Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you to refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it for grading until you have completed the unit’s Challenges. After you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted towards your final course score.

Touchstone 2.2: Informative Essay Draft

BEFORE YOU START

Consider revisiting the Types and Characteristics of Informative Writing tutorial about the purpose and types of informative writing. You might find it helpful to review the section on analytical writing if choosing Prompt A, and the section on definition writing if choosing Prompt B to kick-start writing this informative essay.

ASSIGNMENT: Select one of the following writing prompts and draft a 3-5 page (approximately 800-1300 words) informative essay.

    •    Prompt A: Image Analysis

    •    Prompt B: Extended Definition

As a part of your completed draft, complete the color-coding activity described below. In addition, answer the “Think About Your Writing” questions on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your draft submission. 

HINT

In the next Unit, Touchstone 3 will be a revision of the draft that you submit for Touchstone 2.2 based on the grader’s feedback and suggestions.

Sample Image Analysis Essay: Prompt A 

Sample Extended Definition Essay: Prompt B 

In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI. 

CopyLeaks Originality Checker: All writing will be checked for originality. Avoid using any outside text from third party sources since research is not required to complete Touchstone 2.2. Focus on showcasing your ability to rely on common knowledge for this informative essay.

A. Directions

Step 1: Choose a Prompt and Write an Informative Essay

Choose one of the following prompts for your informative essay.

PROMPT A: IMAGE ANALYSIS

Although we look at print advertisements every day, we often do not consider the ways in which they affect us. Visual images in ads can influence and persuade us, so it is important to evaluate them critically and objectively to understand their meaning and effectiveness. Good image analysis involves an examination of the components of an image (layout, text, color, tone) to gain an understanding of the whole.

    1    Select an advertisement image to analyze. To find a print advertisement to analyze, you can search the web using the keywords “print ad” or you could even find and take a picture of a local poster or billboard in your neighborhood. We recommend you choose a print ad that includes text, imagery, and color to best complete this assignment.

    2    Conduct an image analysis: The print advertisement you choose should be directed toward a specific audience. To identify the intended audience, think about the members of the potential audience for the advertisement that you have chosen. Who are they? Ads for a beauty product, for example, may be aimed at young people; ads for a deodorant might target adults; a diaper commercial is likely intended for new parents; ads for cruise trips might be aimed at retirees. You can use any academically-appropriate advertisement to complete this assignment, as long as its intended audience is clearly identified. In your analysis, consider how design components within the image (such as layout, text, color, and tone) appeal to the audience and provide and establish context for the ad’s overall purpose.

    3    Your thesis must inform the reader of the specific ad chosen and the plan to analyze it. Because you are writing in the informative mode, use objective language and a neutral point of view. For this essay, the informative mode means avoiding writing in the first-person and/or expressing personal bias towards the ad’s overall intention or effectiveness.

    4    Draft an analytical essay that examines the audience, context, and purpose of the advertising image you’ve chosen.

HINT

Read the article by Marco Anders titled “Visual Rhetoric in Advertising” found in the Model Informative Essays tutorial for ideas about how to effectively write an image analysis. Your analysis should lead to a conclusion about the ad’s effectiveness, based on an examination of its components. Include the image with your draft.

PROMPT B: EXTENDED DEFINITION

    1    Extend the definition of one of the following words beyond either the dictionary’s definition or a societal understanding of the word:

    •    Family

    •    Success

    •    Courage

    •    Art

    •    Beauty

    2    In the introduction of your draft, briefly explain how the dictionary or society defines the word you’ve selected, and then explain the extended definition of the word in a single-sentence thesis towards the end that outlines the main points of extension. In the body paragraphs, provide unique examples and explanations to support these points of the extended definition.

    3    Your thesis must inform your readers of the extended definition and, because you are writing in the informative mode, you must use objective language. For this essay, writing in the informative mode means avoiding writing in the first-person and/or framing personal examples using objective language.

    4    Draft an extended definition essay that defines or redefines a word or concept.

HINT

Read the article by Hallie Radcliffe’s titled “Mindfulness: Cutting Through the Noise” found in the Model Informative Essays tutorial for ideas about how to write an extended definition essay.

Step 2. Think About Your Writing

As a part of your completed draft, complete the color-coding activity and include answers to all of the questions below your draft.

PART 1: Color-Coding Activity

Using the color codes provided, evaluate your draft as follows:

    •    Use red text to indicate your thesis statement.

    •    Use green text to indicate the topic sentence of each body paragraph.

PART 2: Reflection Questions

    1    What is the significance of your essay? Why should readers care about what you have written? (2-3 sentences) Sophia says: Think about why you decided to analyze this particular image, or why you picked the word you chose to define. Your interest in your subject matter should be clear to readers.

    2    Which areas of your draft do you think will benefit most from revision? (2-3 sentences) Sophia says: Consider the organization, style, focus, development, and conventions of your draft. Which areas did you struggle to complete?

    3    Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your writing. How can you capitalize on your strengths and improve on your weaknesses in future essays? (3-4 sentences) Sophia says: Think about what was easy about writing the draft, and what was more difficult. For example, if you write paragraphs with strong topic sentences, but repeatedly use the same type of sentence to provide supporting details, you can improve your paragraphs by varying sentence structure.