Home

Research ESSAY TOPIC SHEET: to REVIEW, STUDY and UNDERSTAND. 
READ and LISTEN to better UNDERSTAND the ESSAY TOPIC related to the O.J. Simpson murder trial   
Instructional Video: 
my comments are ALSO meant to HELP you START your research of the O.J. Simpson murder trial
you DO NOT have to SUBMIT anything for this READING, LISTENING and UNDERSTANDING assignment

this assignment, you will continue to work with the text you chose for the project. Like the reading response you completed last week, this activity will guide you in analyzing key aspects of the text. This assignment will prepare you to explain the writer’s choices in relation to the genre of the text and explain the writer’s choices in relation to audience, purpose, and/or subject of the text. It will also prepare you to identify an audience for the second version of your paper, describe the needs of that audience, and describe the needs of the writing situation for the second version of your paper.
Directions
For this assignment, you will address prompts about the audience and writing situation in relation to genre, core idea, and purpose using the template linked in the What to Submit section.
Specifically, you must address the following regarding your chosen text:
Identify a possible primary audience of the text.
On the basis of the core idea and purpose of the text, who do you think could be the primary audience of the text?
Remember that in this assignment, you are thinking about who the writer of your chosen text might have intended to address, not the audiences that you will address in your project.
Identify other possible audiences for the text.
What are other possible audiences for the text?
Explain why both possible audiences (primary and other) are appropriate regarding the genre of the text.
Why are the audiences appropriate considering the genre of the text?
Explain why both possible audiences (primary and other) are appropriate regarding the writing situation of the text.
Why are those audiences appropriate considering the writing situation of the text?
Describe how the writer attracts and guides the audience.
How does the writer capture the attention of the audience?
How does the writer guide the audience in the text?
What to Submit
Submit your completed Module Two Reading Response Template for grading. Although you will refer to your selected text in your assignment, you will not refer to any sources from outside this course.
Supporting Materials
The following resources will support your work on this assignment:
Student Exemplar: Module Two Reading Response Exemplar
This is an example of a completed reading response template for this assignment. You may want to use this as a guide when addressing the rubric criteria for this assignment.

The task:
1. Write on the short story. “The Yellow Wallpaper” (p. 585 ff).  
2. Read selections from The Gift by Marcel Maus. The book is linked in the module.
Please read pp. 1-12 and 37-41. This lays out the structure of reciprocity in simple
terms and it’s one of the landmark texts in anthropology.
3. Apply the ideas from Maus to your short story. Where does reciprocity work? Where
does it fail?
4. Make sure to consult the writing guide and sample essay for assistance as you write!
Requirements:
• MLA formatting
• You MUST cite the short story and Maus.
• Introductory and conclusion paragraphs that state and re-state the thesis.
• Summary of Maus’ ideas
• 2 paragraphs establishing a connection between Maus and your short story. In these
paragraphs, you need to explain what is (or is not) reciprocal (emotions, interactions,
etc.), why Maus’ ideas apply, and give an overview of the story. The sample essay
does this nicely.
• 2-3 paragraphs of analysis of reciprocity, its successes, or its failures in the story.
Make sure to cite the story using in-text citations with page numbers.