iThink

Click here to view my analysis via Scribd.com.

Back in August of 2007, our AP English teacher overwhelmed us with this foreign type of writing assignment called a style analysis—after all, who had ever heard of a “style analysis”? A style analysis prompt asks the student to analyze the rhetorical strategies employed by a given author in a given passage. We practiced in groups, outlined, and finally worked our way up to writing a full blown response—and we have done many, many of them since then. In the artifact above, I analyzed a William Hazlitt passage titled “On the Want of Money.” Analyzing a work of literature is very important, not only in preparation for the AP English Language test and college, but for becoming a responsible adult and citizen. Also, reading and analyzing the rhetorical strategies of accomplished authors helps one to better his own writing.

Standards Covered:

• Process—Students shall employ a wide range of strategies as they write, using the writing process appropriately.
• Purpose, Topics, Forms, Audiences—Students shall demonstrate competency in writing for a variety of purposes, topics and audiences employing a wide range of forms.
• Conventions—Students shall apply knowledge of Standard English conventions in written work.
• Craftsmanship—Students shall develop personal style and voice as they approach the craftsmanship of writing.
• Comprehension—Students shall apply a variety of strategies to read and comprehend printed material.
• Variety of Text—Students shall read, examine, and respond to a wide range of texts for a variety of purposes.