Midterm Review

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston

Churchill

Midterm Review

English 170Composition II

Composition II Overview

• Reading Critically• Writing Critically

1. Critical Thinking

• Grammar• Sentences

Common Writing Errors - Ongoing

• Reading for Meaning• Writing an analysis

2. Literary Analysis

Composition II Overview Continued

• Identifying Sound Arguments• Writing Sound Arguments

3. The Art of Argument

• Quizzes

1984 - Ongoing

Becoming a Critical Thinker

Critical – Not Negatively

• Critical as we will use it means “skeptical,” “exacting,” “creative.”

• When you operate critically, you question, test, and build on what others say and what you yourself think.

Traits of a Critical Thinker

• Focused on the facts– Give me the facts and show me that they are

relevant to the issue• Analytic– What strategies has the writer/speaker used to

develop the argument?• Open-minded– Prepared to listen to different points of view, to

learn from others

Critical Thinking In Action

• Critical Thinking Involves:–Analyzing–Interpreting–Synthesizing–Evaluating

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In Praise of a Snail’s PaceEllen Goodman

Questions for Reading and Reasoning2.What is Goodman’s main idea, or thesis?3.What examples illustrate the problem the

author sees in our times? What evidence does Goodman present to suggest that people want to change the times?

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The Four Responses to Literature

1. The Response to Content2. The Analytical Response3. The Evaluation Response4. The Research Response

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1. The Response to Content

• What does it say?• How could it be summarized?– The ability to summarize and paraphrase material

involves both reading and writing skills– It is an excellent skill for your academic career

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2. The Analytical Response

• How is it written?– Word Choice– Sentence Structure– Use of figurative language – metaphor and simile

• How does it compare with another work?

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3. The Evaluation Response

• Is it logical?• Is it Adequately Developed?• Does it Achieve its purpose?– What is the writer’s purpose?– What is the context in which the piece is written?

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4. The Research Response

• How Does it Help Me to Understand Other Works, Ideas or Events?– Use the piece of literature to learn more about a

larger event• Read diaries of holocaust survivors to

understand the Jewish experience in WWII• Read a slave’s account of daily life to

understand issues surrounding the Civil War

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The Gettysburg Address• What was the significance of the

Battle of Gettysburg?• The Battle of Gettysburg marked a turning

point in the American Civil War (1861–65), a bloody conflict between states in the North (the United States, or the Union) and the South (the Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy). The battle was fought in the summer of 1863 when Union and Confederate forces met accidentally at Gettysburg, a town in southern Pennsylvania. From July 1 to 3, Union General George Meade (1815–1872) led about 90,000 troops to defeat 75,000 advancing Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870). The Union victory effectively stopped Lee's invasion of the North.

• On November 19, 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) made his historical address at Gettysburg, during the dedication of part of the battlefield as a national cemetery. Lincoln began with the now-famous words "Four score and...

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Group Response• Content– How could it be summarized?

• Analytical– How is it written? How does it compare with

another work?• Evaluation– Does it achieve its purpose? Is it logical?

• Research– How does it help me understand other events or

larger ideas?

Dave Barry• Dave Barry is a humor columnist.

For 25 years he was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad.

• In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Many people are still trying to figure out how this happened.

• Dave has also written a total of 30 books, although virtually none of them contain useful information.

“Remote Control” by Dave Barry

– Questions 1 and 2 under Reflection and Writing

Responding Critically to Sources

Ask

• Who is the author?• Who is the audience?• What is the writer’s purpose in writing?• What is the writer’s sources of information?

Analyzing Style

The Elements of Style• Word Choice• Sentence Structure• Metaphors and Similes• Organization and Examples• Repetition• Hyperbole, Understatement, and Irony• Question Marks, Italics, and Capital Letters• Parallel structure• Alliteration• Denotative or Connotative words

Word Choice• Are the writer’s words:– Abstract?

• “love” “freedom” “success” “hate” “courage”– Concrete?

• “box” “wood” “steel” “building” “car”– Intellectual?

• “strategery” “placidity” “salutary” “ant disestablishment”– Formal?

• “continent” “gentleman” “manor” “articulate”– Informal?

• “land” “guy” “crib” “say”

Parallel Structure

• Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

• Etymology: From the Greek, "beside one another“– Truth is not a diet but a condiment."

(Christopher Morley)– "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when

you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative."(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Denotative and Connotative Word Choice

• Denotation is the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression.

• Connotation is what a word suggests; what we associate the word with.– House versus “Home”– Dog versus “Hound”– Dad versus “old man”– Wife versus “my old lady”

George Orwell• Born Eric Blair in Bengal, India in 1903.• Educated in England at Eton.• Using pseudonym, George Orwell, began

writing magazine articles.• A committed socialist, he fought in the

Spanish Civil War in 1936.• His final book was influenced by his

failing health and his disillusionment with the kind of socialism in his home country of England.

• 1984 was written in 1948 and published in 1949.

• Orwell died of tuberculosis in 1950.

1984 Class Discussion Chapters 1 and 2

• What kind of a man is Winston?• What kind of a society does he live in?• Explain “War is Peace”• Explain “Freedom is Slavery”• Explain “Ignorance is Strength”• Explain “Whoever controls the past, controls the

future.”• Explain the meaning of Winston’s dream in chapter 2• Do you think the United States government uses

propaganda techniques to influence the people of the United States?

COMMON WRITING MISTAKESWriting the “hook”

What is a hook?

• A hook draws the reader in to an essay or article

• It establishes where the essay is going to go• It sets the mood of the essay (serious,

humorous, skeptical)• It previews the essay• It is one of the building blocks of a good essay.

Common Writing Mistakes Lesson #2

The Clash of the Tenses

Unnecessary tense shift

• "Tense" refers to the form of a verb that indicates time. Unless you're referring to different time periods, shifts in verb tense create a garbled sense of when something is happening.

Past, Present, Future - Simple

• In English, there are three basic tenses: past, present and future

Literary Analysis

What is Literary Analysis?

• It’s literary• It’s an analysis• It’s--• An Argument!• It may also involve research on and analysis of

secondary sources

Important Literary Concepts

• Other key concepts– Historical context– Social, political,

economic contexts– Ideology– Multiple voices– Various critical

orientations– Literary theory

• The Basics– Plot– Setting– Narration/point of

view– Characterization– Symbol – Metaphor– Genre– Irony/ambiguity

What is a Secondary Source?

• A book or article that discusses the text you are discussing

• A book or article that discusses a theory related to the argument you are making

• A book or article that discusses the social and historical context of the text you are discussing

ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

Plot Components

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

Analysis of Character• When does my character live? Past, present or future?• Where does my character live? In the country, the city,

the suburbs…?• What is the socioeconomic background of my character?• Does my character work? If so, at what?• What is a typical day for my character like?• If I met the character, would I like them? Why or why

not?

Analysis of Style and Tone

• point-of-view, • formal or informal writing, • organization/structure of text, • level of complexity in the writing, and • overall tone.

“The Story of an Hour”

Kate Chopin • Catherine (Kate) O'Flaherty was born in St. Louis on February 8, 1850, the second child of Thomas O'Flaherty of County Galway, Ireland, and Eliza Faris of St. Louis.

• From 1855 to 1868 Kate attended the St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart, with one year at the Academy of the Visitation. In 1855, her father died in a railroad accident, and in 1863 her beloved French-speaking great grandmother died. She spent the Civil War in St. Louis, a city where residents supported both the Union and the Confederacy.

“To Build A Fire”

• Jack London• Themes

THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS

Ursula K. Le Guin

Langston Hughes“I Too”

“My Name Is Lisa”

Introduction to the Art of Argument

“A Hanging”

The Aristotelian Model

• Ethos– The writer or speaker

• Must have credibility

• Logos– The argument and its support

• Facts and evidence

• Pathos• The effect of the audience• How do they feel about the issue – what do you need to

address to change their oppinion

Toulmin Model - Expanded

• Claim– We should not go skiing today

• Evidence (Grounds)– It is too cold today

• Assumption (Warrants)– When it is too cold it is no fun skiing

Examining the Evidence

– Facts • Verifiable statements–The building is 200 feet tall.–Bob Jones was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

– Statistics• Facts expressed in numbers–75% of seniors use Facebook–2 out of 3 dentists chew sugarless gum

9.2

Examining the Evidence– Examples• Specific cases–Joe Smith had a very bad experience

with Wilke Hardware–Lois Hunt always has billing problems

with Dr. Rose

– Expert opinions

•The judgments of authorities

–Endorsed by the American Medical Association

–Backed by the National Rifle Association9.2

Checklist of Fallacies

– Begging the question• Treating an opinion that is open to question as if it were

already proved or disproved.– Non sequitar (“it does not follow”)

• Drawing a conclusion from irrelevant evidence.– Red herring

• Introducing an irrelevant issue to distract readers.– Circular Reasoning

• Repeating the statement over and over and basing its truth on the statement itself

9.3a

Checklist of Fallacies - Evasions

– False authority• Citing as expert opinion the views of a person who is not

an expert.– Inappropriate appeals• Appealing to pity or fear, snob appeal, bandwagon,

flattery, argument ad populum (“to the people”), argument ad hominem (“to the man”)

9.3a

Checklist of Fallacies -Oversimplification

– Post hoc fallacy• Assuming that A caused B because A preceded B.

– Either/or fallacy (false dilemma)• Reducing a complicated question to two

alternatives.– False analogy• Exaggerating the similarities in an analogy or

ignoring key differences.

9.5b

Checklist of Fallacies -Oversimplification

– Hasty generalization (jumping to a conclusion)• Asserting an opinion based on too little evidence.

– Sweeping generalization• Asserting an opinion as applying to all instances when it

may apply to some, or to none. Absolute statements and stereotypes are variations.

– Reductive fallacy• Generally, oversimplifying causes and effects.

9.5b

Writing the Argumentative Essay

Review - The Basics of Argument

• Argument is conversation with a goal– Deciding on a movie – move discussion along

• Takes a stand on an arguable issue– Not about facts – the lecture starts at 2 PM

• Argument uses reasons and evidence– Think critically – analyze the issue

• Argument recognizes the topics complexity

“In Defense of Voluntary Euthanasia”

Clustering Pattern of Development

1. The issue2. Your claim3. The evidence in support4. The opposing viewpoint5. Reply to the opposing viewpoint6. Evidence dismissing the opposing viewpoint7. Conclude based on evidence and rebuttal

The Alternating Pattern

1. The issue2. Your claim3. First evidence

1. Objection to this evidence2. Reply to this objection3. Continued objections and replies to this evidence

4. Second evidence (third, fourth, etc.)1. Objection to this evidence2. Reply to this objection3. Continued objections and replies to this evidence

5. Conclusion in light of evidence and rebuttals

Pro and Con Exercise

• In groups, make a Pro and Con Chart for one of the following issues:– Abortion– The Death Penalty– Gay Marriage– Prayer in Schools– Legalizing Marijuana– Removing mandatory school attendance– Drinking Age increased to 25– Government funded college for all