The Art of the Audio Essay
PWR 2 Fall Quarter 2007

Jonah Willihnganz

Stanford University

Table of Editorial Notations

RS                              Rhetorical Situation: usually, you don't sufficiently take into account your audience

CTX                          Context: closely related to the Rhetorical Situation—usually, you need to provide more historical or discursive context and/or the main argument of what is being analyzed

T               Thesis: usually, the thesis is weak or absent

TS                              Topic Sentence: the paragraph lacks a strong topic sentence that simultaneously refers back to the thesis and describes the point of the paragraph. The topic sentence may appear at the beginning or at the end of a paragraph, but if it appears at the end, the paragraph must lead with a strong transition from the previous paragraph.

EV                             Evidence: usually, the evidence (such as a passage or statistic) does not seem to support the claim of the essay or point of the paragraph    

QT                             Quotation (or Passage): the quote is not introduced or situated well; or it used simply to reiterate a point in different words rather than as an occasion for analysis (see handout on Quotations)

CL            Clarity: see and apply clarity principles

CH          Cohesion: see and apply cohesion principles

TRAN                     Transition: usually, an absent, weak, or faulty transition from one paragraph to the next. Generally remedied by the "oldˆnew" cohesion strategy or reorganizing essay's analysis so that it proceeds logically chronologically.

1PP                            1 Point Per Paragraph: usually, the paragraph contains too many points and must be broken up and/or revised so that it develops just a single point that furthers the thesis

PRC                          Precision: usually, this refers to places where more conceptual precision is need. Other times it can refer simply to places where more specific and concrete language is needed to make a point clear.

IE                               Intellectually Empty: overuse of normative descriptors (such as "bold" "graceful" "fascinating" "well-written") that do not help develop a substantive analytical interpretation or claim.

SIMP                        Simplify: simplify the grammatical structure of the sentence. For help, see clarity principles or Strunk and White handout on achieving simplicity.

ID            Idiom: inaccurate use of an idiomatic expression

G                                 Grammar: any grammatical error, usually specified by my marginal note.

DCT                          Inconsistent or Awkward Diction: usually, word choice that veers from formal to colloquial and back again.

FOR        Format: incorrect format of essay or bibliography.