NROC Developmental English—An Integrated Program
Instructor Guide: Unit 9
Unit 9: Applied Critical Analysis
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................2
FOUNDATIONS ALIGNED WITH UNIT 9 .....................................................................3
NECESSARY BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE .............................................................3
ABOUT THE READING ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................................4
READING SELECTIONS...............................................................................................4
INSIGHT INTO THE READING SELECTIONS .............................................................4
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT FOR UNIT 9 READINGS...............................................5
TIPS............................................................................................................................... 6
ENRICHMENT...............................................................................................................8
INTEGRATING GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND USAGE (GPU)...............................8
INSIGHT INTO THE UNIT GPU FOUNDATIONS .........................................................8
TIPS............................................................................................................................... 9
ENRICHMENT.............................................................................................................12
ABOUT THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT ..........................................................................12
WRITING ASSIGNMENT ............................................................................................12
INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................12
UNIT 9 WRITING ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................14
TIPS............................................................................................................................. 15
ENRICHMENT.............................................................................................................16
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ........................................................................16
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES ...........................................................................................16
ACCESSIBILITY .............................................................................................................17
CLOSED CAPTIONS...................................................................................................17
SCREEN READERS ...................................................................................................18
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................18
UNIT ASSESSMENT SAMPLE ANSWERS AND SCORING GUIDES..........................19
UNIT 9, FORM A AND FORM B, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE ..................................19
SCORING GUIDES .....................................................................................................20
MEMBER SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTS .....................................................................22
JOIN THE COMMUNITY .................................................................................................22
Developed by The NROC Project. Copyright ©2015 Monterey Institute for Technology and Education
Introduction
In this unit, students will closely examine a reading for its effectiveness. They will be
required to consider more than just what the author is stating—they will be asked to
question whether or not the author is stating it effectively. By exploring two articles that
discuss how passion and happiness influence one’s academic and career choices,
students will ask important questions about what makes a successful and memorable
argument.
They will then consider their personal reactions to the way the authors construct their
statements. Did each author prove what he needed to prove? Does the reasoning make
sense? Are you, as a reader, convinced? Students will also look for the presence of bias
and logical fallacies to ensure that the authors stay grounded in their message and
construct sound arguments with rational evidence and controlled emotions. Students will
consider ways to avoid fallacies in their own arguments as they conduct a critical
analysis asserting how successful one author was—or wasn’t—at expressing his
opinion.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Identify the main idea expressed in a complex reading with multiple viewpoints.
 Recognize bias within a reading.
 Identify opinions disguised as facts.
 Identify sources cited in a reading.
 Determine if credible sources were used in a reading.
 Write a thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that presents an
opinion about a text’s effectiveness.
 Outline a multi-page critical analysis essay that examines how successful a text
is at conveying its message and purpose using evidence from the readings as
support.
 Identify the most effective portions of a text to use as evidence in an essay or
written response.
 Use attributive phrases and in-text citations appropriately in an essay or written
response.
 Understand when to paraphrase and when to directly quote a source.
 Identify logical fallacies relating to analysis.
 Write a multi-page critical analysis essay using at least one direct quote and one
paraphrased citation.
 Employ editing techniques that lead to more concise and effective sentences.
 Develop sentences that effectively incorporate source material.
 Identify citation elements in MLA format.
 Identify citation elements in APA format.
 Use context clues to define unknown vocabulary in a reading.
 Use word parts to define unknown vocabulary in a reading.
Essential College Skills: Using the Voice of Others—Information Literacy and
Credible Sources
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FOUNDATIONS ALIGNED WITH UNIT 9
You can locate the Foundations for each unit by clicking on the “Resources” button in
the top right-hand corner of the screen. We have also provided this separate list of links
for the Unit 9 Foundations:
Recognizing the
Main Idea and
Source Bias in a
Complex Reading
Evaluating
Credible Sources
Used Within a
Reading
Creating a Thesis
and an Outline for
a Critical Analysis
Essay
Using Effective
Evidentiary
Support
Paraphrasing vs.
Direct Quotations
Logical Fallacies
and Analysis
Writing a Multipage Critical
Analysis Essay
Creating Concise
Sentences
Blending Source
Material into an
Essay
MLA Citation
Styles
APA Citation
Styles
Using Context
Clues
Identifying Word
Parts
Essential College
Skills: Using the
Voice of Others—
Information
Literacy and
Credible Sources
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/recognizingthe-main-idea-and-source-bias-in-a-complex-reading.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/evaluatingcredible-sources-used-within-a-reading.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/creating-athesis-and-an-outline-for-a-critical-analysis-essay.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/usingeffective-evidentiary-support-.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/paraphrasin
g-vs-direct-quotations.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/logicalfallacies-and-analysis.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/writing-amulti-page-critical-analysis-essay.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/creatingconcise-sentences.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/blendingsource-material-into-an-essay.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/mla-citationstyles.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/apa-citationstyles.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/usingcontext-clues.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/identifyingword-parts.html
http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/essentialcollege-skills-using-the-voice-of-others-information-literacy-and-crediblesources.html
NECESSARY BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
Review these concepts with students prior to starting this unit:
 Gaining computer access and navigating in an online environment
 Identifying the author, topic, implied main idea, major/minor details, intended
audience, point of view, cultural context, and purpose of a reading
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Understanding how different disciplines and contexts shape texts and an author’s
purpose in creating them
Annotating, summarizing, paraphrasing, and outlining a text
Identifying subtext in a reading by making inferences and drawing conclusions
Recognizing and using figurative language
Identifying logical fallacies in the writing of others and avoiding fallacies in one’s
own writing
Crafting and supporting a thesis statement, both stated and implied
Working through the writing process from choosing a topic and developing an
outline to employing effective transitions in a multi-paragraph essay supporting a
position
Creating successful introductions and conclusions
Using MEAL to produce body paragraphs
Writing summaries, opinion-based responses, narratives, and analysis essays
using Standard English
Creating functioning sentence structures; using verbs effectively; using the
appropriate punctuation, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, and
modifying words; using active voice when appropriate; and choosing the correct
word
Recognizing and creating definitional arguments, including the language (formal,
informal, extended, subjective, and objective) and the terms (denotative and
connotative) often paired with them
Identifying and creating comparative arguments, including patterns of
comparison (point-by-point and subject-by-subject) and types of thesis
statements (evaluative and explanatory) that denote them
Recognizing causal relationships in readings and producing a cause and effect
essay in response to a college-level writing assignment
About the Reading Assignment
READING SELECTIONS
“Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” by Jamie Anderson (commissioned)
“Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think,” by Zac Bissonnette
(An alternate APA version of “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” has also been
created and can be used for enrichment activities:
https://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U9_readi
ng_AlternateAPAversion.pdf)
INSIGHT INTO THE READING SELECTIONS
Why they were chosen: For this unit, we wanted students to explore and evaluate
multiple readings in depth to mimic the college experience. Specifically, students should
be able to identify the argument within two articles on a similar topic and evaluate their
success at achieving their purpose, while recognizing the impact of ethos, bias, and
analytical logical fallacies on message effectiveness. We wanted an approachable topic,
one that might also give them practical, directly applicable insights, so we selected "Your
College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think," by Zac Bissonnette. This article
should resonate with students as it discusses the importance of allowing one’s passions
to guide academic choices. We needed to find a companion piece for students to
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comparatively critique, which led to commissioning “Is Happiness the Beginning or the
End?” by the fictitious author Jamie Anderson. This article also offers applicable, related
information as it pursues the question of whether or not happiness at work is a realistic
goal. Students are given the chance to examine these similarly purposed pieces and
decide which author had the most success in achieving his writing goals. “Is Happiness
the Beginning or the End?” is commissioned and students will not be able to find it or the
author through an internet search.
Reading difficulty: The articles present straightforward, conversational takes on
content that relates to student interests. What makes the task challenging is the fact that
there are two texts to negotiate, requiring students to make sense of, and fluctuate
between, two separate pieces with related but different messages. While they have used
multiple texts in previous units, these articles are longer, providing a realistic view of
future college tasks. By encouraging students to take notes and process the pieces
individually before evaluating them jointly, instructors can foster student success.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT FOR UNIT 9 READINGS
achievement
G.M.A.T.
admissions
G.P.A.'s
adopt
Gallup poll
ahead of
global economy
appalled
graduates
appreciate
gratitude
assume
impractical
behavioral change
in contrast
by-the-book
indignant
candidate
intellectually
career earnings
internships
cite
jackass
class rank
journaling
Classical snob
journals
Classics
L.S.A.T.
cliché
landing
competitive edge
leg up
consultant
lens
contrary
liberal arts
correlation
lofty
creativity
M.B.A.'s
Declaration of
Independence
majored
destination
management
disconnect
meditation
disconnected
mind development
distinguishing
misguided
doomed
move the goalposts
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pursuit
random
real world
reality
rejoicing
research
researcher
results
reversed
richer
rights
rigors
S.T.S.
self-evident
shapes
social influence
stimulates
strategies
suit
technical training
technology-driven
Ted Turner
the herd
to wit
transferability
typical
unalienable
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dopamine
drop out
economic success
obscure
obvious
opted
educational
encounter
exaggerated
excerpt
filthy
finance major
formula
Founding Fathers
fuel
fundamental
optimism
optimists
outcome
passionate
perceptions
persuasion
potential
productivity
puked
pursued
variations
vary
VCR repair
verbal
communication skills
version
viewpoint
weird
wired
work ethic
yields
TIPS
If students have difficulty recognizing opinions disguised as facts:
 Look at speeches or quotes from celebrities and identify the opinions
 Examine opinion columns in newspapers and identify facts, opinions, and
misleading opinions
If students have difficulty recognizing sources:
 Look at Wikipedia. Discuss and evaluate their use of sources, including the
pros and cons of using Wikipedia as a source.
 Examine sample student essays from online essay services. Discuss and
evaluate their use of sources. This activity also lets students know that
instructors are aware of these websites.
If students have difficulty recognizing bias:
 Show students highly opinionated blog posts and identify blatant author
stances, making sure to evaluate author credibility, or ethos.
 Examine humorous sources, such as The Onion, and identify sources of bias.
If students have trouble with vocabulary:
 These readings include colloquialisms (i.e., “by-the-book”) and specific concepts
(i.e., “Founding Fathers” or “wired”) that might be unfamiliar to students and
might be difficult to decode within context.
 Ask students to create separate lists of unknown terms for each reading. Remind
students that even the same word might mean something different in another
context. Provide class time for individuals to familiarize themselves with
confusing words or concepts.
 Provide opportunities for students to discuss unfamiliar terms during Active
Reading.
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If students struggle with the reading:
 Break down the reading into more manageable chunks, asking students to
summarize each section as they read.
 Outline the readings together, identifying the message, purpose and structure of
each article, and then jointly discuss how the authors approach and present their
views of the topic.
 Encourage students to read and discuss their comprehension with a partner.
Helping students connect reading and writing:
 Assign a well-known, yet brief, essay such as “Salvation”* by Langston Hughes.
Have students read and process it. Ask students to consider its message,
purpose, style, and tone. What choices did the author make during its
construction? Then look at a critical analysis of the essay, and discuss the
effectiveness of the analysis. Did the author do an effective job creating the
critical analysis? Why or why not? Is this something students should model? Why
or why not?
Tips for Teaching English Language Learners
1. Academic Word List (AWL) words from the unit vocabulary list appear below. At
this point in the course, it would be useful to review parts of speech with ELL
students, as changing parts of speech is one technique for students to use when
paraphrasing. Project the list below on-screen or distribute it to students and
quickly go over the words as a class, identifying parts of speech: (“Achievement?
Noun. Appreciate? Verb. etc.). If students stumble, ask “How do we know the
part of speech?” (Common endings for word forms, position in the sentence etc.)
If students cannot agree on an answer, have them examine the word in context
in the reading, and if necessary, send them to an online dictionary.
achievement
appreciate
assume
cite
(Classical) snob
Classics
consultant
contrary
creativity
(economic) success
encounter
(finance) (major)
formula
(Founding) Fathers
fundamental
(global) (economy)
in (contrast)
journals
(liberal) arts
obvious
outcome
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perceptions
potential
pursued
pursuit
random
research
researcher
reversed
self-(evident)
strategies
(technical) training
(technology)-driven
variations
vary
verbal (communication)
skills
version
work (ethic)
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2. Pre-reading discussion
Depending on students’ backgrounds and the makeup of the class, it can be
interesting to discuss attitudes about choosing majors and careers to help
students make connections to the reading. Is it common for parents to choose a
child’s career path in the students’ home culture? Is there freedom of choice or
pressure to choose a particular career? Is there wide access to college majors,
or are there national placement exams for a limited number of spots in university
programs?
ENRICHMENT
Suggested activities
 Provide students with a list of hot topics and ask the class to choose a topic of
focus (i.e., http://abcnews.go.com/topics/* or
http://www.libraryspot.com/features/currentevents.htm*). Then ask students to
individually find an article on a topic that they think shows bias. Once selected,
they should bring these articles to class and share their selection, making sure to
show “evidentiary support” from the reading to justify their claim of bias.
 To practice source evaluation and selection, find several sources on a similar
topic. Instructors may continue using the unit topic, or find self-contained lessons,
such as this one examining multiple perspectives from historical primary sources
(http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume8/sept09/images/sept
09/multiple_perspectives_psactivity.pdf*). Examine each source, identifying the
author’s message, purpose in contributing to the topic, perspective, opportunities
for bias, credibility, etc. Which sources would be best to use as evidence? Why?
 Examine reviews of a book with which students are familiar, such as Harry Potter
and The Deathly Hallows, from at least two different sources (i.e., “An Epic
Showdown as Harry Potter Is Initiated Into Adulthood” by Michiko Kakutani,
www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/books/19potter.html?_r=0*, and “Harry’s Final
Fantasy: Last Time’s the Charm” by Elizabeth Hand,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/07/21/AR2007072101025.html*). Compare and contrast
the two reviews. Which is the most effective? Why? How does this information
relate to writing the critical analysis for this unit’s assignment?
Integrating Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage (GPU)
INSIGHT INTO THE UNIT GPU FOUNDATIONS
The GPU Foundations for this unit focus on the specific skills students need to
incorporate evidentiary support into their analysis essay. Three of the lessons are
directly related to that task – Blending Source Material into an Essay, MLA Citation
Styles, and APA Citation Styles – while the fourth lesson is meant to help students
address the wordy sentences they tend to create when writing outside of their comfort
zone.
Since the goal is college readiness, students will complete these last two units with
some instruction on citing sources following either the APA or MLA style guide. The
intent is to give them the foundation necessary to complete a typical research project
tasked during freshman composition courses. The goal is not to make them experts in
either style.
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Even though there are multiple style guides in use throughout different colleges and
universities, we determined it best to narrow the instruction to just APA and MLA. For
this unit, the examples in both the unit reading and the sample student writing are in
MLA and the presentations use those versions for instructional purposes. In unit 10, an
APA version of both the reading and sample student writing is used in the presentations.
In both units, APA and MLA versions of the reading and sample student writing are
available for instructors.
GPU Foundations
 MLA Citation Styles
 APA Citation Styles
 Creating Concise Sentences
 Blending Source Material into an Essay
You can locate the GPU Foundations for each unit by clicking on the “Resources” button
in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
TIPS
APA Citation Styles and MLA Citation Styles:
Both of these lessons are similar in their scope and focus and are both included to give
instructors flexibility based on which style is preferred in their particular institution. The
main outcome for these lessons on citing sources is not rote memorization of the varied
ways to cite particular sources, but familiarization with style guide resources that
students can use in future writing assignments. In both lessons, students are given a
comparison between the two styles, and the overall goal is familiarity with how sources
are cited and how in-text citations map to works cited and/or reference pages.
Since the Jamie Anderson article (“Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?”) follows
MLA format, students are shown how source material is integrated into a reading in the
GPU Lens of the Active Reader. (As mentioned earlier, an APA version of the Anderson
text is available. However, multimedia video instruction focusing on APA is not available
until Unit 10.) Students are then presented with more instruction in the Writing
Workshops (which are part of the Writing Center) on integrating sources into their own
essay and the sample student writing also follows the MLA style guide.
These two GPU Lessons will give students a detailed overview for how to cite sources
and clarify the requirements for college-level writing.
Tips for Teaching English Language Learners
1. Understanding citations
Depending upon their previous academic training, English language learners
may have very different—or very little—experience with citation. In addition, the
reasons and requirements for citation may vary by culture. A relatively quick and
powerfully visual way to demonstrate key ideas is to do an in-class analysis and
discussion of citations.
 Project on screen or provide to students a printed example paper from
the lesson or elsewhere, making sure to give source credit.
 Ask students first to circle or highlight (or highlight on the screen)
every instance of citation. Sometimes there may be no parentheses,
so they should look carefully.
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In pairs or groups, students should decide the reason for the citation:
1) Paraphrased information
2) Quotations
3) Numbers or statistics
4) A combination of 1-3 above.
When finished, compare answers. Ask students: Which reason was
most common? (Probably number 1) When were quotations used, if at
all? (For very unique and striking language, a special authority, etc.)
How often inside a paragraph or section of the paper were citations
used? (Perhaps more often than they expected. If students used a
highlighter, a colorful and visual lesson on this frequency can be
internalized.)
 Finally, ask student pairs to make marks next to the sources on the
Works Cited or References page each time they are cited in the body
of the paper. As a class, go over their answers and discuss—How
many times is each source cited? Does any one source dominate?
What does it mean if one source is used predominantly? It is a good
time to remind students that using several sources, in a well-balanced
way, is a worthy goal.
2. Citation workshop
If students have no experience with citation, it can be helpful to build extra time
into the schedule for a “citation workshop.” First, go over the citation lessons on
MLA and/or APA citation styles with the students in class, encouraging extra
questions for discussion. Following this, a hands-on workshop can help students
internalize the process.
 Instructors can raid their bookshelves and office waiting rooms for
books, journals (with both pagination types), magazines, and
anthology volumes to bring to class. It is also very important to
print selections from websites (different types and selections) and
library databases, as these are commonly used by students.
 Put the students in pairs and groups, and have them write on
index cards a Works Cited (or References) entry for each of the
example sources, trading them with each other as they finish.
Instructors can circulate, helping students decipher first name vs.
last name; journal title vs. article title; dates and volumes, etc. All
of these tend to give trouble to students inexperienced with
academic writing in English.
 When finished with all sources, they should alphabetize their index
cards, and compare their Works Cited or References “page” with a
previously prepared teacher model that can be projected or
passed out. Any discrepancies should be discussed and an
explanation provided.
Creating Concise Sentences:
This lesson presents higher order editing strategies to help students eliminate wordy
sentences from their final drafts. It builds upon skills from prior grammar lessons and
helps students strengthen their writing from a more aesthetic point of view. The basis of
the lesson is William Strunk’s well-known advice: “Omit needless words.”
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Prior foundation lessons that are touched on in this lesson are listed below. Students
should be familiar with applying the concepts and rules of the following lessons since
they will be asked to refine the use of these for concision.
 Prepositional Phrases, Unit 1
 Coherence, Unit 3
 Adjectives and Adverbs, Unit 4
 Understanding the Four Sentence Types, Unit 5
 Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions, Unit 6
 Commas with Relative Pronouns, Unit 6
 Active and Passive Voice, Unit 7
 Parenthetical Expressions, Unit 7
Tips for Teaching English Language Learners
English Language Learners may use non-concise language in their writing—or be
overly repetitive with key words—if they lack vocabulary and facility with sentence
structure. If instructors notice these problems in drafts, they should direct students to
review the unit resources to try to find a solution themselves. The resources are very
clear and easy for students to use as a checklist against their own drafts. Instructors
can also collect real (anonymous) examples from student essays and have the class
work together to brainstorm ways to make them more concise.
Blending Source Material into an Essay:
This lesson focuses on the nuts and bolts of integrating source material into an essay. If
students have difficulty paraphrasing source material, this lesson may be particularly
challenging since students are also likely to have trouble distinguishing between quoted
material and paraphrased material. Referring students to the foundation lesson in Unit 7,
Paraphrasing Reading Passages, as well as the lesson in this unit, Paraphrasing vs.
Direct Quotations, can help in these cases. Also, if students have trouble determining
when to use source material in their essays, make sure that they work through the
foundation lesson in this unit on Effective Evidentiary Support as a precursor to this
lesson.
Tips for Teaching English Language Learners
The mechanics of incorporating source material can be almost as difficult for ELLs as
selecting appropriate support and paraphrasing it. Reassure students that their
writing from sources will improve and sound smoother with practice, and that the only
way to get practice is to challenge themselves with the assignment. Share good final
examples of student work—even just one good sentence—to encourage students
and model success.
Finally, students should be instructed to view the Grammar in Context video presentation
located in the Resources for the unit before editing and proofreading their essay. The
video presentation addresses the three topics (omitting the lesson on APA style) in order
to help students during the editing and proofreading stages of essay development. A
good strategy would be to have students watch the video and immediately begin editing
and proofreading their final response paragraph.
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ENRICHMENT
Suggested Activities
 In order to reinforce key elements of both APA and MLA style guides, have
students change the unit reading, “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End” to
follow APA guidelines instead of MLA. An APA version has already been created
and can be used as a grading tool:
https://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U9_reading_Alt
ernateAPAversion.pdf



Split the class into two groups and have students in group one find an academic
journal article on the subject of happiness at work (or some other topic) that
follows MLA style guide, and have the students in group two find one that follows
APA. In class, pair students up so that one has an APA journal article and the
other has an MLA article, then have them compare the two and come up with
similarities and differences. Steer the conversation to the types of disciplines that
use each style.
To work on blending source material into an essay, have students create outlines
for their essays that include the full quotes or paraphrases they plan on using as
evidence in their supporting paragraphs. Then have them work in pairs at writing
one supporting paragraph from each of their outlines.
To help students create concise sentences, develop a worksheet with examples
of wordy and awkward sentences from the student drafts, either from this unit or
from prior work that has been collected throughout the semester. Present these
sentences to the class and have students work in pairs or small groups on
making the sentences more concise.
About the Writing Assignment
WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Choose one of the reading selections and write a multi-paragraph critical analysis essay
identifying the author's thesis and purpose, briefly summarizing the selected reading,
and evaluating the author's success, or lack of success, in supporting the thesis and
satisfying his purpose for writing. Make sure to AVOID logical fallacies when establishing
your evidence and analysis. Your essay should include carefully considered analysis as
well as proper in-text citations for the source material you integrate into your essay.
INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Why it was chosen: This unit asks students to perform a writing task that is critical in
college writing—the analysis essay. Whether it is called a literary, rhetorical, or critical
analysis, the basic premise is the same: students must know how to evaluate whether or
not an author successfully met his or her writing purpose. Inherent within this evaluation
is the need to break down the text and analyze it according to how effective it is—a task
students will be asked to perform directly and indirectly throughout their academic
endeavors. Therefore, the writing assignment for this unit exposes students to a concept
they must eventually master, giving them a chance to practice now what they will need
later. Instructors should note that we defined a process for “writing a critical analysis
essay” for this curriculum, but there are different ways to approach writing this type of
essay. Introducing one or more additional approaches to supplement this unit’s
instruction has been left up to classroom goals and an instructor’s discretion.
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Task difficulty: Outside of the typical struggles students tend to have when writing
essays (coherency, providing enough evidence and reasoning, staying on topic, etc.),
this unit offers a special challenge because it asks students to evaluate the strength of
the authors’ messages. Students tend to think they have this concept down, especially
when instructors provide all the necessary modeling and preparation it takes to write a
critical analysis, but they can veer off into two main directions, neither of which
represents the task: 1) summarizing the pieces without critiquing them, and 2) talking
about the topic rather than the author’s effectiveness in presenting the topic.
To avoid these two pitfalls, instructors should model the writing task in class, multiple
times if necessary, and provide students with a chance to practice individually, in pairs,
or in groups. Also, instructors should expect the review process to take additional time,
since there may be a need for multiple checks to verify that students are on task.
Creating an outline is a helpful tool, but students need feedback on their rough drafts
because they can insert opinions or unrelated information when they start developing
content. Once they get the basic concept down, their future endeavors will be much
easier, and so this is time well spent.
Rubric: The following rubric can be used to score a student’s response using five
separate categories. Each of these five categories will be rated as Proficient,
Developing, or Needs Improvement.
Proficient means a student has met the standards of an effective response. Developing
means a student has partially met the standards of a response, but it needs some
revision. Needs Improvement means the student did not meet the standards of an
effective response.
Multi-Paragraph Critical Analysis
Proficient
Developing
Purpose
(critical
analysis)
Clearly presents a wellsupported, interesting
claim that analyzes
how effectively the
chosen article achieves
its purpose.
Thesis
Statement
Clearly presents a
thesis statement in an
interesting way and
shows how the essay
will progress.
Supporting
Ideas
(use of Major
and Minor
Details,
including
evidence)
Uses solid examples to
support the thesis
statement and prove
important points;
effectively incorporates
source material.
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Includes a partial
critical analysis, but
doesn’t effectively
evaluate the article
and/or presents an
unoriginal, unsound
viewpoint.
Vaguely identifies a
functional but
uninteresting thesis
statement. The
overall essay
direction is present
but inconsistent.
Partially uses
examples as proof;
lacks support for
some important
points; inclusion of
source material is
only partially
Needs
Improvement
Does not present a
critical analysis, or
presents an
undeveloped critical
analysis.
Does not include a
thesis statement
and the essay’s
direction is unclear.
Does not develop or
provide examples to
illustrate the claim;
does not include
source material.
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Paragraph
Development
(strength of
introduction,
conclusion and
coherency)
Smoothly connects
ideas between/within
paragraphs in a
purposeful manner;
introduction and
conclusion make
interesting, effective
statements about the
topic.
Grammar &
Punctuation
Essay contains
concise, effective
sentences and
correctly incorporates
source material with
citations.
effective.
Ideas between/within
paragraphs are
partially connected or
moderately
purposeful;
introduction and
conclusion are
present but not
effective.
Essay needs further
editing and/or
contains some
problems with
effective sentences
and source
inclusion/citation.
Missing connection
between ideas;
purpose of content
is unclear;
incomplete
introduction and
conclusion.
Essay displays little
attention to editing
or effective
sentence
construction;
attempts to include
or cite sources are
missing or incorrect.
UNIT 9 WRITING ACTIVITIES
Pre-Reading:
 Reading Overview: Understanding Publication Dates
How important do you think it is to the credibility of these articles that they are
recently published? List at least two topics where timely publication dates might
not be as important.
 Preview: Interpreting Introductions
Compare the strategies used in the two introductions for the readings. Why do
you think each of the authors chose to begin his article as he did?
 Connect to the Reading: Personal Response
In your experience, what makes a person happy or unhappy at work? List at least
three factors that make the biggest difference.
 Make Predictions and Ask Questions: The Influence of Bias
How will you know if the authors are doing a good job controlling the potential for
bias? Write a sentence summarizing your strategy of things to look for to
determine if bias might be shaping the text.
Post-Reading:
 Review: Reading Purpose
o In a one-paragraph summary, explain the purpose of Jamie Anderson’s
article, “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?”
o Next, write a one-paragraph summary explaining the purpose of
Bissonnette’s article, “Your College Major May Not Be As Important As
You Think.”
 Discuss: Evaluating Evidence
Join the discussion. Which author uses evidence more effectively? Use
examples from the article to support your answer.
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
Reflect: A Comparison
Write a paragraph in which you explain the similarities and differences between
how the two articles approach the topic of happiness and careers.
Pre-Writing:
 Understand the Assignment: Drafting the Summary
Write a one-paragraph summary for your chosen article. Be sure to consider the
purpose, main point, supporting details, and any notable aspects of the structure
and writing strategies. You will be able to use this when you summarize the
article in your essay.
 Generate Ideas: Purposeful Annotation
Go back to the article you have chosen to write about and make annotations.
First, identify the author’s main point, sub-claims, and supporting evidence. Next,
annotate each claim the article makes, and explain what you think the author
accomplishes with it. (Note: You will see both articles in the annotations window,
so only focus on the article you have selected to write about.)
 Develop a Thesis Statement: Getting to the Point
Create a one- or two-sentence working thesis statement that includes your
judgment about the effectiveness of your chosen article. Make it interesting so
your reader will want to keep reading to discover how you will prove your point.
 Organize Ideas: The Structure
Use the structure below to draft ideas for what should go into each section of
your essay:
Article’s message
Article’s foundation
Article’s structure
Articles’ purpose and impact
Introductory ideas
Concluding ideas
TIPS
Helping students connect reading and writing:
Choose a song that has recently won an award (Grammy, Oscar, Billboard 100,
CMA, etc.). Print out the lyrics and distribute them to students. Ask students to
identify the song’s message, purpose, audience, style, tone, emotional appeals,
overall sound, specific musical techniques, and presentation strategy. Then ask the
students to evaluate its effectiveness. Is it worth all the attention it’s getting? Why or
why not? Is it possible to appreciate the way the artist created the song, but not like
the song itself? Likewise, can a catchy song be poorly written?
If students have difficulty:
 Analyze the effectiveness of one of the essays together in class.
 Offer students a list of detailed questions that walk them through the critical
analysis process as a precursor to the writing process (i.e.,
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/co301aman/pop7b3.cfm*).
 Provide students with model essays and allow them to “grade” each essay. Ask
students which strategies they would mimic and avoid (i.e.
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jewel001/CollegeWriting/WRITEREAD/CritReview/sampl
es.htm*).
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


Read a funny article together and conduct a critical analysis of it (i.e., “My God,
What Passes for Crunch-tastic These Days” by Mel Crowley:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/my-god-what-passes-for-crunchtastic-thesedays,11151/*).
Have students brainstorm or outline their work in pairs.
Allow class time for students to review each other’s work and check for
coherency.
Tips for Teaching English Language Learners
The evaluation of evidence is likely to be challenging for ELLs. To help them get a
handle on this key aspect of the assignment, have them practice first orally and then
in writing (perhaps using some of the suggestions in “Tips” and “If students have
difficulty” above). Students may have an easier time coming up with something to
say about evidence by talking it out as a group; however, they will probably need the
instructor’s help and group consensus to craft an appropriate academic tone for the
written version. Constructing written statements on the board that represent the class
evaluation of evidence can also be an opportunity to keep them on task, and help
them avoid simply summarizing or just substituting personal opinions about the topic
and not the author’s evidence. The instructor can be “led” by the students, writing
their suggestions on the board, but always questioning whether it meets the
assignment criteria, steering them in a better direction as needed.
ENRICHMENT
Optional activities:
 Ask students to think about how they would write an essay on the topic of
allowing interest to direct academic and career choices. Brainstorm what should
be said and how to support their argument. They can even create an outline
illustrating their main points and the kind of evidence they would use. Students
can use this information as a guide for evaluating the two articles in the unit. Did
the authors do what they should have? Are their points valid, logical, and worth
considering? Have they supported them with enough information? Wrap up the
discussion by comparing an ideal version of the essay with the real thing.
 Look at soft drink ads from the past and comparatively evaluate them in groups
(i.e., http://www.vintag.es/2013/10/interesting-soft-drinkss-ads-in-past.html*).
Students should identify the intended audience, message, purpose, inherent
values, bias, and presentation strategy for each. They should then decide which
is the most effective and defend their selection with proof from the ads.
 Examine a movie review for a current movie from a national publication (i.e., The
New York Times or USA Today). Ask students to 1. Summarize the review, 2.
Evaluate the strength of the review, and 3. Identify examples of bias. Did the
author achieve his/her purpose? Why or why not?
Common Core State Standards
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Once your students have completed Unit 9: Applied Critical Analysis, you can continue
teaching with these extension activities. These activities build upon the skills learned in
the unit and correlate with the reading selections. The material is designed to assist in
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addressing Common Core State Standards. The content is organized by grade level to
mirror the organization of the standards.
Grades 9-10 students:
1. Read Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird or Shakespeare’s play Romeo
and Juliet. While reading the novel, assign each student the role of one of the
characters. The student is responsible for understanding the character’s motives
and actions. They must come to class prepared to answer questions from fellow
students regarding their character. The remaining students are tasked with
creating questions to ask the characters in a classroom discussion. The students’
questions need to probe reasoning and use evidence from the readings. All
students should propel the conversation by taking different stances, clarifying or
challenging ideas, and/or offering creative perspectives. This process will be
repeated as many times as necessary for each section of the reading.
2. Have students research a college major and create a presentation about the
classes required for the major, how much people completing the major can
expect to make, and what jobs are possible with that major. Students should use
a variety of media to add interest to the presentation. Conduct a class discussion
on whether or not the majors students select in college matter.
Grades 11-12 students:
1. Study Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Othello by William Shakespeare, or Heart
of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. While reading the literature, students will be
assigned a role of one of the characters. The students are responsible for
understanding their character’s motives and actions. The remaining students are
tasked with creating questions to ask the characters in a class discussion. The
students’ questions need to probe reasoning and use evidence from the
readings. All students should propel the conversation by clarifying or challenging
ideas and/or offering creative perspectives.
Accessibility
CLOSED CAPTIONS
All of the videos in NROC English include Closed Captions (CC)—text versions of what
is being spoken. To access the Closed Captions, click on the CC button in the controller
bar for each video.
Once you click the CC button, the captions will open to the right of the video and will
automatically advance as the video progresses.
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To close the captions window, click the CC button again.
SCREEN READERS
The NROC English Unit Player has been designed for use with screen readers. We have
provided an Accessibility Guide, which you can share with anyone who will be
using NROC English with a screen reader. You can also put the link to this accessibility
guide directly into your course:
http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/Accessibilit
y.html
We have also provided a video that demonstrates how to use the NROC English Unit
Player with a screen reader. The demonstration video can be accessed from the
Accessibility Guide or directly at this URL: https://player.vimeo.com/video/132236450
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
We have also provided an alternate form of two Active Reader lenses since they are not
implemented for a screen reader:

Grammar, Punctuation, Usage lens:
http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U09GPU.html

Vocabulary lens:
http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U09Vocab.html
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Unit Assessment Sample Answers and Scoring Guides
For each of the constructed response questions (short answer) in the Unit Assessment,
we provide you with a suggested point value, sample answer, and scoring guide (below).
UNIT 9, FORM A and FORM B, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE
Question 19
Learning Objective
Employ editing techniques that lead to more concise and effective
text
sentences.
Point Value
2
Prompt
Read this sentence.
Bothered by allergies, a condition that made them sneeze, some of
the high schoolers had sinus troubles that caused them to miss
several days of school last fall.
Rewrite this sentence in a more concise way without losing
important information.
Sample Answer:
Question 20
Learning Objective
text
Point Value
Prompt
Bothered by allergies, some high schoolers missed several days of
school last fall.
Write a thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that
presents an opinion about a text’s effectiveness.
2
A thesis for a critical analysis essay should identify what the author
wanted to accomplish and then assess the author’s success in doing
so.
You have just read the passage “The Future of the USPS.” Write a
sample thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that
presents your opinion about the passage’s effectiveness.
Sample Answer:
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In “The Future of the USPS,” Cedric Brown successfully explains why
the USPS is in such dire straits, leading to proposals for change that
might insure its survival. The passage described the history well, but
included the most detail about the last seven years of instability and
failure. It also effectively called all citizens to action to redefine the
USPS.
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SCORING GUIDES
The following scoring guides are provided as a guide for scoring answers to the Unit 9
Constructed Response questions.
Scoring Guide: Editing Techniques
Learning Objective: Employ editing techniques that lead to more concise and effective
sentences.
CATEGORY
Convention:
SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
(employ editing
techniques for
more concise
and effective
sentences)
2
1
NS/0
The sentence(s) are
reconstructed with both
a subject and verb.
The sentence(s) contain a
subject and verb, although
may not be as properly
reconstructed as a 2-point
sentence.
The sentences lack
structure and appear
incomplete or rambling.
Student has employed
the following editing
techniques to make the
sentence(s) more
concise (where
applicable):
-Avoids redundancy
-Multiple words
replaced with a single
word
-Unnecessary
prepositional phrases
deleted
-Active voice replaces
passive voice
-Cliché removed
-Changed nouns to verbs
-Removed “There
is/There are” phrase
from beginning of
sentence
-Removed/avoided
qualifiers
-Changed negatives into
affirmatives
CONVENTIONS
v2.1
Writer makes no errors
in convention that
distract the reader from
the content: sentence
formation; standard
usage including
agreement, tense, and
case; and mechanics
including use of
capitalization,
punctuation, and
spelling
Student has attempted
some of the following
editing techniques to make
the sentence(s) more
concise, but not entirely
successful (where
applicable):
-Avoids redundancy
-Multiple words replaced
with a single word
-Unnecessary
prepositional phrases
deleted
-Active voice replaces
passive voice
-Cliché removed
-Changed nouns to verbs
-Removed “There is/There
are” phrase from
beginning of sentence
-Removed/avoided
qualifiers
-Changed negatives into
affirmatives
Writer makes 1 or 2 minor
errors in convention
appropriate to the task
that distract the reader
from the content:
sentence formation;
standard usage including
agreement, tense, and
case; and mechanics
including use of
capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling
Student was unsuccessful at
most or all of the following
editing techniques (where
applicable):
Avoids redundancy
-Multiple words replaced
with a single word
-Unnecessary prepositional
phrases deleted
-Active voice replaces
passive voice
-Cliché removed
-Changed nouns to verbs
-Removed “There is/There
are” phrase from beginning
of sentence
-Removed/avoided
qualifiers
-Changed negatives into
affirmatives
Writer makes multiple
errors in convention
appropriate to the task that
distract the reader from the
content: sentence
formation; standard usage
including agreement,
tense, and case; and
mechanics including use of
capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling
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Scoring Guide: Thesis Statement
Learning Objective: Write a thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay
that presents an opinion about a text’s effectiveness.
CATEGORY
Content:
FOCUS ON
TOPIC
2
1
NS/0
There is one clear, wellfocused topic.
There is more than one
topic introduced in the
thesis statement.
The topic is not clear.
The thesis statement is
appropriate to the
essay type, utilizing
possible key words to
help organize the
structure of the essay.
The thesis statement
evaluates the text
provided, successfully
assessing what the
author wanted to
accomplish and
assessing the author’s
success in doing so.
CONVENTIONS
Content: STYLE
- Vocabulary
v2.1
Exhibits REASONABLE
CONTROL of
grammatical
conventions
appropriate to the
writing task: sentence
formation; standard
usage including
agreement, tense, and
case; and mechanics
including use of
capitalization,
punctuation, and
spelling.
Exhibits skillful use of
vocabulary that is
precise and purposeful.
The thesis statement
does not focus on the
essay type in an
appropriate manner. The
thesis statement is
worded in such a way
that it is unclear what
the organizational
structure of the essay
will be.
The thesis statement
may evaluate the text
provided, and either
assesses what the author
wanted to accomplish or
assesses the author’s
success in doing so, but
most likely not both, or
not successfully.
Exhibits MINIMAL
CONTROL of
grammatical
conventions appropriate
to the writing task:
sentence formation;
standard usage including
agreement, tense, and
case; and mechanics
including use of
capitalization,
punctuation, and
spelling.
Exhibits minimal use of
vocabulary that is
precise and purposeful.
The thesis, if one is
provided, does not
focus on any essay
type and does not
provide any
organizational
structure.
The thesis does not
evaluate the text
provided.
Illegible or otherwise
unscorable: blank
responses, responses
that are off-topic or
incoherent.
LACKS CONTROL of
grammatical
conventions
appropriate to the
writing task:
sentence formation;
standard usage
including agreement,
tense, and case; and
mechanics including
use of capitalization,
punctuation, and
spelling.
Illegible or otherwise
unscorable: blank
responses, responses
that are off-topic or
incoherent.
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Member Suggested Supplements
We encourage our members to share teaching ideas, as well as any additional
resources they create to pair with NROC English. To find materials other members have
donated, go to The NROC Network and select “Professional Development”.
http://www.nrocnetwork.org/professional-development
Additional member-suggested resources to use with Unit 9 include:
 There are currently no member suggested resources.
Please email [email protected] if you would like to contribute resources or
suggestions for this Instructor Guide.
Join the Community
We recommend that all instructors join the NROC English group at the NROC
Community so they have access to all updates and notices about the English course.
The NROC Community is a user community of teachers and administrators who want to
learn, share ideas, help each other, and work together to improve educational
opportunities for everyone. We encourage all members to actively participate and
support each other through posts in the Community.
*Any links to non-NROC, third-party resources listed in this Instructor Guide may change
over time. We update the Instructor Guides annually and correct any broken links.
Developed by The NROC Project. Copyright ©2015 Monterey Institute for Technology and Education
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