Is the text timely, relevant, credible, and accurate? What are the author’s credentials? Is the source/publisher credible, and why or why not?

Is the text timely, relevant, credible, and accurate? What are the author’s credentials? Is the source/publisher credible, and why or why not?

Essay #2: Deep Read // Rhetorical Analysis

STEP ONE: Choose ONE of the following texts to review:

Popular periodical options

  1. Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change (Links to an external site.)
    • Vox, 19 April, 2017
  2. ‘Eco-anxiety’: how to spot it and what to do about it, Dave Fawbert, BBC, 27 March 2019
  3. Collapsing into the Future’s Arms: Ideological Migration and the Work of Weaving Earth, (Links to an external site.)

Scholarly/Academic Journal options

  1. Taylor, D. E. (2000). The rise of the environmental justice paradigm: Injustice framing and the social construction of environmental discourses. American behavioral scientist, 43(4), 508-580. Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.452.7534&rep=rep1&type=pdf (Links to an external site.)
  2. Ruckart, P. Z., Ettinger, A. S., Hanna-Attisha, M., Jones, N., Davis, S. I., & Breysse, P. N. (2019). The Flint water crisis: a coordinated public health emergency response and recovery initiative. Journal of public health management and practice: JPHMP, 25(Suppl 1 LEAD POISONING PREVENTION), S84. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6309965/pdf/nihms-1001559.pdf (Links to an external site.)
  3. Alvarez, C. H., & Norton-Smith, K. G. (2018). Latino Destinations and Environmental Inequality: Estimated Cancer Risk from Air Toxics in Latino Traditional and New Destinations. Socius, 4, 2378023118796931. Retrieved from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/237802311879693

STEP TWO: Write an essay (minimum 6 pages) that presents all of the following:
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PART 1: SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Write a 1-paragraph summary following the guidelines and examples on pages 2-3 of the packet. (Use the summary you turned for this class, but be sure to revise as needed. Labels optional.)undefined

PART 2: ANALYSIS OF CLAIMS

Write 3-5 paragraphs to analyze the evidence used to support the claim following the guidelines and examples on pages 2-3 of the packet. (Use the analysis you turned for this class, but be sure to revise as needed.)

  1. Is the text timely, relevant, credible, and accurate? What are the author’s credentials? Is the source/publisher credible, and why or why not?
  2. Connotative information: In paragraph form, explicate 3-5 references and/or allusions that help the reader understand the vocabulary/ context / historical background/ scientific info, etc., specific data, historical references, facts, events, etc. Be sure to cite all information using MLA.
  3. Record the evidence used to support the claim. What evidence does the author use to support the thesis? Do they rely more on ethical appeal, emotional appeals or logical appeals, and how does this impact their claim? Explain why/why not you’ve been persuaded by the author’s arguments and evidence for those arguments.
  4. List any refutations: Does the author anticipate objections and counter opposing views? Are their arguments biased or are they fair and balanced? Does the writer fall victim to any fallacies? Be sure to cite all information using MLA.

PART 3: CONNECTIONS & QUESTIONS

Explicate your findings in 2-3 paragraphs. (Use the discussion boards/ assignments you turned for this class, but be sure to revise as needed.)

  • Make 2-3 connections between the text you summarized and analyzed to the readings on contemplative environmentalism by Richey & Wapner, and Wapner. How does evidence from those readings support or refute these authors’ claims? Be sure to cite all information using MLA.
  • What questions are you asking in response to these texts? What do you want to learn more about as a result of these readings? What are you questioning? What are you wondering about and/or sitting in wonder with? In paragraph form, write 3-4 questions for class discussion and/or further investigation. What questions do you still have that you need to research more about? Explain why you’re asking these questions in this paragraph

PART 4: YOUR CONCLUSIONS:

Write a 2-3 paragraph conclusion in response to the following:

In his interview with Bill McKibben, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez asks an important question that has confounded environmentalists for decades: “How do we communicate the urgency of the problem [the climate crisis] without having people lose hope in the issue?” Martinez and others, such as Richey and Wapner, Wapner, Del Campo, Purcell, and Marcos-Iga, and Alck et al. all point to the importance of embodied environmental engagement, whether it be nature-based mindfulness, outdoor activities, gardening, hiking, art, and more, as one step in promoting eco-friendly behavior changes and environmental action. In other words, contemplative environmentalism is presented as a key solution to encouraging behavior change when it comes to the environment.

Based on what you have read/ researched in class so far, including your first-person experience, what do you think? Is the evidence convincing? Are such connections, practices, and/or behavior changes enough to prevent further catastrophe and to curb the climate crisis? Is more needed? To what extent are the writers’ overall arguments justified? Where do the arguments fall short or needs to be researched/explored further? Why is this important? What does it reveal about the topics or themes discussed in class? What conclusions have you come to, so far? What do you remain curious about?

(Sample starters)

AGREE: Author X effectively argues that…

DISAGREE: Author X is not successful in her attempts to argue that…

QUALIFY: While I agree with Author X’s attempts to argue that…., I do not believe she/he/they effectively…

PART 5: Include full MLA Works Cited page (not part of page count)

Requirements for all parts:

  • Required length: 6+ full pages, MLA formatted, plus the Works Cited page & self-evaluation
  • You CAN adapt work completed in previous assignments (in fact, that’s why we took time to do that work!), but PLEASE take time to edit and revise, and complete a grammar and spell check! Use MLA formatting and citations.
  • Please DO include section subheadings (Part I: Summary, Part II: Analysis of Claims, etc.)
  • Paragraph labels are OPTIONAL (but since we are establishing a shared vocabulary, and they help me understand your thought process). See sample paragraphs in the packet
  • You will be required to complete 3 peer reviews after the due date; review the syllabus for the late policy
  • See Canvas for the grading rubric and due dates(worth 100 points). These will be graded closely.

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