Discuss the concepts
underlying analysis and evaluation (10-12 minutes)
The PHG tells us that
analysis is breaking a thing into its parts so that we can closely
examine those parts. The parts themselves are then measured
against criteria (a standard of shared judgment) and our goal
is to make a convincing argument out of the value judgment we
make on the parts of the subject we're analyzing.
Create an activity that
gets students analyzing something they are familiar with.
Two examples that have worked well in the past are:
Buying a Car
Scenario
What things do we look
for when buying a used car? (list the responses on the board;
responses should include things like cost, safety belts/airbags,
good tires, low-mileage, radio, clean interior, little damage
on exterior, power windows/A/C/sunroof, etc.)
Be sure students reach
a consensus about how they will judge these things (what makes
something "good"?).
Match the list on the
board with a few hypothetical cars (1. a 1998 VW Jetta GL with
70,000 miles, excellent body condition, tape deck, new tires,
synthetic interior, A/C: $3800) 2. a 2002 Audi A4, with
Bose stereo system, leather seats, power everything including
sunroof, 120,000 miles: $10,000--you can add an excessively
"beater" car or an excessively "perfect" car,
too).
Have students walk through
the process of evaluating: which car will they buy based
on their value judgments?
Evaluating Art
Scenario
Find 4-5 works of art
from a similar movement (realism, impressionism, self-portraits,
still-lifes, etc.) that you can share with the class.
Divide the class into
groups. Establish the criteria you will use to evaluate
how well the art would fit into a particular exhibit at the Denver
Art Museum.
Have each group present
its rationale to the rest of the class with a claim, clear criteria
and reasons and evidence as support.
You can create similar
activities to these using movies, music, etc.
OR:
Generate a discussion
on what parts of writing we have discussed so far (purpose, audience,
focus/claim, reasons, evidence).
Ask students what other
aspects of writing are important to consider for effectiveness
(tone, style, level of language, voice, ability to generate interest
and/or discussion, organization, relevancy to readers' lives,
etc.)
You might put these
on an overhead so that you can apply them to Brooks' and Krugman's
articles the next class session.
Practice Evaluating
a Text (12-15 minutes)
Evaluating a
Brief Article, Short Story or Political Cartoon for a University
Class
Select a short article
or story that can be read in class or a political cartoon.
Have students evaluate how effective the article, story or cartoon
would be for a university class (you make up the class theme,
etc.). Be sure students determine clear criteria based on
the text's appropriateness to the course.
There are a number of
effective, relative short articles in the PHG you can use for
this activity. Robert Zoellner's "I'm Okay, But You're
Not," Emily Prager's "Our Barbies, Ourselves,"
and Elizabeth Wong's "The Struggle to be an All-American
Girl" are a few options.
OR:
Evaluate either Brooks'
or Krugman's article as a class. Establish criteria as a
class and then outline reasons to support why the article is effective
or not. You could do this on an overhead or break students
into groups and have them present their outlines. Be aware
that having students present takes a while, so be sure to plan
ahead.
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