Analytical Essay 2

First Draft due Tuesday, February 21

Final Draft due Thursday, February 23

Four to Six Pages, Typed, and Double-Spaced

For this assignment you will write an analytical essay in which you will make a recommendation to De Anza College to either advertise or not advertise on a YouTube channel that is popular with a group that you belong to and that is within the pool of potential students at De Anza College.

Here is the general form of your research question:

Should De Anza College advertise on [Channel Name] in order to attract more [students with a particular background or interest]?

Audience

Here are some concerns of your audience (De Anza administrators) that should guide your assessment:

  1. Mission and values of the college
  2. Existing programs and activities at the college
  3. Campus climate
  4. The reputation of the college
  5. The college budget

Process

The first step in completing this assignment is to select a channel and a specific segment of the audience for this channel that you belong to (Journal 4).

The second step is to present your channel and the audience segment to other people in your writing group (Journal 5).

The third step is to select comments that will be relevant for your recommendation (Journal 6).

You will then write an outline, a first draft, a complete draft, and if you select this essay as the analytical essay for your portfolio, multiple drafts in order to polish the essay.

Outlines

Here is a suggested outline for the body of your essay:

  1. Answer to the research question (Thesis)
  2. Answer to this question: How would you describe the general audience and the specific segment your essay focuses on to administrators?
  3. Answer to this question: How would you describe the channel to administrators?
  4. What are some example videos that can help administrators to make a decision about whether to advertise on the channel?
    • What is a summary of example video 1?
    • What are some specific comments important for assessment of the video or channel (including explanations for why the comments are important for assessment)?
    • What is a summary of example video 2?
    • What are some specific comments important for assessment of the video or channel (including explanations for why the comments are important for assessment)?
  5. What is your assessment of the suitability of the channel, based on examples, as a platform for De Anza to advertise on?

Good outlines will have answers to the questions and will show clearly how each part of the essay leads to your thesis/assessment. Note that you might combine or rearrange Part 2 and Part 3, and that Part 4 should be developed through multiple paragraphs.

Class Participation Points

Here are possible participation points you can earn in class for this essay:

  • 2 points: Present topic to group
  • 4 points: Workshop outline with one group member
  • 4 points: Workshop first draft with one group member

Here are possible participation points you can earn out of class for this essay:

  • 2 points: Presentation write-up
  • 2 points: Presentation response (e-mail your partner in your group and cc the e-mail to me to get credit)

Before you turn in a final draft I advise you to visit the WRC and ask a tutor what kinds of repeated errors you made on the essay with regard to language use and how you can correct them. If you visit the WRC please check in with me after your visit.

The assessment for the essay will abide, when possible, with the Portfolio Scoring Guide for EWRT211.

Back to Top