Analysis of Mary Maxfield's essay "Food as Thought"

Task 1: Identify and Analyze Maxfield's Argument

Assignment Description This assignment asks you to demonstrate an understanding and application of the different elements of argumentation by analyzing Mary Maxfield’s essay “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Food.” You will be asked to complete two tasks. In the first part, you will identify and analyze Maxfield’s argument by inferring the intended audience and describing the author’s use of rhetorical appeals. In part 2, you will evaluate the argument by writing about the strengths and weaknesses of the claim, framing this analysis with your own critical response to the topic. This assignment asks the following of you: • Write fluently and grammatically in a range of academic forms and genres • Read actively and closely through annotating, elaborating, reflection and questioning • Analyze at the first-year level • Construct well-reasoned arguments employing effective rhetorical strategies in writing • Explain the significance of global and local cultural issues raised in literary texts • Document source material using professional styles such as MLA Assignment instructions: • In your first paragraph, identify the main argument of Mary Maxfield’s essay “Food as Thought.” Contextualize this argument in terms of Michael Pollan’s argument, since that is the essay she is responding to. Use your critical reading skills to make assumptions about Maxfield’s intended audience and provide concrete evidence to support your claim. Identify the different rhetorical appeals Maxfield is using and provide evidence of each. Next, analyze the type of reasoning Maxfield uses – is it inductive or deductive? How do you know? • In the next paragraph, analyze some of the flaws in reasoning that Maxfield identifies to refute Pollan’s argument. Identify specific logical fallacies that she points out. What kind of evidence does Maxfield use to refute Pollan’s argument? • In the next section (1-2paragraphs) assess the effectiveness of Maxfield’s argument. Is her argument convincing? Do you agree with her? Why or why not? What are your personal views on the topic of food and diet? • Use transitions to unify your paper and to connect your ideas. • Include in-text citations for quotations and paraphrases and a Works Cited for Maxfield’s essay. ? Assignment 2 Submission Instructions: Format: MLA Style • Margins: One inch on all sides • Spacing: double spaced throughout Your name (first and last) Course Code Instructor’s Name Date of Submission Title Body of the essay goes below the title. Indent the beginning of each paragraph. Essay should be written in proper paragraphs, 12 point, easy to read font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial). Please make sure to double space! Page numbers should go in the top right corner of the page. Upload your assignment to Moodle as a word document or a PDF by Friday, July 17th at 11:59pm. Please save the file as: Lastname_Firstname_ENGL100Assignment2. Assignment Evaluation: Content: Student effectively and accurately identifies Maxfield’s argument, contextualizes it appropriately, and applies knowledge of rhetorical appeals to further analyze the essay and its organization. Relevant evidence is provided as examples of rhetorical appeals. Essay demonstrates a strong understanding and application of various kinds of fallacies and evidence. Students’ response to the essay demonstrates a critical engagement with the text and provides original and relevant commentary on the topic. Direct quotations and paraphrase are used effectively. Structure and Organization: Clear organization and skillful transitions; ideas progress in a logical order. Style and Mechanics: The writing is easy to read. Grammatical errors do not impede comprehension and sentence structure is correct. Papers should be nearly free of mechanical and typographical errors. Transitions are used to link key points. MLA formatting is used for in-text citations and a works cited.