1. EAPIB: Teaching a Stone to Talk
Essay Feedback (2015)

2. Prompt (1)
Read the passages carefully. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the specific stylistic and rhetorical differences between the two descriptions.

3. Breaking Down the Prompt
The prompt asks you to analyze the stylistic and rhetorical differences between the two passages.
To analyze style, you will need to discuss the literary and rhetorical devices each writer uses to convey meaning, with an emphasis on those devices that are different from those in the other passage
Style = literary devices
Rhetoric = elements of persuasion and author’s purpose

4. Passage 1
Sounds like a journal entry from a botanist visiting the islands
Stylistic elements to consider:
First person
Diction
Imagery
Syntax
Comparison
Simile (only one)
Tone (disappointed; perhaps even surprised by the desolation; the author was expecting more vegetation)

5. Passage 2
A clearly literary passage characterized by heavy use of figurative language, including:
Metaphor
Personification
Hyperbole
Imagery
Diction
Allusion
Tone (on the surface, it may sound negative, but it’s actually sympathetic)

6. Prevalent Weaknesses
Thesis statements must clearly address all elements of the prompt
Sloppy errors in grammar, logic, word choice, and syntax
Misreading the prompt and/or misreading tone
Superficial or inaccurate analysis; failure to demonstrate an effective understanding of the passages
Body paragraphs that don’t make sense (in terms of structure, use of quoted support, logic, or all three)

7. Scoring Class average: 74.5 (68.9%) Essay #2 (Ethan Frome): 71 (71.7%)
Essay #1 (Summer Reading): 64 (71%)