UWC2101L: Writing & Critical Thinking: Masculinities: Contemporary Theories & Representations

Essay One

Content Instructions

This first written assignment constitutes 25% of your total course grade. The length of your essay should run between 3-4 typed pages (between 750 to 1000 words).

Start by choosing from the following your "object" of analysis:

1. Pictures, photos, various images
2. Advertisements--audio, print, television, video
3. Popular songs and videos
4. Scenes from movies and television shows
5. Short Poems
6. Radio recordings
7. Product descriptions
8. Postcards
9. Book-covers; CD jackets; Video jackets
10. Websites
11. Brochures

You may add to this list. If you are uncertain about the feasibility of your choice, feel free to check with me. As you examine these objects, bear in mind what particular notion of masculinity is present and/or how it functions in the object. Deconstruct this notion of masculinity and examine its complex ideological makeup.

Apart from having lots of fun writing this essay, the goals of the assignment also includes the following:

1. To learn how to read closely a passage from a text or to analyze closely an image (in other words, how to analyze the "object" you have chosen from the list above), in relationship to a specific topic, in our case, masculinities. What sorts of linguistic and imagistic structures does the author use to make an argument or to convince?
2. To draw interpretive conclusions based on your analysis. What does your textual and image analysis suggest about the author's main argument? How does your analysis lead you to conclude that this is the argument being made? What are the assumptions upon which the author bases the argument? Do these assumptions deserve critique? Are there any rhetorical "flaws," gaps, discontinuities, or oversights that need to be addressed? Provide textual evidence to prove your point.
3. To organize the results of your analysis into a rhetorically cogent and coherent essay with a clear thesis statement in the introductory paragraph and with a well-structured line of argument. Remember that your analysis only provides you with the "raw" material. You now have to construct your essay by strategically organizing your points of analysis. First, write an introduction that interests and leads the reader into the body of your essay. Remember that part of the goal of an introduction is to set up the context of the issue. You need to establish clearly the motivation behind the thesis. In other words, why should the average intelligent and educated reader be interested in your topic? You should also establish a clear and concise thesis statement that articulates the result(s) of your analysis and interpretation. Second, focus the rest of the essay on your close reading and interpretation of the text/image.

General Instructions

1. Establish a clear and concise thesis statement, preferably at the end of your introductory paragraph.
2. Be able to relate topic sentences from the paragraphs of your essay to your thesis statement so as to ensure a coherent argument.
3. All drafts are to be typed, double-spaced.
4. All bibliographical entries and parenthetical documentation should adhere to the MLA standard. For the purposes of this essay, read Hacker pages 326-333.
5. At the top left hand corner of the first page should be the name/info block (See my Administration page for this). For subsequent pages, include only a page number at the top right hand corner.
6. Margins should be one inch on all sides.
7. Attach a copy of the text or image to your essay when you hand in any draft.
8. Give your paper a title; be creative.
9. E-mail the final draft of your essay in a Word attachment. I'll reply your e-mail to acknowledge receipt.
10. The following are considered major grammatical errors:
    i. Subject-Verb Agreement
    ii. Sentence Fragments
    iii. Run-On Sentences: Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
    Although I do not have a policy of counting grammatical errors and penalizing you accordingly, an excessive number of major and minor grammatical, spelling, and syntactical errors will jeopardize your grade. It is, therefore, significant that you proofread thoroughly and manually your essay (most grammar and spelling checks on computer programs will not identify all possible errors, so do not be overly dependent on them). Refer to Hacker, pages 164-172, 203-214.
11. Be reminded that the penalty for late papers as stated in my syllabus still stands.