Mod. 2 | Mini-review 2 (Project 2)
This is not a normal "homework assignment" and is worth 15% of your grade for Project 2. Take care to write careful and revise before submitting.
This is the first of three mini-reviews that you will complete as you work towards writing your “Rhetorical Review.”
- Genre: As discussed on the assignment sheet, a review is more than a summary of the content; it’s also a critical analysis of the text and your reactions to it. Therefore, the mini-reviews should include both summary and evaluation. You should consider not just what it says, but also how it says it. A "mini-review" is a school genre, something I designed, to get you to practice these skills.
- Purpose: The purpose of a this mini review is for you to demonstrate that you read carefully, listened rhetorically, and understand both the argument and rhetorical features of the text. A secondary purpose of a reading response is for you to practice evaluating a text as you summarize it.
- Audience: Your instructor.
Step 1: Read and Annotate
In this module, there are Text Sets. You must work with the same Text Set you used for Mini-review 1. Go back to that Text Set and choose another text from the same list you chose from for Mini-review 1. You will choose a text from your Text Set that you did not discuss in Mini-review 1. Note: I'm requiring you to stick with the same Text Set because it is important for your success in the second half of this unit (writing the Rhetorical Review).
Once you've chosen a second text to work with (on the same topic as the text you used for Mini-review 1), read that text. Make sure you understand it.
Step 2: Mini Review
Write a summary of the main ideas of the text, including the specific intended audience this text addresses. This is where you discuss what the text says. Then, move on to a discussion of how the text says it. You can choose to discuss any aspect of the text, as long as you can provide specific examples from the text to support your points. Aspects you might discuss include organization, vocabulary, sources referenced (type and/or frequency), use of visuals, anecdotes, etc. (Please watch the Rhetorical Choices video, inside the Rhetorical Choices quiz, if you haven’t already). Since you only have 300-400 words, you should focus specifically on the aspect(s) of the text that seem the most significant to how effectively the text communicates its message to its intended audience. Finally, you should close out with an evaluation of how effective the text was overall. Did it effectively communicate its message to the audience? What could have been improved?
In addition, your mini-review should be approximately 400 words. This is not a lot of space to summarize and evaluate, but that is the point. The mini-reviews will force you to be concise and specific with your words so that by the time you begin writing your “Rhetorical Review,” your ideas will be edited, exact, and refined.
Here's a student sample for this step. Download Here's a student sample for this step.
Step 3: Quote
Choose one quote from the text that you found particularly convincing or interesting. The quote should be 2-4 sentences long. Place the quote in quotation marks. Place a page number (34) or timestamp (1:34) or paragraph number (para. 4) next to the quote. This will help me and you locate the quote later.
Underneath the quote, explain why the quote was interesting to you or why it resonated with you. Connect the quote back to the author's main argument.
Post your response to Step 2 and Step 3. Do not upload a PDF.