Discussing
NYT News Clippings
Wrapping Up Analytical/Evaluative Concepts |
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Freewriting for Development of Analytical/Evaluative Response (5-7 minutes total)Back to Top |
Provide students with time to develop their Analytical/Evaluative ResponsesUsing their homework, instruct students to freewrite for about 5 minutes (then give them longer if they're on a roll). OR: Have students do a freewrite/looping activity where they write for 3 solid minutes, stop, pick up an idea from the first chunk of writing and write on it for another 3 minutes, stop, then pick up on an idea from the second chunk of writing and write on it for another 3 minutes. |
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Unpacking Claims for Focus and Development (15 minutes total) |
The goal for this activity is to help students make an overall point with their writing by considering how claims can "map out" a response. (In the past, students have written analytic responses that read like "generalized lists" - i.e. the author's tone is good…the organization is effective… the evidence could use some work…). Here, we are trying to help students move beyond generalized responses to think more about their purpose/focus and organization. Practice unpacking the following claims: -Turkey sandwiches are healthier than peanut butter sandwiches because they are lower in fat. -Huckleberry Finn is a classic American novel and should be read by every student at the high school level. -Viewers watched Star Trek during the 1970s because it alleviated their fears about the ability of races and genders to get along. Then use the claims below (or ones that you generate) to model how a claim can help the writer connect their points and create an outline by which to organize their writing. Put these claims on an overhead and ask students to outline what the paper might look like based on what the claim says. Take the claim apart, phrase by phrase; you might refer to this activity as "unpacking a claim." Ineffective claim: Krugman's essay is pretty good, but I didn't like the tone he used and he seems biased against other countries. Overall, I found his attitude to be sarcastic or even a little cynical. I did like that he talked directly to the audience, though. Discuss why this is ineffective. Have them unpack each section of the claim to reach these conclusions:
More Effective claims : Krugman appeals to readers of the New York Times by using language that they can relate to and by taking a position they'll be inclined to agree with, but his argument loses focus at the end as he never truly argues for why a tax on consumption would be ineffective." Brooks cleverly grabs our attention through a lively style and by creating a discussion that seems to be, on the surface, about silly magazines. This "false superficiality" enables him to avoid alienating his audience when he delivers his cutting punchline about one of the flaws in democracy. Why these are effective:
Ask students how each response might look based on these claims. How would the reader develop these points? What examples from the text could he/she use to develop each point? You might draw up an outline for each. Finally, you might ask what would make each claim better. |
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