Analytical Essay 1 – Analytical writing serves as a transition for students to develop more formal elements of academic writing: the thesis statement, topic sentences, organization, specific examples to support one’s thesis, etc. These formal elements may be expressed in one or more of the following rhetorical modes: cause and effect, process analysis, definition, position or evaluation. The essay will be 3-4 pages, double-spaced in 12pt font, have a clear thesis, introduction, body, and conclusion. Descriptions will be supported with examples, testimony, and quotes, using APA format (for both format and citations). The essay will be graded with the Dialogues Written Communication Grading Rubric.

For this specific assignment, drawn from the readings on Rousseau’s Origin of a Civil Society, your essay will explain the concept of a social contract and analyze the non/existence of an ongoing and functional social contract in America. Your essay will be in APA format (at least five pages of: cover page, three-four pages of essay text with in-text citations, and a final page of sources), based on class readings, class discussion, and will require additional independent research.