This short assignment (minimum 600 words, submitted via email) focuses on a single article or source that you discover through your research. The source should make an argument or offer a perspective in response to your topic or issue. The main goal of the Research Analysis is to analyze the author’s argument and to show how these pieces fit together, although the paper can also serve as an opportunity to begin reflecting on the debate overall. Be sure to include an APA citation for the source.
The first section of your analysis (probably one or two or three paragraphs) should focus on the main argument(s) made in the article.
- What is the main purpose of the source? What might the author hope to accomplish with this writing?
- What is the main argument or claim? What other claims are made to support this larger claim?
- What reasoning, evidence, examples, etc., are offered to support the claim(s)? How does the author appeal to ethos and pathos? How does the organization and style of the writing help it achieve its purpose? Does the author address any counterarguments?
- How would you describe the author’s orientation? What values, beliefs, and assumptions shape their thinking? What do readers have to believe or assume to go along with the author’s thinking? Who might disagree with the author, and why?
The second section should situate this argument within the larger conversation around your debate.
- What is the author’s relationship to the issue or debate? How does this perspective compare to others in response to the debate?
- How would you assess the argument in terms of its effectiveness or ineffectiveness, its benefits or limits?
- How can we classify the argument drawing on stasis theory? Ultimately, we’ll want to be able to reflect on the points of intersection and divergence of different perspectives in the debate.
Matt King 