This assignment involves selection an editorial on any topic and writing a thorough analysis of its arguments. You will need to show me the editorial you select before you begin your analysis work. I want to be sure you have selected the right kind of text, and I do not want to see two analysis of the same essay.
In your analysis, which should run about four pages, be sure to:
1. Identify the essay’s conclusion or main contention.
2. Identify by name the different arguments and strategies advanced in support of the essay’s
conclusion.
3. Explain how the author uses these arguments and strategies to support the main contention.
That is, explain how the argumentative case develops.
4. Evaluate the essay’s arguments by applying the appropriate tests from the text and assess the
strength of the case. You need not render a positive assessment of the essay. You do need to answer the general question: Is this a reasonable case?
You may find potential essays for analysis in the opinion columns of news magazines, editorials pages of newspapers, literature of lobbying groups, letters sent out by advocacy groups, the Internet, or other sources. The only requirements for the editorial you select are that it must be:
1. Be between 600 and 800 words in length.
2. Clearly advocate and argue for a position.
3. Be published within the last six months.
The best essays for this assignment are built around a clear, structural argument and advance a variety of other arguments and evidence. Do not select a news report for this assignment.