Assignment
In this assignment, you will write two paragraphs which explore what “’Never Trust a Snake’: WWF Wrestling as Masculine Melodrama” is saying, and how it’s saying it. Your first paragraph will summarize the article, using your skills in summary, paraphrase, and quotation to explain the main claims to an audience who is unfamiliar with the text. The language of your summary should be independent of the original, and contain few, if any, quotations. The summary must be accurate and complete, establishing your understanding of the essay’s central argument and claims.
Your second paragraph will explore the implicit arguments being made in “’Never Trust a Snake’: WWF Wrestling as Masculine Melodrama” using close reading and rhetorical analysis strategies. You will begin by selecting one or two moments in the source text in which how the text is arguing impacts what the text is arguing. You might consider focusing on organization, tone, diction, syntax, audience appeals, repetitions and contrasts, unstated assumptions, etc. After selecting a passage, explain in 5-6 sentences how the strategy the author took in your example impacts the overall meaning of the piece. Your goal is to draw clear connections between what the author is saying, how the author is saying it, and the overall effects these have on the argument of the essay. You are not trying to “decode” the text or show that it “really” means something different than what you see, so make sure that all of your claims are based in evidence that appears on the page and which you can clearly explain to your audience.
Strategy
Read the essay carefully, identifying the author’s main claim and the key ideas that support that claim. Remember that the claim may be implicit rather than explicit—it’s your job to locate it and reframe it for your audience. Once you have a clear sense of the author’s argument, paraphrase it by substituting your own words for the original. Using transitions, attributive tags, and strong verbs (e.g. “Jenkins claims”; “the author argues”), arrange your sentences so that they read logically and smoothly. Be sure to frequently check the draft of your summary against the original for accuracy, objectivity, and completeness. Review Wilhoit, “Summary,” particularly his discussion of informative summaries, as well as “Paraphrase X3” in Writing Analytically.
In your analysis, use WA’s sections on “The Method” (25-32) and “Uncovering Assumptions” (56-58) to help you focus on the details in the essay, instead of your reaction to it. Connect these details to the author’s message to show your reader how [Author’s] choices in the passage you chose help communicate their claim to the reader. Based on the evidence that you analyze, craft a claim that shows how you see a connection forming between how the text is arguing and what the text argues.
Criteria for Evaluation
Does the Skill Focus completely and accurately summarize the essay’s central claim and its most important supporting details? Would the Skill Focus be understandable to someone unfamiliar with the author’s essay?
Does the Skill Focus explore at least one significant passage from the text and the ways in which the author’s choices in that passage impact the overall meaning and argument of the text as a whole?
Does the Skill Focus present and evaluate details from the article in a logical, clear, and accurate way such that a reader unfamiliar with “’Never Trust a Snake’: WWF Wrestling as Masculine Melodrama”
Actions
might understand the impact those choices have on the text as a whole?
Does the Skill Focus remain independent and objective by paraphrasing the author’s words, using a minimum of quotations, and avoiding judgment or personal association?
Does the writing use style and voice to demonstrate rhetorical awareness of the assignment’s audience and purpose? Does the writing make use of the expectations for academic writing, including transition phrases, attributive tags, strong verbs, appropriate word choice, and MLA citation format?
