What is your argument about his use of diction, imagery and tone? What do these have in common besides being types of rhetorical devices?

You want to make a focused, original argument as you answer one of the above questions.

Tips and Considerations

Structure

Please refrain from writing a traditional five-paragraph essay .

For example, if you write something like, Smith uses diction, imagery and tone in his poem, you run into two key pitfalls:

1) What is your argument about his use of diction, imagery and tone? What do these have in common besides being types of rhetorical devices? You want a paper that has paragraphs that connect to one another via a carefully crafted structure.

Who is your audience for this paper, besides me—the teacher?

What is your purpose in analyzing someone else’s argument?

Organization

Your essay should be organized around points in support of your main point. It is not organized as an explication or running commentary on the text as it unfolds. That is, it should not be based on the order of the text, but should be based on your own ideas/topic sentences about how certain elements or features of the text work to accomplish the purpose, as stated in your thesis.

Assume you know more about the text and critical reasoning than your readers. As such, make sure you provide readers with enough background and context to understand your argument and the techniques you are using to make them.
Consider the difference between facts and the interpretation of facts. The authors provide us with many “facts,” but how can we employ critical reasoning to interpret those facts and offer more rational explanations for the events of the story and the narrator’s claims about them?