Step 1: Read and Annotate
In this module, there are Text Sets. Choose one set to work with for the rest of the Unit 2 project.
Then, once you’ve decided on a Text Set to work with, read one text from your chosen Text Set. Make sure you understand the text before proceeding.
Step 2: Prepare Your Answer:
After you read the article, and once you feel that you understand the article, your job is to craft a response to the article that contains the elements below:
1. Write a summary of the text. Use what you learned about summary to help you. For example, don’t forget to include the title of the article and the author’s name right away. There are rules for what summaries should look like. You can or refer to pages 80-82 in Ch. 7 of our textbook for an example summary.
2. Identify the rhetorical context for the text. You should also identify the specific audience and purpose of the text. In other words, who is the author trying to reach with their text (do not say everyone – be specific) and what message are they trying to communicate to this audience? Write this as a sentence that identifies the audience and purpose of the text. Example: “In ‘Free Falling,’ January Diaz argues that college students should take their writing classes seriously, because they…
After you’ve written that one sentence, follow it up with a sentence or two describing what the writer is responding to. What clues do you get from the text that tell you that? Example: It’s clear that the author is responding to the release of ChatGPT and to people who are worried that it will make students stop writing. In paragraph three, he quotes a few people who…
3. Choose two quotes that you think represent a particularly convincing or persuasive moment of the text. Each quote should be between 1-4 sentences long and in quotation marks. You will likely refer to these later, so place a page number (34) or timestamp (1:34) or paragraph number (para. 4) next to the quote This will help me and you locate the quote later.
Note: these quotes should come from very different parts of the text. For example, don’t break one paragraph up into two quotes or choose two quotes that really say the same thing. Each quote should represent a different point the author is making or a different way s/he persuaded you. This will help you later.
4. Analyze some rhetorical choices by the author. Speculate on why the author made some of those choices and discuss whether those choices were effective for the specific audience and purpose of the text. (Please revisit the material in the Rhetorical Choices Quiz to understand what I mean by “choices” here–that’s a major portion of this assignment and you need to make sure you understand it. You might also consult for ideas about what you can examine.)
Note: here, please do not discuss whether you agreewith the author of the textjust analyze the rhetorical choices they made and the points they are making. For example, if you are reading a text about the age that kids stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy, you wouldn’t discuss whether you agree that kids still believe in the Tooth Fairy at too late an age–instead, would discuss the organization, examples, page design, statistics, emotional language, etc, in the text. See the handout above for more examples.
When you analyze the authors choices, please be specificenough that I know exactly what moment in the text you are talking about. In this portion of your response, any quotes you include should be very brief.
5. Name and respond to one claim that the author/speaker makes that you agree with one point you disagree with. Be specific enough for me to understand this portion of your response. For example, “I disagree about plagiarism” would confuse me–what did the author say about plagiarism and which part of that do you disagree with? Instead, “I disagree with the author that students plagiarize because they are lazy. I think sometimes students plagiarize when they feel lost or confused and instead of asking for help, they plagiarize.”
6. Name one idea/quote that confused you OR one idea/quote that you felt you don’t know very much about.
