Call Of the Assignment
Write an analysis of a currently published magazine. Through careful observation form a specific conclusion about the AUDIENCE for which it is intended and its major PURPOSE.
After you have examined the magazine, use your conclusion to form a thesis (claim) for an essay of several paragraphs. You will need to support your generalizations with specific content from the publication:editorials, essays, columns, graphics, etc.
Write an essay of 1000-1500 words analyzing the magazine. Make a claim about the publication and support it with specifics from your reading.
You will need a Works Cited page with entries for each of the five or more articles, which you use as support in your essay.
Suggestions:
Choose five concurrent issues published in the last year.
Look at such things as the titles and authors of the articles, the quality of the paper, the cartoons or illustrations, advertisements, costs, and letters to the editor.
Are you familiar with any of the authors?
Read the articles, looking for consistent patterns of thought, ideas, or general outlooks.
Examples of the audience can be women under the age of 30, men over the age of 40, traditional families, teenagers, rock fans, car lovers, young professionals, etc.
Be specific.
Some of the purposes of a magazine can be to promote a political or moral purpose, to inform, to sell products, to entertain, etc.
Based on the above, form a claim about the magazine you have chosen. Your claim should include who the audience is and what the purpose is for the magazine. The paragraphs of the essay should present evidence to prove the claim.
Goals:
Inferring and supporting a claim
Discerning purpose, audience, and bias
MLA Documentation
Understanding Language (Slant, Connotation, Appeal)
Example of a claim: Reader’s Digest targets parents with traditional values
Minimum Requirements:
1. Heading with your name, course, instructor, & Date.
2. Original title that describes the essay.
3. Clear introduction that informs reader of 1) Magazine title & 2) A brief description of the magazine.
4. Clear argument that encapsulates that analysis.
6. A Works Cited with all cited issues and individual articles listed.
7. Is at least 1,000 words long.
