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Final Draft: The final draft should meet the following criteria: 5 full pages, typed, double-spaced, proofread, spell-checked, 1 inch margins, Times New Roman, font size 12, page numbers, in-text citation MLA style, with a Works Cited page (this page does not count toward the 5 page requirement).

Purpose of the essay:

In your first out-of-class essay assignment, you probably followed one of the following patterns: arguing that one essay was presented more effectively than another, arguing that two essays that addressed different topics actually had the same underlying argument, or arguing that two essays that appeared to address the same issue actually took two different approaches. Regardless of which angle you chose, you put the two essays side by side and analyzed a relationship between them.

Your second out-of-class essay assignment will allow you to take your analytical skills one step further. For this assignment, you will have the opportunity to explore how reading one essay impacts your reading of another essay. Instead of asking yourself which essay is more convincing, you should ask yourself: What does one essay reveal about another essay? Or, how can one essay help me better understand another essay?

Step one:

Figure out your overall argument. While Essay #1 encouraged you to balance the weight of your analysis fairly evenly between the two essays, this essay will be shifted more towards one particular essay, the essay that is influencing your reading of another essay.

Sample overall argument (you haven’t read these authors):

Miller’s argument that global warming is a serious crisis sheds light on Jones’s analysis of the rise in hurricanes.

Step two:

Figure out your areas of support, or points of comparison. Think about a few different ways in which the first essay influences your reading of the second essay. Your points of comparison should come from your first essay, the essay that is doing the influencing.

Sample argument with points of comparison (a sample thesis):

Miller’s argument that global warming is a serious crisis sheds light on Jones’s analysis of the rise in hurricanes. In particular, Miller’s analysis of the causes, consequences, and solutions to global warming can help us understand Jones’ essay.

Which essays can you write about?

You can focus on any combination of two essays from the Obesity unit, or the Higher Education unit read for class so far. Basically, anything read so far, from David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” all the way to Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” essay.

Important things to keep in mind:

• Your thesis should be an argument; do not state the obvious.
• Your reader has read the two essays you are discussing, but your reader has not analyzed them in the depth that you have.
• Create clear topic sentences and fluid transitions that will help your reader follow your logic. Your topic sentences should introduce your specific area of support and link it to your argument. If your topic sentence states a fact, then it is easy to fall into the trap of summarizing throughout the whole paragraph, rather than analyzing.
• You may weave in personal experience if you feel that it would strengthen your argument. However, the focus of your essay should be on analyzing a relationship between the two texts.
• Make sure you are bringing in quotes from the essays and analyzing those quotes in depth.
• It is probably to your advantage to discuss three areas of support. Two supports are probably not enough, and four is probably too many.
• Feel free to use “I.”