explanation of passages. Reach for a why question here; look at your does statements above. For example, “Why does Tan open with an anecdote about her mother?” Your answer is your claim. Then support your claim with textual evidence. Sometimes I’ll assign the question for you to answer for this number. Format: Informal. Thought and development count. I must be able to understand your ideas, though. Type your responses; keep them under 2 pages.Tip: Keep these responses when I return them because you’re building notes that will becomethe basis of papers. This takes time—academic writing requires you to read, process, and write about source texts—but rest assured, the skills and habits you form will help you in other classes.Grading: F—off topic, incomplete; D—complete but sketchy; C—good effort but keep digging deeper; B—you’ve made important observations but develop them more fully; A—I learned something new about your thinking about the essay; thoughtful and well developed. *For this assignment, I am indebted to Ann George; Ramage, Bean, and Johnson, WritingArguments Brief Edition, New York: Longman, 2004. 22-48; and Margaret K. Woodworth, “The Rhetorical Précis,” Rhetoric Review 7 (1988): 156-65.English 1102 Sample Assignment 2MLA Convention Name: ____________________________________A. Write each of the following correctly for a Works Cited entry. Indicate the page in Bean and Harbrace where the type entry is located.1. James L. Kinneavy’s A Theory of Discourse: The Aims of Discourse, published by W. W. Norton, New York, in 1971.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________B: HH: 2. The article, “Living to Tell the Tale: The Complicated Ethics of Creative Nonfiction,” by Lynn Z. Bloom, in College English, volume 65, number 3, January 2003, pp. 276-289._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________B: HH: 3. From The New Yorker, Ian Frazier’s “Profiles: Nobody Better, Better than Nobody,” February 21, 1983, pp.50-83.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________B: HH: 4. The article, “China Seeks Investors for Its Hainan Island,” in The New York Times, section D, page D4,February 7, 1983, col. 1________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________B: HH:B. Correct the following Works Cited entries. Indicate the page in Bean and Harbrace wherethe type entry islocated.1. Troutt, David T. “Defining Who We Are in Society.” Everything’s An Argument with Readings. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford, JohnT. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 613-616.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________B: HH:2.Amy, Tan. “mother Tongue.” Everything’s An Argument with Readings. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford, John T. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 589-594.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________B: HH:3. Lunsford, Andrea. “Say What? Watch Your Language.” James Hill. Everything’s An Argument with Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001.