Collect Summary Assignment Active Reading Step 2: Analysis From Summary to Critical Response/ Critical Thinking (CWH 123-125) (WOW Ch. 4) Discuss Response I Instructions |
(Excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave)
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Step 1: Comprehension (Summary)
Review: Habits/Practices to ensure that you are digesting and remembering what you read
Step 2: Critical Reading
Learning how to analyze/think critically about what you read
When you read, you must do more than memorize the details and facts from the text (comprehension), you must also go beyond a basic understanding of what the text says.
"5 Skills College Grads Need to get a Job" Megan Elliott (2015)
from USA Today
What type of text is this? Who is the audience?
What is Elliott's purpose?
Recap: Summary
Inference: a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning
Example 1: Elliott cites Lee Burdett Williams, the dean of students at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, who explains that "good interpersonal skills can make even a candidate with a less-marketable degree an appealing hire."
Critical Thinking questions that ask you to draw inferences from the text:
What inferences/assumptions/conclusions might you offer in response to this statement?
Thinking outside the text: Based on this evidence, what might you infer about higher education?
Example 2: In her discussion of problem solving skills, Elliott quotes Marie Artim, vice president of talent acquisition for Enterprise. Artim explains, "This is a generation that has been 'syllabused' through their lives."
Critical Thinking questions that ask you to draw inferences from the text:
Why does Artim use the word 'syllabused'?
Is this a positive or negative reference?
What is she suggesting about educational practices in the U.S?
Now you try:
Choose a specific statement/idea from the article, and create your own critical thinking question(s) that prompts us to draw an inference from the text.
Tip: Read between the lines. Recall areas of the texts that may suggest a claim or an idea that is not explicitly stated.
Good place to start for rhetorical analysis: Artistic Appeals
What artistic appeals (pathos, ethos, logos) does Elliott rely on to present her position? Are they effective?
Does/Where does the essay fall short (rhetorical weaknesses)?
When we write an essay, we want to find the best possible means of persuading our readers, and that means that we want to use the best method possible for organizing/structuring our essay/paragraphs/ideas. In this way, organization/structure is a rhetorical choice.
-each act of communication is anything but self-contained
-each communication is a response to other communications and other social practices
What are some of the larger social/cultural conversations/themes/ideas is Elliott joining?
-current events/issues/ideas connected to the essay
connecting ideas in one text to ideas in another text or ideas/discussion AND/OR thinking about the genre of the text in connection with current writing assignments (synthesis)
Examples of how Elliott's essay connects with ideas/themes discussed in class thus far
Examples of how Elliott's essay connects with other reading assignments
Think like a teacher: What about the reflection essay? How do the objectives/questions connect with the ideas presented in the essay?
Is there any way to synthesize Elliott's essay with "Warning: College Students, this Editorial May Upset You"?
Further synthesis/moving forward
Applying these critical reading practices in your future endeavors: Response 1