English C102 Capstone Project Rubric
/5 Hegelian letter (four paragraphs, grammar, logic, tone)
/5 Socratic dialogue (two pages, format, naturalness, techniques, grammar)
/5 Analysis of dialogue (three paragraphs, organization, grammar, rhetorical insights)
/15 TOTAL
1. Part I is your letter to a historical figure, celebrity, politician, writer, scientist, or other noteworthy person.  It is four paragraphs long. Your opening should address the recipient as “Dear ___.”

The letter consists of four paragraphs, a-d:

(a) You introduce yourself and establish your credibility and interest in the famous person;

(b) You summarize the person’s stance, position, or opinion on an issue (this section is called the “thesis”);

(c) You respectfully dispute all or portions of the person’s position (the “antithesis”);

(d) You propose a reasonable alternative or a compromise (the “synthesis”).

The tone should be moderate and reasonable. Each paragraph should be 6-10 sentences long.

This type of letter, broken into separate movements like a symphony’s, is called Hegelian dialectic!

2. Part II is a Socratic dialogue that you’ve created. Start by giving the setting and a description of the two characters who are speaking.  The entire dialogue will be exactly 2 pages long.  In it, one character persuades another character to accept his/her point of view.

Format it as if you were writing a play; double-space the dialogue as usual.
Employ 7-10 of the rhetorical techniques you learned from our Modules readings and notes.
On a separate page I’ve attached Phaedrus from Plato; use it as a model.
3. Part III is your analysis of your Socratic dialogue.  It should be only three paragraphs long.  Yes, you will write a mini-essay that assesses your own writing. It should be pretty easy to write, considering your inside knowledge of the author’s writing process!

Paragraph one is your introduction, which gives an overview of your Socratic dialogue and concludes with a thesis stating the purpose of your essay.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 analyze rhetorical techniques used in the dialogue by providing and deconstructing specific quotations from the dialogue.
For supporting details, remember to quote from your dialogue (don’t forget to use citations 🙂
The last few sentences of paragraph 3 conclude the essay.  Here you may talk about your experience writing the dialogue and what you perceive to be the dialogue’s strengths and weaknesses. 
Other notes on the essay analysis:

Dig deeply into minutia in the dialogue. Analyze closely organization, diction, rhetorical techniques, figurative language, realism of the dialogue, and so on.
You may use terms from the Toulmin Model. Be sure to set up your analysis just as you would any other 102 essay, with intro, body, and conclusion paragraphs.
As usual, each body paragraph should be structured around transitions, topic sentences, major/minor supporting evidence, and concluding sentences.