Writing Homework Help

Note that this does not need to be a political or a controversial subject, although it certainly could be.  Also consider analyzing subjects taken from the entertainment industry, education, the arts and humanities, fashion, urban or country life, or virtually any subject related to people.  Part of the assignment is selecting a good subject—you will often have to generate your own paper topics, so practice picking a good one for this assignment.

This should be a researched paper.  Where you find your information is largely up to you, but remember that an “A” paper will virtually always have peer-reviewed academic research involved with it.

Use either MLA or APA style and citation; choose whichever style will be most useful to you in your college career.  If you are not sure, send me or a professor from your major an email and ask.

So, what is an “analytical paper” anyway?

As we have been doing so far, we can rely on the Purdue OWL for a basic definition:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.

Essentially, I am tasking you to 

• Choose a topic worthy of examination.
• Research it
• Explain the different issues associated with your subject
• Evaluate the various arguments, theories, histories, and perspectives on your subject
  • This means that you examine the articles etc. that you find
  • Consider the evidence (is it persuasive?); the authors (are they credible and establish ethos?); and do you find contradictions or similarities?
• Craft a conclusion which puts your subject into perspective

STRUCTURING YOUR PAPER

This is largely a free form paper, which means you will decide how it is structured.  Probably most of your assignments in college will be free form in that your professors will not always tell you exactly how to write your papers.

Do you want to have the thesis at the beginning of the paper?  This foregrounds what you will be writing about.

Or do want to have the thesis as the last line in your paper?  This builds up to your final point in the paper.

Consider using one of the three paper types we have written so far: a comparative analysis paper, a research paper, or a classical argumentative paper.  In other words, use the basic structures from one of these papers we have already written to organize your ideas for this paper.  Or, consider mixing the techniques from these papers to generate your own original structure.

Consider doing a chronological structure.  This is what it sounds like.  Start your paper at the beginning of your topic and move forward through history.  You do not have to cover the entire history of your subject, just enough to complete your paper.

Consider a two-step structure as explained in the Purdue OWL description above.  Essentially this means that you will have a paper with two basic parts to it:

1. Break this topic down into its “component parts”
2. Analyze these parts for your audience.

Structure your paper in this simple form or mix-and-match these two steps as you progress.

Invent your own paper structure.  This is exactly what it sounds like.  Decide how you want to write your paper.  Write it like that.

FINAL SHORT REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Finally, I will ask you to write a short reflective essay (300-400 words) about how you generated a topic, how you researched, and how you structured your paper.  Part of this exercise is to think about how you write.