English 151-034 Short Assignment #1: Close Reading Assignment – 5%
• Due: Thursday, Oct. 17 • Word Length: 500 words minimum; 750 words maximum • No one will be allowed to make up this assignment without a credible explanation for the
absence and acceptable documentation to support that explanation.
Instructions: • A close reading asks you to carefully and thoughtfully read an essay, understand what it is
communicating, analyze how it is communicating, and to evaluate the effectiveness of that communication.
• You can choose one of the essays listed below to write the Close Reading Assignment about. Links to all essays can be found on our D2L Newsfeed:
• Bruce Mau, “Imagining the Future”, The Walrus • George Monbiot, “In an age of robots, schools are teaching our children to be redundant”,
The Guardian • Bruce Mau, “Is the World Getting Better or Worse?”, The Walrus • Kim Stanley Robinson, ”Empty half the Earth of its humans. It’s the only way to save the
planet”, The Guardian • Kate Harris, “Where Not to Travel in 2019, or Ever”, The Walrus
Provide: 1. A summary paragraph of the original essay, with a focus on paraphrasing the essay’s thesis
(main point), main supporting claims, and major evidence, rather than using direct quotes, though a maximum of 3 direct quotes can be used in your summary paragraph.
2. An analysis paragraph that discusses how convincing the author was in using evidence to support their thesis and main supporting claims using:
• A topic sentence that clearly outlines your evidence-based opinion about how convincing the author’s argument was;
• Evidence from the essay that supports your opinion about it. What specific language, or claims, or reasoning in the essay led you to have your opinion? Quote and/or paraphrase them;
• Analysis of that evidence that explains why you understand it the way you do. If your opinion were self-evident, you could just turn in the original essay as your proof, but different people will have different ideas about the words or details you mention. Explain how you arrived at your opinion.
Format: • Failure to follow formatting requirements will result in a loss of up to 5% of overall grade. • Two paragraphs: one summary and one analytical. • 500-word count minimum/750-word count maximum. • Typewritten, 12-point Times New Roman font, DOUBLE-SPACED. • Title: Close Reading Assignment. • Format your document according to your chosen citation style (APA, MLA, etc.). • Cite sources in-text using your chosen citation style (APA, MLA, etc.). • Include a bibliography with all sources formatted correctly according to your chosen citation
style at the end of your assignment.