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Using specific details, paragraph structure, incorporating sources 101
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First-hand Response to Reading:
Important elements
Assignment overview:
First-hand Response to a Reading
Purpose
Assignment overview
Overview
Outcomes
This assignment begins from the idea that reading, like writing, is an act of composing. When we read, we are doing more than receiving information from a writer; we are also interacting with a text, bringing our own associations, values, and assumptions to it as we come to an understanding of its meanings. In effect, we understand the text through our interaction with it. Writing about a text is the surest way to bring this interaction to light. Different readers might pay attention to different passages, emphasizing different sets of meanings made available through that same text. While summary is not dependent on a reader’s interests and knowledge and experiences, response is. In response, we get to talk back to a text.
3-4 pages
15% of final grade
Write an essay that summarizes briefly the main ideas in a text and offers a response that engages the content of the text using experience or knowledge about the topic. Your response should be supported by details in the text as well as your own experience and/or knowledge.
Outcomes for Response Essay:
- To appreciate and understand the relationship between reading and writing
- To read closely and carefully in order to write an informed, purposeful response, using rhetorical concepts
- To write and integrate into your response a concise and accurate summary that demonstrates awareness of distinctions between main and subordinate points
- To develop and sustain an idea through a well-organized, thesis-driven essay supported with relevant evidence and examples
- To demonstrate reasonable sentence-level control, including syntax and grammar competency, and to cite source material using MLA conventions
Keeping this view of reading as composing in mind, your task in this assignment is to summarize a selected text and then respond to it. In the summary you must distinguish between an author’s major and minor points.
As you read, annotate the text,, “talk back” to it by identifying passages that surprise or trouble you, that do or do not resonate with your own experience. These are called “hot spots.” These hot spots may later serve as the major points of your strong response.
Because we rarely agree or disagree entirely with a text, your thesis need not reflect an absolute stance. You may agree with an author’s points, but find her rhetoric alienating. You might appreciate an author’s rhetorical strategies or overall argument, but find some of his ideas invalid in terms of your own experience. Perhaps you agree with an author’s premise and you want to offer an additional perspective. A thesis with “tension” will help you focus your response and set clear rhetorical goals for your own essay. See the argument templates provided in class.
Concrete, specific evidence is key to making a convincing point in writing.
You know from your own experience that abstract statements aren't clear or convincing.
If someone says, "You missed a great game on Saturday!" You will probably ask why? What was so great about it? What did I miss? The statement that the game was great doesn't tell you anything about it or what made it special. Unless you really don't care and just want the person to stop talking, you're likely to ask for more information.
Using specific evidence
Specific details
This essay asks you to use your personal observations and experiences to respond to a reading.
You will need to be as specific as possible about your experiences, including concrete details and descriptions in order to help readers understand your ideas and in order to clarify how your experience connects with the reading.
COVID 19 made my spring semester of college really hard.
For one thing, I had to leave campus, where I had gotten used to having the freedom to sleep when I wanted and eat when I wanted and where I had made new friends who were as passionate about interior design as I was and didn't find it strange at all that I rearranged my room at least once a week. I had to move back home with my parents, who treated me as if I were back in high school, making me go to bed by midnight and insisting I help out around the house like I used to. My worst frenemy was also home from college right down the street and we kept running into each other when we walked our dogs. She tried to make small talk and pretend like she cared, when I knew she was just trying to find more lies to spread about me on social media like she did in high school.
COVID 19 made my spring semester of college really hard.
Because of the quarantine we had to move all of our classes online. I wasn't very good at using Canvas before; I relied on my in-class interactions to keep me up to date on assignment requirements and due dates, and when I wasn't in class every day I just couldn't stay on track and remember to get everything done on time. I also struggled to focus on video lectures and daily assignments that we'd usually complete in class. When I was in class I was forced to put my phone away and pay attention. But at home I kept getting distracted and wanting to check texts and emails. I also had to deal with my two younger brothers fighting like wild animals in the room next door.
Integrating Quotes
Integrating quotes and using paraphrase
Here are some important rules of thumb for working with quotes from your sources.
Quoting
When you incorporate research into your writing, you want to provide your reader with a smooth transition into and out of the quote or paraphrase. In order for quotes/paraphrases to be effective, you need to reduce the chance that they will be misinterpreted or will confuse your reader by seeming random or irrelevant; poorly used research will hurt your paper as much as well-used research will strengthen it.
When
Quoting
Remember that a) identifying the author of a quotation and b) interpreting the relevance of a quotation can make a huge difference. Note the following example.
Original:
“Twelve hour work days plus unpaid family labor is common among Korean immigrants. Many have college degrees that won’t even get them decent jobs because of discrimination” (Hu 314-315). Whites have the advantage over minorities.
Revised:
According to Arthur Hu, a writer for Asian Week, “Twelve hour work days plus unpaid family labor is common among Koreans” (314). Hu argues that discrimination causes even Koreans with college degrees to have difficulty securing living-wage jobs (315). In other words, discrimination makes it difficult for many minorities, regardless of their educational level or how hard they work, to live well in our nation.
Remember to play with the wording until the quote or paraphrase fits smoothly into your writing. Quotes shouldn’t stand alone. (Note: A paraphrase must put the author’s language into your own words and a quote must be word-for-word from the original.)
Original: The stories on Hill Street Blues are kept realistic. "These scripts don't spin inner-city fairy tales -- the characters can't walk away easily, not out of their lives or their work, not into the next episode" (Freeman 12). This demonstrates the show's real-life focus.
Revised:
The stories on Hill Street Blues are kept realistic. TV critic Denise Jones explains that the characters are stuck, show after show, in demanding jobs and difficult personal lives (Freeman 12). This refusal to “spin inner-city fairy tales” (Freeman 12) demonstrates the show's real-life focus.
When quoting
- Make sure you appropriately introduce the quote, situating it in the context of the essay or article.
- Make sure it’s clear what purpose the quote is serving; ie, how does it supply the evidence needed to validate your position? How does it connect with your idea?
- Make sure you use appropriate transitions and signal phrases to connect your ideas logically.
- Make sure quotes are part of your own sentences.
- Be brief with quotes—use only the part of the quote that directly relates to your point.
- You can alter quotes to fit within your sentences. Use brackets to signal changes and additions. Use ellipses to indicate you’ve left something out.
- The author's name and page number (if available) need to be included, either in your own sentence or in parentheses at the end.
MLA format
- In his discussion of Monty Python routines, Crystal notes that the group relished “breaking the normal rules” of language (107).
- A noted linguist explains that Monty Python humor often relied on “bizarre linguistic interactions” (Crystal 108).
(The full citation, listed by the author's last name, will appear in my works cited page at the end of my essay. That way readers can look it up if they're interested.)
Paraphrase
- Paraphrase involves putting a small amount of text (a few sentences) into your own words. When you paraphrase you need to make sure you use entirely your own words and sentence structures. Just plugging in a few new words using a thesaurus does NOT constitute adequate paraphrase.
- Best practice for paraphrase: put the text aside while you write it in your own words so that you won’t be tempted to copy words or phrases.
- Summary involves putting a larger amount of text--several pages or a whole chapter or article--into your own words.
- Paraphrases and summaries still need citations. You always need to cite ideas that aren’t your own, even if you put them into your own words.
Works Cited
Work Cited
Works Cited
Kendry, Ibram X. "Patience Is a Dirty Word." The Atlantic, 23
July 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/john-lewis-and-danger-gradualism/614512/. Accessed 25 Aug 2020.
Silver, Marc. "Dear World, You're Not Going to Have the Year
You Thought You'd Have." NPR.org, 9 Aug 2020. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/08/09/896649673/dear-world-youre-not-going-to-have-the-year-you-thought-you-d-have. Accessed 25 Aug 2020.
Paragraph Structure
RULES OF THUMB:
What do body paragraphs need? What rules have you been taught about writing paragraphs?
Paragraph Structure
All Paragraphs need...
- Topic sentence and key words connecting us to the thesis and telling us what the paragraph will be about.
- Unity: a paragraph should treat one main idea, or if they deal with more than one idea, those ideas should clearly belong together.
- Coherence: the ideas in a paragraph should clearly belong together and relate to one another (transitions!)
- Adequate development: make sure you give us enough of a reason to accept the paragraph’s idea, or enough information to understand it
Rules of thumb
Topic Sentence
Topic Sentence
- In each paragraph, we need to know what that paragraph will cover.
- We also need to know where we are in relation to the essay as a whole and how the paragraph relates to our overall thesis.
- A topic sentence can work like a signpost, telling us both what the paragraph is about and how this idea relates to the essay/thesis overall.
Unity and Coherence
Unity and Coherence
- Unity: a paragraph should treat one main idea, or if they deal with more than one idea, those ideas should clearly belong together.
- Coherence: the ideas in a paragraph should clearly belong together and relate to one another (transitions!)
Keywords
Keywords
- Repetition of key words from the thesis can help to make sure we understand how each paragraph relates to your thesis.
- Repetition of key words within a paragraph related to that paragraph's topic can help us to understand how the ideas in that paragraph are connected to each other… how that paragraph has unity and coherence.
Transitions
- Transitions both within and between paragraphs also help us to see how ideas connect to each other and how ideas connect to the thesis and the essay overall.
- Usually link the start of one paragraph with the start of another; in other words, they usually come at the beginning of a paragraph, not at the end.
Transitions
TO SHOW ADDITION: and, also, besides, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover, next, too, first, second
TO GIVE EXAMPLES: for example, for instance, to illustrate, in fact, specifically
TO COMPARE: also, in the same manner, similarly, likewise
TO CONTRAST: but, however, on the other hand, in contrast, nevertheless, still, even though, on the contrary, yet, although
TO INDICATE LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP: if, so, therefore, consequently, thus, as a result, for this reason, because, since
TO SUMMARIZE OR CONCLUDE: In short, in summary, in conclusion, to sum up, therefore
TO SHOW PLACE OR DIRECTION: above, below, beyond, nearby, opposite, close, to the left
TO SHOW TIME: After, as, before, next, during, later, finally, meanwhile, then, when, while, immediately
Example
THESIS: The historical references in Kendry's article "Patience is a Dirty Word" establish both the ethos and logos of his article, but even more importantly, they help make an imaginative connection that inspires readers to identify with anti-racist activists in American history who argued against patience.
The historical references in "Patience Is a Dirty Word" also work to create an imaginative and emotional connection with readers. Lewis, whose death inspired the article, is a well-known and beloved figure in American politics and American Civil Rights, and his phrase "good trouble" has become popular on social media and elsewhere. The emotional connection many people feel with him allows us to more easily accept the idea that patience is not always appropriate or effective. Hearing how his 1963 speech during the civil rights movement was changed at the behest of figures like US Attorney General Robert Kennedy and NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins helps us to imagine how much of a problem the continual call for gradual change has been over the course of our history. In addition, it gives us a new perspective on our present moment. No one would say that the civil rights protestors in 1963 were asking for too much too soon; they wanted an end to discrimination in the workplace and an end to segregation in public spaces, rights that very few Americans today would disagree with. Lynchings (like the murder of Emmett Till) and violent acts like the Birmingham Church Bombing might also be associated in our minds with this time period and might help to bring a strong emotional response that what Lewis was advocating for was morally right--and by association (according to the article) what anti-racists are advocating for now is also morally right. Finally, by putting us back in this time period through the words and struggles of Lewis, Kendry helps us feel emotions like pride and hope in our success as a nation in passing the Civil Rights Bill and moving past some forms of segregation and discrimination. Such success could be ours again, the article implies.
The article uses other moments in history to make an emotional connection with the audience, too.
Example
Development
Development
- Make sure you give us enough of a reason to accept the paragraph’s idea, or enough information to understand it
- Support your points with good specific evidence, from the article, from your personal experience, or from other commonly known examples. Generalizations and unfair assumptions usually won’t help you to convince readers of anything.
- The 20/80 rule is a good rule of thumb: 20% of the essay (and of each paragraph) can cover general comments, ideas, and discussion; 80% of the essay (and of each paragraph) needs to cover specific evidence: stories, data, case studies, facts, etc.
Other pointers
When should you start a new paragraph?
- To mark off the intro and conclusion
- To signal a shift to a new idea
- To indicate an important shift in time or place
- To emphasize a point
- To highlight a contrast
- To provide readers with a needed pause
- To break up text that looks too dense
When to combine paragraphs
- To clarify the essay’s organization
- To connect closely related ideas
- To bind together text that looks and feels too choppy
Other guidelines
Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since paragraphs do less work in short papers, have short paragraphs for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers. In a 4-5 page essay, you should have around 1.5-3 paragraphs per typed (double-spaced) page.
If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph—and can be combined—or whether you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph.