I need an explanation for this Writing question to help me study.
Identify and BRIEFLY summarize the article. The whole paper is not a summary, but you need to include one. It should be no more than one paragraph in length and should be near the beginning of the essay. As stated above, if all you do is summarize the article I'm not reading it and assigning a failing grade.
Identify the author. Who wrote the piece, or who is taking responsibility for the message?
Identify other important information about the piece—when was it written, where was it originally published? You may need to do some online research to answer these questions.
Identify the probable audience. Who is the article attempting to target? How do you know? What specific things does the writer say or do to give you this information?
Identify the purpose. What is the central goal of the article? What other goals might the author also have? How is the author attempting to do this? Why is the author attempting to do this? What might these goals do for the success/effectiveness of the article?
Identify the major/main claims made in the article. What other smaller/minor claims are there? How do you know? What kinds of claims are they?
Identify the rhetorical appeals (pathos, ethos, logos) at work in the article. How are they targeting the audience (or intended to target)? How are they working toward or against the effectiveness of the article?
Identify other rhetorical devices at work (tone, word choice, repetition, etc.) How are they working toward or against the effectiveness of the article?