Excerpt from Virginia Woolf’s “shakespeare’s Sister” in a Room of one’s Own, 1928

Humanities 310        Wendorff-Craps

Analyzing Arguments

The Assessment Essay: Paper #1

On the following pages you will find a brief literary work followed by three professor interpretations.  For this assignment, you will evaluate these three interpretations and argue which of the three makes the strongest case and why in a 5 paragraph essay.  You can discuss what sorts of evidence would strengthen or refute the arguments, what changes in the arguments would make them more logically sound, and what additional information might help you better evaluate their conclusions.  Please note: you should not offer your own interpretation of the text; just analyze and evaluate the three professor interpretations.  

Your grade for this assignment will be determined according to how well you

• identify and analyze each professor argument
• organize, develop, and express your critique
• support your critique with relevant reasons and examples
• control the elements of standard written English.

Guidelines

Introduction and thesis statement: introduce the topic/reading/idea involved, establish credibility, and make your primary claim (i.e. your thesis—the point you will be supporting in the rest of your essay).  Your introductory paragraph may explain the situation involved and should include a short summary of the viewpoints:

        Three professors were asked to read Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ essay called “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” They each gave their view on what they thought it meant to them.  Professor A believes Marx and Engels were trying to _______.  Professor B thinks the essay was about _____.  Professor C focused more on _____.  Since Professor A’s view was most logically argued and had a firm thesis statement, her interpretation seems most valid of the three.

***Note: this example is a sub-par introduction; remember to be creative and use interesting methods to lead your audience into the topic.

Body: the 3 body paragraphs should evaluate each of the three interpretations by answering questions like:

• Does the interpretation have central thesis? If so what is it?
• Does the interpretation support this thesis with evidence from the text?
• Does the interpretation discuss the relationship between the evidence and the thesis?
• Is the interpretation clearly written?
• Is the interpretation organized?
• How much more or less persuasive is the interpretation when compared to the others?

Conclusion: summarize your findings, discussing which of the interpretations is most persuasive and why. Remember, the conclusion should reiterate your thesis (your claim) and re-summarize the main points in a new way. You should offer some insight as well into the topic or situation as a final closing remark.