Summary And Critical Response 2
Summary And Critical Response
Summary and critical response for Unite 2 and 3 I think the total of 150 to 200 summary and 400 to 500 words for critical response. The article is pages 260-262 of your 10th edition textbook working at MacDonalds
** NOTE: Both sections of this assignment (the Summary and the Critical Response) should be saved as ONE DOCUMENT in the file name format described below.
Please submit your Summary & Critical Response Essay here as an attachment for grading. Before you post your Summary & Critical Response Essay, be sure to save your work with the following file name:
Yourlastname Yourfirstname Summary Response
For example, if I were turning in my Unit #3 Summary & Critical Response Essay, I would save it to my computer with the following file name:
Johnstun Mary Summary Response
REMINDER: The Summary & Critical Response Essay is covered in Units #2 & #3, and it is due at the end of Unit #3.
Please consult the syllabus for a complete list of due dates. This list is also available under course announcements.
Formatting Basics: In terms of formatting, 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and double-spacing are the basics that are generally preferred in academic writing. It is also helpful to indent the first line of each new paragraph. In terms of the program you use to save your work, Microsoft Word is preferred, but please just let me know if you have questions about other acceptable programs.
Unit 2: Introduction
| Summary & Critical Response In your previous Composition I course, you may have been required to complete a Summary and Strong Response Essay, asking you to summarize and respond to the writing of others, using short examples and anecdotes from our your own lives to support your responses. In Composition II, we take this assignment to a new level. We will be summarizing a more complex and sophisticated piece of writing, and we will then be analyzing it from a critical perspective, determining the successfulness of the author’s strategies. |
Unit 2: Reading
Though the content is very similar, the specific page numbers of your reading assignment may vary depending on your edition of the textbook.
11th Edition Reading Assignment: The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Chapter 12, page 500 through the bottom of page 512 (stopping just before the section entitled “Synthesizing”). Also, read “Working at McDonald’s,” pages 247-250, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Critical Response assignment. 10th Edition Reading Assignment: The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Chapter 12, page 521 through the bottom of pxage 533 (stopping just before the section entitled “Synthesizing”). Also, read “Working at McDonald’s,” pages 260-262, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Critical Response assignment. 9th Edition Reading Assignment:
The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Chapter 12, page 575 through the bottom of page 588 (stopping just before the section entitled “Synthesizing”). Also, read “Working at McDonald’s,” pages 280-283, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Critical Response assignment. Unit 2: Example
A Sample Summary
The following is an example of how one student summarized the article “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names.” (Remember: “Sticks and Stones” is not the article that you will be reading and responding to. However, this example does provide a good example of how to craft summaries in general.)
Summary of “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names”
In “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names,” Richard Estrada argues that sports teams should not be allowed to continue using ethnic-based names and mascots. Estrada claims that teams such as the Braves, Indians, Seminoles, and Redskins—no matter how established or popular—should change their team names and mascots, which are degrading to Native Americans. He further suggests that the stereotypes accompanying these mascots, such as “tomahawk chops and war chants,” dehumanize and single out Native Americans, setting them aside from the rest of society. “Nobody likes to be trivialized or deprived of his or her dignity,” Estrada asserts, and yet allowing ethnic-based mascots enables—and even promotes—such trivialization. What makes matters worse, according to Estrada, is that such mascots target one of our nation’s least politically powerful ethnic groups. He provides examples of other possible team names based on other ethnic minorities (such as the “New York Jews”), which would never be tolerated in our society. As a result, Estrada concludes that Native Americans should be treated with simple human dignity, just like everyone else. 178 Words
Older Editions:
The page numbers listed above are for the two latest editions of our textbook. The page numbers listed above are for the new 9th edition. If you still have the 8th edition, please read pages 584-598 in Chapter 12, stopping just before the section entitled “Synthesizing.” Also, read “Working at McDonald’s” on pages 283-286. (7th edition = read pages 583-597. Also, read “Nickel and Dimed,” pages 269-273, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Strong Response.)
Unit 2: Assignment — Summary & Critical Response (Part I)
Major Paper #1—Summary & Critical Response
We will be working on this assignment for the next two units. In this unit, we will focus on the summary. In Unit 3, we will focus on the critical response. The paper will be due at the end of Unit 3.
Purpose:
Most of us use critical reading strategies everyday to effectively process all of the information we are consistently bombarded with. This assignment allows you continue to explore ideas of reading and writing rhetorically, as you will use different strategies to write your summary and your strong response.
The Assignment:
This assignment will have two parts:
In this unit, we will be focusing on Part 1: The Summary.
The Summary
Summarize in 150-200 words the article your instructor has chosen from the assignment. Please use “Working at McDonald’s” on pages 247-250 of your 10th edition textbook (or pages 260-262 of your 10th edition textbook, or pages 280-283 of your 9th edition book). In this summary, you should relay the article’s main points, completely and accurately, in your own words. If you find yourself in a situation in which the author’s words needed to be quoted directly (perhaps for emphasis), you must make it clear that these words are the author’s by using quotation marks appropriately. You will not want to quote anything over one sentence in length, and you will want to limit yourself to no more than 2-3 direct quotes, if you use any at all. Remember that the whole point of this portion of the assignment is for you to restate the author’s points objectively in your own words.
In general, I recommend you structure your first sentence something like this:
In “Working at McDonald’s,” Amitai Etzioni argues that…
This will function as the thesis statement of your summary, so this first sentence will need to convey the main point(s) of the article to give your reader an overall view.
Please be sure to review the Submitting Your Assignment of Unit #3 section for specific instructions on how you should turn in your work for grading. The Summary & Critical Response Essay with both required sections is due at the end of Unit #3. NOTE FOR THOSE WITH OLDER EDITIONS: If you have the 8th edition, please use “Working at McDonald’s” on pages 283-286 in the 8th edition. If you have the 7th edition, please use “Nickel and Dimed” on pages 270-273.
Unit 2: Lecture Notes
What is a summary?
A summary is simply a recounting of the main points of an article. But what should it really include? How is the summary formatted? The best way to learn how to write a summary is to read and examine someone else’s summary.
Before you read the rest of this lecture, please read the short essay entitled “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names.”
Sticks and Stones and Sports.pdf
A Sample Summary
The following is an example of how one student summarized the article “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names.” (Remember: “Sticks and Stones” is not the article that you will be reading and responding to. However, this example does provide a good example of how to craft summaries in general.) As you read this example, ask yourself what you notice about the summary—in terms of purpose, focus, tone, organization and formatting.
***
Summary of “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names”
In “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names,” Richard Estrada argues that sports teams should not be allowed to continue using ethnic-based names and mascots. Estrada claims that teams such as the Braves, Indians, Seminoles, and Redskins—no matter how established or popular—should change their team names and mascots, which are degrading to Native Americans. He further suggests that the stereotypes accompanying these mascots, such as “tomahawk chops and war chants,” dehumanize and single out Native Americans, setting them aside from the rest of society. “Nobody likes to be trivialized or deprived of his or her dignity,” Estrada asserts, and yet allowing ethnic-based mascots enables—and even promotes—such trivialization. What makes matters worse, according to Estrada, is that such mascots target one of our nation’s least politically powerful ethnic groups. He provides examples of other possible team names based on other ethnic minorities (such as the “New York Jews”), which would never be tolerated in our society. As a result, Estrada concludes that Native Americans should be treated with simple human dignity, just like everyone else. 178 Words
***
So what did you notice? What does the summary include? How is it formatted?
Perhaps first you noticed that the student writer’s opinion of “Sticks and Stones and Sport Team Names” is not included. Rather, the student is trying to simply convey the main points of Estrada’s original article. Remember: Whether you liked the article or didn’t like it, whether you agreed with the author or disagreed, your opinion does not belong in the summary.
Second, you may have realized that the first sentence is very important in the summary. The first sentence must to three things clearly and concisely: 1.) Mention the name of the original article; 2.) Identify the author of the original article; 3.) give a sense of the overall claim or point the author was trying to make.
Maybe next you observed that the original author was referred to in some way in every sentences. Richard Estrada argues, Estrada claims, He further suggests, Estrada asserts, according to Estrada, He provides examples, Estrada concludes—these are all called “attributive tags.” Attributive tags are designed to remind the reader that these are Estrada’s ideas (not yours), and thus give proper credit where credit is due. Notice how the student writer in the example above has varied his attributive tags, using different ways to refer to the author (Estrada and he), and using different verbs to explain what Estrada was communicating. The student writer also varied the placement of the attributive tag in several places. (Often the attributive tag comes at the beginning of the sentence, but sometimes an attributive tag will fit into the middle or end of the sentence. You will also want to include an attributive tag in each sentence of your summary, and you will want to vary these references.
You may have also noticed that the student writer who is summarizing Estrada’s work has used direct quotes very sparingly. Any time he did use even a phrase of Estrada’s word-for-word, he put it in quotation marks to indicate this. **NOTE: While in most papers you would need to use intext parenthetical citations with the author’s last name and page number such as (Estrada 280) any time you summarized any ideas or material from your source, these are not necessary in a contained summary such as this. They will be necessary in future assignments such as the research paper.
Next, you may have observed how the last sentence of the summary really seems to wrap things up and provide a sense of conclusion. You will want the last sentence of your summary to provide the reader with a sense of conclusion as well.
Finally, you probably noticed the word count, included at the end of the summary. Sticking within 150-200 words is important in the summary, so I will want you to include your word count.
But how do I get from here to there?
I recommend you use the concepts discussed in your reading from Chapter 12 as a sort of step-by-step guide to get you organized to write your summary.
1.) Annotate. Read and re-read the essay “Working at McDonald’s,” and take notes. Mark things in the text that you think are important, especially noting what seem to be the main points of the article. Write questions you have in the margins, and note places where you are convinced or skeptical. (This will also help you in the next unit when you’re trying to get ideas for your strong response.)
2.) Take Inventory. Group your notes in a way that makes sense to you.
3.) Outline. This does not have to be a formal outline in any sense of the term. But it can be a good idea to try to list or map the main points of the article, before you actually start drafting your summary.
4.) Write your summary, restating the article’s main points in your own words.
** Note for those with older textbooks: You can find “Sticks and Stones and Sport Team Names” from the bottom of page 279 through page 281 in your 8th edition textbook or pages 266-267 in your 7th edition textbook.
nit 3: Introduction
| Now that you’ve summarized the article objectively, it’s time to carefully analyze it. In this unit, we’ll be drafting the critical response, the section of this assignment in which you get to engage the article critically. Is “Working at McDonald’s” an effective piece of persuasive writing? Why or why not? |
Unit 3: Reading
Though the content is very similar, the specific page numbers of your reading assignment may vary depending on your edition of the textbook.
11th Edition Reading Assignment: The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Chapter 12, bottom of page 512 (starting with the section entitled “Synthesizing”) through page 522. Also, re-read “Working at McDonald’s,” pages 247-250, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Critical Response assignment. 10th Edition Reading Assignment: The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Chapter 12, bottom of page 533 (starting with the section entitled “Synthesizing”) through page 543. Also, re-read “Working at McDonald’s,” pages 260-262, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Critical Response assignment. 9th Edition Reading Assignment:
The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Chapter 12, bottom of page 588 (starting with the section entitled “Synthesizing”) through page 598. Also, re-read “Working at McDonald’s,” pages 280-283, as this is the article you will be using as the basis of your Summary & Critical Response assignment. Older Editions:
The page numbers listed above are for the two latest editions of our textbook. If you still have the 8th or 7th edition, please read pages 598-608.
Unit 3: Assignment — Summary & Critical Response (Part II)
Major Paper #1—Summary/Critical Response
In the last unit, we focused on crafting the summary. In this unit, we will focus on the second half of this paper: the critical response. The paper (including both sections–the summary and the critical response) will be due at the end of this unit.
The Assignment:
This assignment has two parts:
In this unit, we will be focusing on Part 2, the Critical Response.
Critical Response
Write a two page (minimum of 400-500 words) response to the article your instructor has chosen from the assignment. Please use “Working at McDonald’s” on pages 247-250 of your 11th edition book (or pages 260-262 of your 10th edition textbook / pages 280-283 of your 9th edition book).
Before you even begin drafting, you will want to decide on the terms of your response. Once you decide on the terms (or grounds) of your response, you’ll want to figure out how you can support your points—using logic, outside evidence—whatever is appropriate. Your response cannot be based on simply your opinion about the issue.
Please be sure to review the Submitting Your Assignment of Unit #3 section for specific instructions on how you should turn in your work for grading. The Summary & Critical Response Essay with both required sections is due at the end of Unit #3. NOTE FOR THOSE WITH OLDER EDITIONS: If you have the 8th edition, please use “Working at McDonald’s” on pages 283-286 in the 8th edition. If you have the 7th edition, please use “Nickel and Dimed” on pages 270-273.
Unit 3: Lecture Notes
A Sample Critical Response
The following is an example of how one student responded to the article “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names.” (Again, remember: “Sticks and Stones” is not the article that you will be reading and responding to. However, this example does provide a good example of how to craft the critical response, in general.)
As you read this example, ask yourself what you notice about the critical response—in terms of purpose, focus, tone, organization and formatting.
***
Sticks and Stones and Contradictions
I found Richard Estrada’s article, “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names,” unconvincing, and also a bit confusing. Estrada’s language seems inflated, exaggerated, and even contradictory. His evidence is entirely anecdotal, and as a result, we receive very few concrete facts to support his claims. In addition, Estrada’s credibility is unclear throughout the article.
To begin with, Estrada uses many exaggerated and contradictory phrases. For instance, Estrada claims that using ethic sports teams names and mascots is “dehumanizing” to Native Americans (280). To “dehumanize” is to deprive someone of human qualities, yet Estrada never proves that this is actually what ethic sports names actually do. In fact, he completely contradicts this notion of “dehumanization” in the previous sentence, by discussing why these mascots were chosen in the first place. “The noble symbols of the Redskins or college football’s Florida Seminoles or the Illinois Illini are meant to be strong and proud” (Estrada 280). Noble. Strong. Proud. These are all human qualities; indeed, they are qualities many people aspire to attain. So how can such symbols be dehumanizing?
In addition, the title “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names” itself seems to contradict Estrada’s claims. By invoking the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” Estrada seems to imply that mascots and team names don’t matter at all. I had to read the article several times before I finally grasped his intentions. Estrada is trying to be ironic. Although his title alludes to the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” Estrada is actually trying to prove the opposite: Words can hurt us, and deeply. While most people are probably familiar with the original children’s rhyme, I don’t believe that most readers will know that they should be reading Estrada’s title ironically. This is particularly true when we consider Estrada’s intended audience. This column was written for the Dallas Morning News, not for the classroom setting. How many people really critically read their morning newspapers? How many people study such articles carefully, rather than skimming, and read them several times?
Next, Estrada’s lack of concrete evidence is problematic. Other than references to particular teams, his evidence is entirely anecdotal and often hearsay. For example, overhearing a father’s complaint on the radio about a largely unrelated incident—a school dress-up day—does little to prove the real harms of ethnic sports names and mascots. This story only shows that one person was offended by an irresponsible decision made by a few insensitive teachers. What Estrada needs to prove is real harm done: Perhaps interviewing or surveying a group of Native Americans to hear their thoughts on this subject. Perhaps citing a psychological or sociological study that proves the lasting impacts of mascots in social development. How does seeing these mascots affect the way people of other races view Native Americans? How does seeing these mascots affect the way Native Americans view themselves? Do most Native Americans feel offended by mascots such as the Braves and the Redskins? These are all questions Estrada needs to answer with more concrete evidence.
Finally, Estrada’s credibility and investment in this issue are unclear throughout his article. Is Estrada Native American? He certainly doesn’t have to be to care about this issue, but either way, he should make it clearer why he cares. If Estrada is Native American, does he presume to speak on behalf of all Native Americans? If Estrada is not Native American, how does he know any Native Americans are actually offended? (Other than the father who called the radio station, of course.) What Estrada thinks about this issue is clear. But what does he really know about it?
Before I read this article, I already believed that ethnic-based mascots could be degrading. But Estrada does nothing to actually prove this degradation. His article includes exaggerated and contradictory language, but no concrete facts, and no clear evidence of the author’s credibility. In the end, sticks and stones may break my bones, but Estrada’s words cannot convince me.
***
Again, what did you notice? What does the critical response include? How is it formatted?
The first paragraph of this section defines the terms of the response and the student’s claims. In the example above, for instance, the student is focusing on exaggerated language, lack of evidence, and the author’s lack of credibility. You will want the terms of your response to be clear in the first paragraph as well, so that your reader will know where you’re going.
The last paragraph of this section provides a sense of conclusion and restates the student’s claims/terms of response. You will also want your closing paragraph to wrap things up, and reemphasize your points.
Between the first paragraph and the last paragraph, however, what’s happening? The student is devoting at least one paragraph to each of his claims. For instance, paragraphs 2 and 3 offer examples and explanation to support the student’s claim that Estrada uses exaggerated, contradictory language. Paragraph 4 offers examples and explanation to support the student’s claim that the article lacks evidence. Paragraph 5 offers examples and explanation to support the student’s claim that Estrada’s lack credibility. I recommend you use this 1-2 paragraphs per claim structure, which should help keep you organized and the reader on track.
Finally, perhaps you also noticed the funny little (280) things dispersed throughout the response. Those are known asparenthetical citations. They tell us the page of the article from which the student is paraphrasing ideas that are not his own (and/or places in which he is directly quoting the author, though the direct quotes also need to be in “quotation marks”).
But how do I get from here to there?
As with the summary, I recommend you consider the materials in your chapter as a guide in crafting your critical response. In particular, the last five reading strategies in Chapter 12 offer a helpful guide to determining the grounds of your response.
However, unlike the strong response in Comp I, in which you were allowed to reflect on your own views of the issue at hand, you may not do much of that in the paper. You want to talk about the successfulness of the writing, not your opinions or beliefs.
While you may not just focus on your personal beliefs, you do have the following options in terms of the grounds of your response:
*EVALUATING THE LOGIC OF THE ARGUMENT
– This includes questions of “appropriateness,” “believability,” and “consistency/completeness,” as discussed on pages 594-596.
*RECOGNIZING EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION
– This includes questions relating to emotionally manipulative techniques such as overly emotional or tear-jerking language, exaggerated statistics, scary stories, doomsday-type imaginative scenarios, and other over-the-top emotionally-laden moves that the writer may be using to manipulative the reader. (See pages 596-597.)
*JUDGING THE WRITER’S CREDIBILITY
– This includes questions related to the writer’s “knowledge,” “fairness,” and use of “common ground,” as discussed on pages 597-598.
To determine your grounds, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:
1.) Do you want your response to focus on evaluating the logic of the argument? In other words, do you want to critically analyze whether the reasoning and support offered in the article is believable and sufficient?
2.) Do you want your response to focus on the issue of emotional manipulation? In other words, do you want to discuss areas in the article where the author seems to be exaggerating or using other tools inappropriately to gain your sympathy or compliance to his/her point of view?
3.) Do you want your response to focus on the credibility of the author? In other words, do you want to consider whether the author seems appropriately knowledgeable and fairly considers other arguments or points of view?
You may be able to focus your entire response on just one of the above issues. Or you may decide to discuss two or three issues that seem related. (For instance, in the sample strong response, the student chose to discuss emotional manipulation—number 2 on this list, lack of evidence—number 1 on this list, and the author’s lack of credibility—number 3 on this list.)
Please keep in mind that while the strong response must be “critical” in some way, this does not mean that it has to be negative. Despite the example above, a critical response may discuss the ways in which the article is successful and convincing.
Unit 3: Example
A Sample Critical Response
The following is an example of how one student responded to the article “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names.” (Again, remember: “Sticks and Stones” is not the article that you will be reading and responding to. However, this example does provide a good example of how to craft the critical response, in general.)
Sticks and Stones and Contradictions
I found Richard Estrada’s article, “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names,” unconvincing and confusing. Estrada’s language seems inflated, exaggerated, and even contradictory. His evidence is entirely anecdotal, and as a result, we receive very few concrete facts to support his claims. In addition, Estrada’s credibility is unclear throughout the article.
To begin with, Estrada uses many exaggerated and contradictory phrases. For instance, Estrada claims that using ethic sports teams names and mascots is “dehumanizing” to Native Americans (280). To “dehumanize” is to deprive someone of human qualities, yet Estrada never proves that this is actually what ethic sports names actually do. In fact, he completely contradicts this notion of “dehumanization” in the previous sentence, by discussing why these mascots were chosen in the first place. “The noble symbols of the Redskins or college football’s Florida Seminoles or the Illinois Illini are meant to be strong and proud” (Estrada 280). Noble. Strong. Proud. These are all human qualities; indeed, they are qualities many people aspire to attain. So how can such symbols be dehumanizing?
In addition, the title “Sticks and Stones and Sports Team Names” itself seems to contradict Estrada’s claims. By invoking the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” Estrada seems to imply that mascots and team names don’t matter at all. I had to read the article several times before I finally grasped his intentions. Estrada is trying to be ironic. Although his title alludes to the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” Estrada is actually trying to prove the opposite: Words can hurt us, and deeply. While most people are probably familiar with the original children’s rhyme, I don’t believe that most readers will know that they should be reading Estrada’s title ironically. This is particularly true when we consider Estrada’s intended audience. This column was written for the Dallas Morning News, not for the classroom setting. How many people really critically read their morning newspapers? How many people study such articles carefully, rather than skimming, and read them several times?
Next, Estrada’s lack of concrete evidence is problematic. Other than references to particular teams, his evidence is entirely anecdotal and often hearsay. For example, overhearing a father’s complaint on the radio about a largely unrelated incident—a school dress-up day—does little to prove the real harms of ethnic sports names and mascots. This story only shows that one person was offended by an irresponsible decision made by a few insensitive teachers. What Estrada needs to prove is real harm done: Perhaps interviewing or surveying a group of Native Americans to hear their thoughts on this subject. Perhaps citing a psychological or sociological study that proves the lasting impacts of mascots in social development. How does seeing these mascots affect the way people of other races view Native Americans? How does seeing these mascots affect the way Native Americans view themselves? Do most Native Americans feel offended by mascots such as the Braves and the Redskins? These are all questions Estrada needs to answer with more concrete evidence.
Finally, Estrada’s credibility and investment in this issue are unclear throughout his article. Is Estrada Native American? He certainly doesn’t have to be to care about this issue, but either way, he should make it clearer why he cares. If Estrada is Native American, does he presume to speak on behalf of all Native Americans? If Estrada is not Native American, how does he know any Native Americans are actually offended? (Other than the father who called the radio station, of course.) What Estrada thinks about this issue is clear. But what does he really know about it?
Before I read this article, I already believed that ethnic-based mascots could be degrading. But Estrada does nothing to actually prove this degradation. His article includes exaggerated and contradictory language, but no concrete facts, and no clear evidence of the author’s credibility. In the end, sticks and stones may break my bones, but Estrada’s words cannot convince me.
1 Introduction: Thinking about Writing 1
PART 1 Writing Activities
2 Remembering an Event 8 3 Writing Profiles 58 4 Explaining a Concept 116 5 Finding Common Ground 172 6 Arguing a Position 242 7 Proposing a Solution 296 8 Justifying an Evaluation 350 9 Speculating about Causes 402
10 Analyzing Stories 457
PART 2 Critical Thinking Strategies
11 A Catalog of Invention Strategies 508 12 A Catalog of Reading Strategies 521
PART 3 Writing Strategies
13 Cueing the Reader 546 14 Narrating 561 15 Describing 574 16 Defining 586 17 Classifying 594 18 Comparing and Contrasting 601 19 Arguing 608 20 Analyzing Visuals 626
Brief Contents
21 Designing Documents 640 22 Writing in Business and Scientific
Genres 652
PART 4 Research Strategies
23 Planning a Research Project 666 24 Finding Sources and Conducting Field
Research 674
25 Evaluating Sources 690 26 Using Sources to Support Your Ideas 697 27 Citing and Documenting Sources in MLA
Style 709
28 Citing and Documenting Sources in APA Style 739
PART 5 Writing for Assessment
29 Essay Examinations 752 30 Writing Portfolios 766
PART 6 Writing and Speaking to Wider Audiences
31 Oral Presentations 772 32 Working with Others 777 33 Writing in Your Community 781
To access the e-Pages that accompany this text, visit bedfordstmartins.com/theguide/epages. Students who do not buy a new book can purchase access to e-Pages at this site.
Chapter 2: Remembering an Event Shannon Lewis, We Were Here [student reading selection] Juliane Koepcke, How I Survived a Plane Crash [newspaper
article and linked podcast interview] Andrew Lam, Waterloo [book excerpt] Playing with Genre: Kate Beaton, Treasure [annotated cartoon]
Chapter 3: Writing Profiles Brianne O’Leary, Fatty’s Custom Tattooz and Body Piercing
[student reading selection] Sam Dillon, 4,100 Students Prove “Small Is Better” Rule Wrong
[newspaper article and slideshow] Veronica Chambers, The Secret Latina [magazine article
with illustrations] Playing with Genre: Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, Skull Cleaner
[linked video]
Chapter 4: Explaining a Concept Ammar Rana, Jihad: The Struggle in the Way of God [student
reading selection] Slate, What Extremely Walkable and Unwalkable Neighborhoods
Look Like [interactive maps and chart] Melinda Beck, What Cocktail Parties Teach Us [newspaper article] Playing with Genre: National Geographic Online, Mapping Memory
[annotated web pages]
Chapter 5: Finding Common Ground Chris Sexton, Virtual Reality? [student reading selection] Playing with Genre: Bloggingheads.tv [podcast interview with
jonathan haidt]
Understanding the Issue of Unpaid Internships Raphael Pope-Sussman, Let’s Abolish This Modern-Day Coal Mine
[op-ed] David Lat, Why Mess with a Win-Win Situation? [op-ed] Camille Olson, A Valuable Idea, If We Follow the Law [op-ed]
Understanding the Issue of Global Warming David McCandless, The Global Warming Skeptics vs. the Scientific
Consensus [infographic]
Chapter 6: Arguing a Position Michael Niechayev, It’s Time to Ban Head-First Tackles and Blocks
[student reading selection]
Farhad Manjoo, Troll, Reveal Thyself [annotated web page and linked podcast interview]
Laurie Fendrich, Sex for Tuition [op-ed] Playing with Genre: Ad Council / U.S. Department of Transportation,
The “It’s Only Another Beer” Black and Tan [annotated advertisement]
Chapter 7: Proposing a Solution Molly Coleman, Missing the Fun [student reading selection] TempoHousing, Keetwonen (Amsterdam Student Housing)
[interactive web page] Zach Youngerman, Did Bad Neighborhood Design Doom Trayvon
Martin? [op-ed] Playing with Genre: Ad Council, The $9 Lunch [annotated
advertisement]
Chapter 8: Justifying an Evaluation Brittany Lemus, Requiem for a Dream: Fantasy versus Reality
[student reading selection] Marlon Bishop, Gig Alert: Bright Eyes [interactive web page
and sound file] Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell, Isn’t Narcissism
Beneficial, Especially in a Competitive World? [book excerpt] Playing with Genre: Yelp, Kuma’s Korner [annotated web page]
Chapter 9: Speculating about Causes Michele Cox, The Truth about Lying [student reading selection] On the Media, The Reel Sounds of Violence [podcast interview
with daniel engber] Shirley S. Wang, A Field Guide to the Middle-Class U.S. Family
[newspaper article] Playing with Genre: Jonathan Jarvis, The Crisis of Credit Visualized
[animated infographic]
Chapter 10: Analyzing Stories Sally Crane, Gazing into the Darkness [student reading selection] David Ratinov, From Innocence to Insight: “Araby” as an Initiation
Story [student reading selection] Playing with Genre: Natalie George, Lacey Patzer, and Sam
Williams, “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin [student video] Adrian Tomine, Mandarin Accent [graphic story (excerpt)] Sandra Tsing Loh, My Father’s Chinese Wives [story] Jamaica Kincaid, Girl
Inside the e-Pages for The St. Martin’s Guide
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The St Martin’s Guide to Writing
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Preface iii
The St Martin’s Guide to Writing
Rise B. Axelrod University of California, Riverside
Charles R. Cooper University of California, San Diego
Bedford / St. Martin’s
SHORT TENTH EDITION
For Bedford/St. Martin’s
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President, Bedford/St. Martin’s: Denise B Wydra Presidents, Macmillan Higher Education: Joan E Feinberg and Tom Scotty Editor in Chief: aren S Henry Director of Development: Erica T Appel Director of Marketing: aren R Soeltz Production Director: Susan W Brown Associate Production Director: Elise S aiser Managing Editor: Shuli Traub
Copyright © 2013 2010 2008 2004 by Bedford St Martin’s All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher
Manufactured in the United States of America
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For information, write: Bedford St Martin’s 75 Arlington Street Boston MA 02116 617-399-4000
ISBN 978-1-4576-3250-1 paperback with Handbook ISBN 978-1-4576-0442-3 hardcover with Handbook ISBN 978-1-4576-4081-0 loose-leaf edition with Handbook ISBN 978-1-4576-0450-8 paperback without Handbook
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments and copyrights are continued at the back of the book on pages A-1–A-4 which constitute an extension of the copyright page It is a violation of the law to reproduce these selec- tions by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the copyright holder
v
We owe an enormous debt to all the rhetoricians and composition specialists whose theory research and pedagogy have informed The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing We would be adding many pages if we were to name everyone to whom we are indebted
The members of the advisory board for the tenth edition a group of dedicated composition instructors from across the country have provided us with extensive insights and suggestions for the chapters in Part One and have given us the benefit of their advice on new features The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing has been greatly enhanced by their contributions
Advisory Board
Lisa Bickmore Salt Lake Community College
Mary Brantley Holmes Community College–Ridgeland
Jo Ann Buck Guilford Technical Community College
Wallace Cleaves University of California–Riverside
Leona Fisher Chaffey College
Gwen Graham Holmes Junior College–Grenada
Lesa Hildebrand Triton College
Stephanie Kay University of California–Riverside
Donna Nelson-Beene Bowling Green State University
Gail Odette Baton Rouge Community College
Gray Scott Texas Woman’s University
David Taylor St. Louis Community College
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vii
When we first wrote The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing our goal was to provide stu- dents with the clear guidance and practical strategies they needed to harness their potential as writers — an achievement that will be key to their success in college at work and in the wider world We also wanted to provide instructors with the hands- on tools they needed to help their students write with a clear understanding of their rhetorical situation Our goals have remained the same and so The St. Martin’s Guide retains the core features that over the years have drawn so many instruc- tors and programs to the Guide But now it also includes many new features that we believe will keep the Guide the most practical hands-on text for teachers and students
Core Features of the Guide The St. Martin’s Guide retains its emphasis on active learning — learning by doing — by providing practical guides to writing promoting genre awareness to aid the transfer of writing skills from one genre or context to another and integrating reading and writing through hands-on activities of critical thinking reading and analysis
Practical Guides to Writing
Each chapter in Part One offers practical flexible guides that help students draft and revise essays in a variety of analytical and argumentative genres Commonsensical and easy to follow these writing guides teach students to
assess the rhetorical situation focusing on their purpose and audience with spe- cial attention to the genre and medium in which they are writing
ask probing analytical uestions
practice finding answers through various kinds of research including memory search field research and traditional source-based research
These flexible guides to writing begin with a Starting Points chart to offer students multiple ways of finding the help they need when they need it Each also includes a Critical Reading Guide to help students assess their own writing and the writing of their classmates and a Troubleshooting Guide to help students find ways to improve their drafts All these guides are organized and color-coded to emphasize the genre’s basic features In short the guides to writing help students make their writing
Preface
Prefaceviii
THINKING CRITICALLY
Summarize: Tell the writer what you understand the subject of the evaluation to be, and identify the kind of subject it is.
Praise: Point to a place where the subject is presented effectively — for example, where it is described vividly and accurately, where it is named, or where it is clearly placed in a recognizable genre or category.
Critique: Tell the writer where readers might need more information about the subject, and whether any information about it seems inaccurate or possibly only partly true. Suggest how the writer could clarify the kind of subject it is, either by naming the category or by giving examples of familiar subjects of the same type.
Has the writer presented the subject effectively?
Subject
A CRITICAL READING GUIDE
Summarize: Tell the writer what you understand the overall judgment to be, and list the criteria on which it is based.
Praise: Identify a passage in the essay where support for the judgment is presented effectively — for example, note particularly strong supporting reasons, appeals to criteria readers are likely to share, or especially compelling evidence.
Critique: Let the writer know if you cannot find a thesis statement or think the thesis is vague or overstated. Tell the writer where the evaluation could be improved — for example, suggest another reason that could be added; propose a way to justify one of the criteria on which the evaluation is based; or recommend a source or an example that could be used to bolster support for the judgment.
Has the writer supported the judgment effectively?
Each chapter in Part One introduces a genre of writing By working through several genres students learn how writers employ the basic features and strategies of a genre to achieve their purpose with their readers The Arguing a Position essay for exam ple teaches students to examine critically their views on a controversial issue as well as those of their prospective readers with an eye toward developing an argument that not only is well reasoned and well supported but also responds constructively to read ers’ likely uestions and concerns The Finding Common Ground essay teaches stu dents how to analyze opposing arguments on a controversial issue—unpacking the ways writers use the classical appeals of logos ethos and pathos to promote their underlying values and beliefs Whereas the primary purpose in Arguing a Position is persuasive to convince readers to take seriously the writer’s point of view the primary purpose in a Finding Common Ground essay is analytical to explain the basis for divergent points of view and determine where if anywhere compromise might be forged Studying multiple genres —as well as multiple examples of each genre —helps students understand that genre is not simply a way for rhetoricians to classify texts or
thoughtful clear organized and compelling—in a word effective for the rhetorical situation
Preface ix
for teachers to construct assignments More important genre awareness helps them understand how we actually communicate with one another in a variety of contexts and situations Genre awareness makes us better communicators better readers and writers in whatever medium we are using
Systematic Integration of Critical Reading and Reflective Writing
Students are asked to read and analyze essays in the genre they are learning to write The activities following the professional reading selections prompt students to read actively by asking them to reflect on the essay and connect it to their own experience and to read like a writer paying attention to the strategies the writer uses to convey his or her ideas and connect with readers
What’s New Although the tenth edition of The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing builds on the success of previous editions many of the strategies the Guide employs have changed in order to connect more effectively with a new generation of teachers and students Even in the years since the publication of the ninth edition there have been the increasingly burdensome demands on the time attention and energy of teachers and students and the tremendous growth in access to high-speed Internet So the guiding principle for the tenth edition has been to maximize active learning by enhancing the book’s visual rhetoric, giving students more opportunities for hands-on learning, and pro- viding students and instructors with more readings and more interactive activities than ever before: more showing more doing more options more learning
More Readings in the e-Pages
The Guide is the first rhetoric to integrate e-Pages that come alive online with video Web sites podcasts and more An electronic extension of the printed page e-Pages make it possible for us to include more reading selections in the Guide than ever before The e-Pages for The St. Martin’s Guide, Tenth Edition include the following:
Ten more student essays. Each is accompanied by a headnote identifying the student writer and describing the assignment that the essay was written to fulfill are available free through the e-Pages Additional student essays are also avail- able on the book’s companion site and in Sticks and Stones, a collection of student essays from across the country that is available free to adopters
Twenty-one more professional readings take advantage of what the Web can do to give instructors more choices than ever before Each reading is accompa- nied by a headnote describing the writer and the venue in which the selection originally appeared and each is followed by an Analyze Write activity that
Prefacex
asks students to think and write about how the selection employs a basic feature of the genre A Consider Possible Topics feature is also included to help students identify topics about which they could write
Student Site for The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing—bedfordstmartins.com/theguide—or by typing the following URL into the address bar of a Web browser: bedfordstmartins.com /theguide/epages
Students receive automatic access with the purchase of a new book If the activa tion code printed on the inside back cover of the student edition has expired students
415GUIDE TO READINGGUIDE TO WRITING A WRITER AT WORK THINKING CRITICALLY
Vedantam The Telescope Effect
Shankar Vedantam Th e Telescope Eff ect
SHAN AR VEDANTAM is a National Public Radio correspondent and a journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Slate, and the Washington Post He has been honored with fellowships and awards by Harvard University the World Health Organization the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Public Health Association In addition to his many articles Vedantam writes plays and fiction including his short story collection The Ghosts of Kashmir 2005 “The Telescope Effect” is excerpted from his book The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds
Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives 2010 The photograph of the rescued dog Hokget which appears in the reading selection on p 416 is from the Honolulu
As you read consider the following uestions:
The Insiko 1907 was a tramp tanker that roamed the hunted the seas for fishing fleets in need of fuel the Insiko had a cargo of tens of thousands of gallons of diesel It was supposed to be an Indonesian ship except that it was not registered in Indonesia because its owner who lived in China did not bother with taxes In terms of international law the Insiko 1907
largest ocean on earth On March 13 2002 a fire broke out in the Insiko’s engine room The ship was about eight hundred miles south of Hawaii’s Big Island and adrift Its crew could not call on anyone for help and no one who could help knew of the Insiko’s existence let alone its problems 1
Drawn by wind and currents the Insiko eventually got within two hundred twenty miles of Hawaii where it was spotted by a cruise ship called the Norwegian Star on April 2 The cruise ship diverted course rescued the Taiwanese crew and radioed the United States Coast Guard But as the Norwegian Star pulled away from the Insiko and steamed toward Hawaii a few passengers on
tain’s puppy had been left behind on the tanker It is not entirely clear why the cruise ship did not
rescue the Jack Russell mixed terrier or why the
1
2
3
Taiwanese crew did not insist on it Whatever the
were abandoned on the terrible immensity of the Pacific The Norwegian Star senger who heard the barking dog called the Hawaiian Humane Society in Honolulu The Humane Society
ports began appearing about the terrier whose name was Hokget
Something about a lost puppy on an abandoned ship on the Pacific gripped people’s imaginations
cue One check was for five thousand dollars “It
tunity for people to feel good about rescuing a dog People poured out their support A handful of people
ing money to the homeless ’” But Burns felt the great thing about America was that people were free to give money to whatever cause they cared about and people cared about Hokget
On April 26 nearly one and a half months after the puppy’s ordeal began the American Quest found the Insiko female pup was still alive and hiding in a pile of
4
5
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Preface xi
25GUIDE TO READINGGUIDE TO WRITING A WRITER AT WORK THINKING CRITICALLY
Make connections: Remembering idols. We often fi nd ourselves profoundly affected by what happens to people we’ve never
idol showing us not only how Tupac’s death affected her then but what she thinks of her teenage self ’s obsession now that she is older
Recall a time when the emotional impact of an event that happened to someone else or to other people was powerful enough to affect your behavior decisions or actions for the day or longer Consider the reasons for your reactions Your instructor may ask you to post your thoughts to a class discussion board or blog or to discuss them with other students in class Use these uestions to get started:
Use the basic features.
Dialogue is a narrating strategy that helps writers dramatize a story uoting with descriptive speaker tags —
He said, “ .” She asked, “ ?”
hearing what was said and how it was said But all of the dialogue strategies — uoting
clude demonstrate how effective this sentence strategy can be
1 Skim the story, highlighting the dialogue and underlining the speaker tags. Also note
2 Consider each bit of dialogue, paraphrase, or summary to see what role it plays. Does it tell you something about the speaker or her relationship with another person? Does it convey feelings or attitudes? Does it advance the narrative or something else?
Speaker tag
To learn more about quoting
phrasing, and summarizing in autobiographical stories, see pp. 11–12; to learn more about using them in your own writing, see the Guide to Writing, pp. 35–36 and 38–39.
REFLECT
bedfordstmartins.com/theguide/epages and following the instructions there
Leaner chapters make it easier for instructors to get and keep students reading and to focus their attention on what matters most This edition of The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing is tighter and more focused than ever
A new design helps guide students through the chapters with headings that show students where they are where they’ve been and where they’re going in the chapter and that help students identify the activities and understand the purpose they serve in active learning
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Prefacexii
problem. (pp. 299–300)
(p. 332)
Problem (p. 314)
Studies (p. 320)
(pp. 326–27)
seriousness. (pp. 335–36)
for your readers. (pp. 336–37)
Problem. (p. 344)
GUIDE TO WRITING
The Writing Assignment
munity or group to which you belong and address your proposal to one or more members of the group or to outsiders who might help solve the problem
This Guide to Writing is designed to help you compose your own proposal and apply what you have learned from reading other essays in the same genre This Starting Points chart will help you fi nd answers to uestions you might have about composing a proposal Use the chart to fi nd the guidance you need when you need it
The Writing Assignment
Invention,
Planning, and Composing
Improving the
Proofreading
330
331
341
343
330
How do I come up with a problem to write about?
How can I best define the problem for my readers?
(pp. 301–2)
Implementation (p. 327)
How do I come up with a plausible solution?
s show students the techni ues writers use to communicate effectively with their readers
is worth the expense time and effort to do so
Read fi rst to fi nd the proposed solution usually declared in a thesis statement early in the essay Typically the thesis describes the proposed solution briefl y and indicates how it would solve the problem as in this example which contrasts the problem’s disadvantages with the solution’s benefi ts:
So not only do discourage frequent study and undermine students’ performance, they also If professors gave brief exams at fre uent intervals students would be spurred to learn more and worry less They would study more regularly perform better on tests and enhance their cognitive functioning O’Malley par 2
Th h k h h i h i d id d
Problem and its disadvantages
Thesis proposing solution and its benefits
A mini table of contents and a Starting Points chart at the opening of each Guide to Writing section in Part One help students fi nd the information they need Starting Points Critical Reading, and Troubleshooting guides use speech bubbles to prompt students to refl ect on interrogate and revise their writing on their own
You’ve clearly got the basics of the summary and response down, and I very much appreciate your thoughts on “Working at McDonald’s”! Please see the rubric and my notes below to understand your grade on the Summary & Critical Response Essay:
Purpose & Focus: 13/15
Organization & Transitions: 4/5
Tone & Editing: 4/5
Overall Grade: 21/25
To understand the numerical scoring of this paper and areas for potential improvement, please consult the areas marked with an X in the following grading chart:
| Summary | |
| x | Your summary is working well. |
| The first sentence of the summary doesn’t quite convey the “heart” of Etzioni’s argument, giving your readers a clear statement of his overall thesis (or point). | |
| As the summary should be between a minimum of 150 words and a maximum of 200 words, more work on conciseness would be helpful in this section. (This is the only section of any paper with a strict maximum length.) | |
| x | At this point, there are one or more missing attributive tags in the summary. Remember: every sentence in the summary should include an attributive tag, such as Etzioni suggests, Etzioni argues, etc. |
| The summary seems to allude to some of your own opinions about the article and/or the issue at hand. Please keep in mind that the summary should convey Etzioni’s points in an objective, unbiased manner. | |
| The summary is too short and would benefit from further development. Remember: the summary should be between a minimum of 150 words and a maximum of 200 words. | |
| The summary misrepresents one or more of Etzioni’s points. | |
| x | The summary would benefit from more attention to effective transitions between points and/or varying attributive tags. |
| Critical Response | |
| x | Your critical response is working well,. |
| x | Your critical response (or some portions of it) seems more like a strong response, focused on your opinions about the issue itself, rather than a critical analysis of the article. Throughout the critical response, your points could be a bit more clearly focused on responding to Etzioni’s particular points/techniques at the writerly level. How did his specific approaches work or not work? Why? In other words, more assessment of Etzioni’s particular techniques (discussion of how/why what he did was—or was not—successful) would have been helpful. |
| x | Some portions of your critical response seem too devoted to summary. |
| The critical response misrepresents one or more of Etzioni’s points. Specifically, Etzioni is arguing that while minorities and teens from lower economic classes are more often encouraged to seek fast food employment, it can be even worse for them, as it exploits these teens and may prevent them from pursuing the education they need to advance professionally and economically. | |
| Context could be considered a bit more carefully in your analysis. For instance, since this piece was originally published in 1986, you may want to reconsider criticizing Etzioni for using sources from the 1980s. | |
| More specific examples would strengthen the critical response. | |
| The critical response section could be more clearly and consistently organized, and you might reconsider how you preview your points for the reader at the beginning of the response and/or the use of paragraph breaks throughout this section. | |
| The critical response is too short and would benefit from further development. Please keep in mind that this section should be at least 400-500 words in length (minimum). | |
| x | A bit more work on organization and/or effective transitions (either within or between paragraphs) would improve the critical response. |
| Editing Issues to Watch Out for in the Future (All Sections) | |
| X | Misspelled or misused words and/or names |
| Run-on sentences | |
| Incomplete sentences | |
| Shifting verb tense | |
| Shifting point of view | |
| Awkward, unclear, or repetitive phrasing | |
| Missing words | |
| Capitalization errors | |
| X | Missing/misused commas |
| Missing/misused apostrophes | |
| Misused colons or semicolons | |
| x | Problems with agreement |
| Misplaced punctuation in relation to quotation marks | |
| Errors in end punctuation | |
| Spacing errors |
In regards to editing issues, you may want to consult the appropriate sections in the grammar handbook at the back of your textbook about these issues as well. (These are the cream-colored pages in the 8th or 9th edition or the blue pages in the 7th edition.) Once you’ve reviewed these sections as well as your paper, feel free to let me know if you have questions about any of these issues.
Other than that, this is good work!
All best wishes,
Mary
THREE NOTES FOR ALL STUDENTS:
1.) When “quoting something,” the commas at the end go inside the quotation marks like this. “And the end punctuation goes inside the quotation marks as well.” When “quoting a ‘quote within a quote,’” use double quotation marks to mark the “entire big quote and ‘little single quotation marks’ for the little quote within a quote.”
2.) The parenthetical citation should always be placed at the end of the sentence, before the end punctuation, even if the “quote comes earlier” in the sentence (234).
3.) After the first full-name reference, be sure to refer to the author by last name only (Etzioni) or by a pronoun (he) or by some other specific reference (the author). In general, you don’t want to use titles such as “Mr.” or the author’s first name “Amitai.” After all, we’re not on a first name basis with Etzioni, and it’s basically just a convention of formal writing to omit titles such as Mr. and Mrs.
