Critical Analysis
One of our focuses for this class is to develop our critical thinking skills. Critical thinking allows us to “read between the lines” and look beyond the obvious. We have read several essays and answered journal questions that require us to use our critical thinking skills. This next assignment will expand on those critical thinking skills.
For this essay, you will be analyzing a visual image that connects to the topic of your research essay. It could be a photograph, an infographic, a chart, diagram, etc.
In the essay, you will need to describe (summarize) the image to the readers. From there, you will want to analyze it. An analysis is an argument in which you study the parts of something to understand how it works, what it means, or why it might be significant.
Within your analysis, you will want to discuss how this image connects to your research paper, how it supports (or doesn’t support) your essay’s ideas, and the effectiveness of the visual in conveying its message.
For this piece, you should find at least two other sources that support your analysis of the image. These can be sources you’ve already used in the research paper, or they can be new sources. Basically, with these secondary sources, you’re showing how the visual supports (or doesn’t support) the ideas presented in the research essay. Please make sure the sources you choose are credible sources.
You will need to include an introduction that briefly introduces the topic of your research paper, but do not use your exact same introduction. Then, you will want to mention the visual image you chose. Make sure you tell readers where the image comes from, its title, and who created it.
Your introduction should include a strong thesis statement that lets the readers know what you are arguing. Your introduction should also set the stage for the readers and let them know what your essay will be about. You should also include a strong conclusion that ties everything up for the readers and brings them back to the beginning of the essay.
This essay is worth 50 points. You will be graded on grammar/mechanics, content, documentation, thesis statement, the conclusion, the works cited page, and all the other elements of writing. Avoid using first person pronouns. Remember: this is an analysis, not a review.
