Thinker-to-Thinker Essay

Description
Audience?and?Rhetorical?Situation:
You?have?a?lot?of?options?for?the?content?of?your?essay/letter.?You?can?focus?on?a?particular?theme,?concern,?or
theoretical?insight?that?connects?the?two?texts
you?should?position?yourself?as?a?student?of?a?subject?that?is?firmly?within?the?author?s?expertise,?but?you?re?a
student?who?has?something?to?offer:?namely,?you?can?provide?a?literary?context?for?what?the?contemporary?writer
is?saying
Whatever?direction?you?take?this?paper?in,?it?must?follow?the?standard?structure?of?academic?writing:?it?must
begin?with?something?that?someone?else?has?said,?and?the?bulk?of?the?essay/letter?should?be?a?reply?to?or?a
continuation?of?that?initial?statement
Furthermore,?you?must?have?an?argument.?That?doesn?t?mean?you?need?to?include?a?thesis?statement,?necessarily,
but?you?re?writing?for?a?reason,?a?purpose,?and?that?purpose?and?what?you?re?trying?to?communicate?should
be?evident.
Minimum?Requirements?
??The?essay/letter?should?be?4?7?pages?long,?double?spaced?(?10?points?if?this?condition?is?not?met).
??The?paper?should?be?structured?like?a?letter?i.e.,?following?business?letter?format,?with?a?salutation?and?a
closing?(?5?points?if?this?condition?is?not?met).
??The?paper?must?include?quotations?from?both?texts:?the?shared?reading?from?our?course?and?the?contemporary,
independent?reading?you?re?doing.
??You?must?analyze?the?quotations?you?include.
??You?must?make?an?argument.
??The?essay/letter?must?begin?with?what?someone?else?has?said.
??You?must?adjust?your?tone,?diction,?and?rhetorical?approach?to?fit?your?purpose?and?your?audience.
,?think?hard?about?what?your?audience?knows?and?doesn?t?know,?and?don?t?assume?a?didactic?tone.?The?point?is?to
engage?in?dialogue,?not?to?preach.
??You?re?writing?a?letter?to?a?writer?who?has?earned?some?prominence?in?the?public?sphere.?Don?t?waste?his/her
time.?Your?paper?should?be?well?organized,?rhetorically?savvy,?and?clean?at?the?sentence?level?(i.e.,?no?typos?or
grammatical?errors).