10-01-15
Summarize, analyze, compare
Goals:
•Understand “textual evidence”
•Evaluate summary/analysis drafts
•Continue to work on Paper 3
The grade will focus on
the degree to which your thesis
is supported by textual evidence, and
on the clarity of the presentation.
Thesis
Textual evidence
Clarity
Although some people dismiss arts
education as non-academic and
therefore unimportant, Barry disagrees.
She sees art not only as important, but
as vital. For her as a child, art was a
“life preserver” in an otherwise
unstable world (724). Working with
pencils and crayons in school provided
a security that she did not have a home.
Barry didn’t recognize the importance
of school at the time; it took her years to
come to the realization that school was
really her place of sanctuary. In her
article, she tells the story of a morning on
which she awoke before dawn, got
dressed, and went to school before
anyone else in the house was even awake.
At school she met Mr. Gunderson, the
janitor; instead of chiding her for being
out alone, he let her help him get the
school ready for the day by turning on the
lights and raising the shades in each room
he unlocked. When her teacher, Mrs.
LeSane, arrived, Barry ran to her and
cried. When thinking about that incident,
Barry writes, “it [is only] now, 28 years
later, that I realize I was crying from
relief” (724). For her, school was about
much more than learning letters and
numbers; it gave her a safe place to go
every day.
Using textual evidence well:
• Choose “high quality, credible, and relevant sources”
• Summarize, paraphrase, or quote as appropriate; if you
quote, use words and phrases rather than whole sentences
• Write sentences that are clear and that make sense
• Evidence is not a claim; use your evidence to support a claim
• Explain how your evidence supports the claim; connect the
dots for your reader
• Follow appropriate conventions for citing your sources*
*For Paper #3, because the assignment identifies the two articles, you need only
to identify the articles by full title and author once; afterwards, you can simply
refer to authors by last name, and you need to cite only the page numbers.
• Evidence is not a claim; use your evidence to support a claim
• Explain how your evidence supports the claim; connect the dots for your reader
Claim: A statement that can be argued.
Evidence: Anything that can support a claim.
Claim: Barry didn’t recognize the importance of school at the time.
Evidence: She writes, “it [is only] now, 28 years later, that I realize I
was crying from relief” (724).
Connection: It took her 28 years to recognize that her relief came
from being safe – and safety is important to every child.
Claim
Connection
Evidence
Barry sees art as important, because for her, art was a “life
preserver” in an unstable world (724).
Claim or potential evidence?
E Lynda Barry first snuck out of her house in the dark when she
was seven years old.
E Barry says that her teacher “believed in the natural healing
power” of art (723).
C Drawing was important to Barry as a child.
E She writes, “Drawing came to mean everything to me” (724).
E Barry says that a good educational system can save lives.
C Barry tries to persuade readers to support funding for schools.
C Barry’s readers probably come from a variety of backgrounds.
E Barry’s fifth grade teacher was Mr. Cunningham.
E The article includes a drawing of Barry holding a schoolhouse.
Your turn to practice:
Make a claim based on Linda
Barry’s article, support it with
textual evidence, then explain
(as necessary) how the evidence
supports the claim.
Be ready to read your passage
aloud in class.
Summary & analysis of “Does Monsanto Sue Farmers”
Exchange papers with a classmate.
Read the paper you get.
When you finish, answer the following questions about the paper:
*How accurate is the summary?
*How thorough is the summary? (Does it include all key ideas?)
*How accurate and thorough is the analysis?
*How well does it explain the purpose of the article?
*How well does it describe/explain the authors’ strategies?
*What does it say about context?
*Does it identify the readers? the publication and the date?
Explain your answers to help your classmate revise.
9/24
HW: summarize Monsanto articles, pp 683-704 and 875-79
9/29
10/1
Bring one-page summary/analysis of “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear”; discuss in class
Bring one-page summary/analysis of “Does Monsanto Sue Farmers”; discuss in class
10/6
10/8
Bring bullet-point list of similarities and differences between Monsanto articles
Bring complete draft of Paper 3. HW: finish Paper 3 (Note: Parents’ Day is 10/10.)
10/13
Paper 3 (comparison) due (midterm week).
Use remaining class time to revise your
summary/analysis as needed, to discuss the
article(s) with a classmate, to work on your
list of similarities & differences, or to work
on drafting Paper 3.