Critically Analyzing Covid-19

Final Project – Critically Analyzing Covid-19

We are living through a worldwide pandemic, which is, in fact, fertile territory for practicing critical thinking. Using the critical-analytical thinking skills developed over the course of this term, and using your background in English (), you will write an essay of 2-3 pages in length critically analyzing the rhetoric of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For this assignment, you will select one or two articles to critically analyze. Your final assignment will be comprised of two specific parts:

1. Your critical analysis of the rhetoric and argument(s) present in the texts you select
2. An essay/write-up of your analysis

In step 1 of the final project, you should write approximately 1-2 pages of analysis of the text(s) you select. This analysis should be an overview and you should consider a few key elements:

1. What is the author’s main claim and supporting evidence?
2. How is the author framing their claim(s) and evidence?
3. Are there fallacies present? If so, which ones? How are they operating?
4. Is the logic present more deductive or inductive? And what impact does that have on your overall reading and interpretation of the text?

In step 2, you will transform your analysis into an essay, using the standard form. Thus, your essay should be clearly argumentative, should contain a strong introduction including a thesis statement, and well-crafted body paragraphs demonstrating clear critical thinking. Your paragraphs should follow the claim-evidence-interpretation structure and you should use direct quotation effectively to demonstrate your analytical interpretation of the article(s) selected.

You are free to write on any element of the Covid-19 situation: the epidemiological, the political, the educational, the economic…anything. Your sources should be reliable and credible as always.

Your essay should be polished, free of grammatical errors, and should be well-formatted, including a Works Cited. Your essay will be evaluated for rhetorical clarity, argumentative precision, effective use of sources, and successful formatting.