Common errors on Project #2

First: If you have not signed up for next week's conferences, you should SIGN UP NOW! We have fewer spots for this conference, so if you want to get the spot which works for you, do not procrastinate. Missing a conference means you receive a zero on your draft, puts you at risk of not participating in Classmate Review, and counts as two absences. You also do not get the grade-boosting feedback on your draft #1.

Project #2 is a completely different project than Project #1, which means it has different needs and pitfalls. Review the list below and utilize it as a checklist before your submit your Draft #1 to your Wix page and Canvas before 11:59 pm FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25. I will read your draft before we meet for conference next week.

Common errors include:

Relying too much on summary. Your reader does not need a play by play summary of the whole narrative to understand what you are analyzing. Your summaries should be short and sweet so you have more space for analysis. Try not to allow a summary to go over 25 words.
Forgetting all the elements of the rhetorical analysis. I want to be able to easily know that you understand the meaning of media, mode, audience, style and design, rhetorical appeals, and whether the composition fulfills or subverts genre conventions.
Make sure you understand how we are using the terminology of our classroom, especially for words like media or mode. Don't google what these terms mean, but actually read the lectures I assembled earlier in the semester OR consult your Bedford Book of Genres. The internet is vast and could lead you down a wrong road.
Too broad conventions. I noted on several curations about defining conventions with single word descriptors like witty, suspenseful, or gritty. Be more specific. Such as "Witty with quick banter." This tells me you understand the tools the subgenre uses to make something witty. Specifics show that you are not pointing at something but understanding how it works.
Don't Vaguebook. If you don't know what you are saying, your reader won't either. Use concise, precise language.
This is, That is, There are, It is: This is pointing language. Find any sentence which begins this way and rewrite it with a stronger subject.
Not including a captivating title. Draft #1 is not compelling. Always include a title which gives the reader an idea of what to expect with this paper. If your title says Project #2, or simply names the subgenre, that is not a compelling title.
Too long paragraphs. If the paragraph is over a page long, it is too long. Go into the paragraph and do a reverse outline. List claims and build new paragraphs around them, using those claims as new topic sentences. Your paragraphs will be more specific now.
Writing in 1st and 2nd person. Before you complete your draft, go to Find/Replace and search for all the I, me, my, mine, us, we, our, you, your. Then rewrite those sentences making sure they are now active sentences.
Passive Voice - Here is a tip: Ctr/F the word "was". Was is one of the "to be" verbs and almost always indicates you are using passive voice. When you find it, highlight your sentence's subject and then ask yourself if it is doing something or having something done to it. If the action is happening to the subject, it is passive. Gene was hit by Louise. Who performs the action? Louise! She should be the subject. Louise hit Gene.
Using rhetorical questions. Because you are no longer writing a research question based paper, there is no reason for any questions to be in your paper. Anywhere.
Not meeting the Word Count - For P2, the Word Count is 1,500 words. I can't give feedback on something which does not exist. I want all the words.