Essay Assessment

The Declaration of Independence

1. Identify the hook
The Declaration of Independence
2. Who, specifically, is the speaker?
The men that wrote the Declaration of Independence.
3. Comment on the writers voice and style:
The writers of this document stated why they were writing and listed all the
terrible things that Great Britain has done. They are trying to gain support to go against
Great Britain and lose all contact with them.
4. Who is the intended audience?
The colonist living in the United States.
5. What is the authors purpose?
To share with the colonist that Great Britain has not done anything good for them.
6. Note at least two rhetorical devices that are particularly effective (paragraph #, line #). Why?
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the
public good (p. 3, l. 1-2). This is an example of an anecdote because they are using what
the King has done to them and using it to gain more support to get Great Britain out.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed
the lives of our people (p. 17, l. 1-2). This an example of repetition because of the use of
the word our is being repeatedly used throughout the whole sentence.
7. Note two examples of the authors expository technique(s) (paragraph #):
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is
the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness (paragraph 2).
A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a
Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people (Paragraph 21).
8. Choose two tone words for the passage:
Angry and informative
9. Choose two tone words for the authors attitude:
Objective and compassionate
10. Your personal reaction to the piece.
I really liked this document. It was very interesting to read about all the things
that the King did.

Essay Assessment
Black Men and Public Place
1. Identify the hook
My first victim was a woman - white, well dressed, probably in her early
twenties.
2. Who, specifically, is the speaker?
Brent Staples. Or the speaker could be a black man that was accused so many
times to be a criminal because of his color.
3. Comment on the writers voice and style:
Throughout the whole essay, the speaker wrote about all the things that he
experienced throughout of his life because of his race.
4. Who is the intended audience?
The people that are facing discrimination and to help people figure out a way to
get through it.
5. What is the authors purpose?
To portray to the reader about how black people were thought of back then, and
how they were always looked as a bad guy no matter what they did.
6. Note at least two rhetorical devices that are particularly effective (paragraph #, line #). Why?
To her, the youngish black man - a board six feet two inches with a beard and
billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket- seemed
menacingly close (p. 1, l. 6-8). This sentence is an example of imagery because the
speaker was very descriptive in describing the man and the readers are able to actually
picture what the woman was seeing behind her.
At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic
light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver - black, white, male, or female
- hammering down the door locks (p. 4, l. 2-5). This is an example of both auditory
imagery and a hyperbole. Using thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk the readers can imagine the
sound that the speaker would always have to hear at night because people are frightened
of him because of his race.
7. Note two examples of the authors expository technique(s) (paragraph #):
It also made it clear that I was indistinguishable from the muggers who
occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghetto (paragraph 2).
After dark, on the warrenlike streets of Brooklyn where I live, I often see women
who fear the worst from me (paragraph 5).
8. Choose two tone words for the passage:
Optimistic and intimate
9. Choose two tone words for the authors attitude:
Intimate and righteous
10. Your personal reaction to the piece.
I personally really liked this essay because it showed how everything was and how unfair the
colored had it compared to the whites.

Davion McArthur

6th period

Example Essay

Why do you feel that it's okay to accuse me of doing something? If I wanted to

do it, you wouldnt know if I did it. That's sort of how that situation goes when someone

is being accused of threatening or doing something they didn't do. IT'S THE WORST IN

THE WORLD!! You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, you don't know what they have

been through and what is going on in their life at that moment. If you don't want to be

judge, you don't judge. It's the rule of life. It could cause someone to do worst than they

were accused.

I didn't do it. You're all lying. You never liked me so now you are trying to get rid

of me. Lucah was accused of murder that he may not have committed. He was ridiculed

and talked about up until he started to commit suicide. Everyone there stopped him, but

that wasn't the first mistake. The first mistake was not believing him. Lucah was busy and

was in a different part of the room when the murder happened. He couldn't have killed

the person. There was no proof but he was still convicted as the murderer. You will all

regret this choice. You don't know the problems you are starting. But just remember that

you will have to deal with the choice you have made.

The next morning Lucah started to commit suicide but everyone stopped because

they felt bad for him. The real reason was because they wanted him to pay for his crime

with his life. That was the second mistake. When they got him down, he ran out. The
room was filled with chatter. The leader came out and told everyone that they made a

huge mistake. You should have just let him die. Now you will all feel the wrath of a

wrongly accused person. Everyone was scared, they didn't know what they had don't and

they didn't know what to do. A couple minutes later and they hear a scream. Lucah did

something worst than murder, he trapped everyone and made them all scared. But that

wasn't the end, he wanted to make them sick, hallucinate and die.

Because Lucah was wrongly accused, he wanted to pay people back. He didn't

commit the murder but, he was going to make them right. When you accuse someone,

they may end up doing the thing that you accused them of. You never know what will

happen if you accuse someone. So the next time you try to accuse someone without

actual proof they did it. DON'T!! You don't know what could happen.