The assignment this week was to select an essay to analyze
for the Rhetorical Analysis and Response essay and paraphrase it. The essay that I chose was “The Unathletic
Department” by Meghan from Johns Hopkins University. Meghan explains her memory of being on a swim
team and finishing last in the 500 freestyle swim meet. As the essay starts
Meghan sets a sad tone about finishing last and how her ribbon looks just like
the first place ribbon. As the essay continues you feel sorry for her because
we all have finished in last place at some time or another. She explains how
she felt when getting out of the water the second to the last swimmer was
already dressed. Meghan says “However,
as I walked back to my team, carrying the seventh place blue, listening to the
splash of the new event’s swimmers, I could not help but smile.” After reading
that sentence she made me want to read more to see what she meant. What Meghan did was change the emotion from
sad to grateful. She was grateful for
that lose because she realized there is more to life than finishing first.
I will begin to analyze the essay by telling the title and
author. Next I will summarize what the
essay was about and whether I agreed or disagreed with the author and why. In
the body of the analysis I will have details that explain why I agreed or
disagreed and also note any structures or specific emotions. In the last
paragraph I will again summarize the essay and give my opinion about how
convincing the author was.
Works Cited
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteLike always, you have done a great job with this blog post. You pick a really interesting topic. I find it hard to locate a topic that I personally find interesting, but I really like yours! It sounds like a fantastic read. I’ve only read your summary of the article and I’m already intrigued. You did a great job summarizing and explaining how you will analyze the essay.