English IV Magazine Article Analysis Project
You are responsible for reading two magazine articles this school year. You will type a 7-point,
one page analysis of each article based on the instructions and model provided. For this project,
use ONLY articles from the magazines listed below. ONLINE ARTICLES ARE NOT
ACCEPTED.
Smithsonian
National Geographic (NOT National Geographic Traveler or special edition issues)
Audubon
Rolling Stone
Fortune
Time
The New Yorker
Harper’s (NOT Harper’s Bazaar)
Vanity Fair
Scientific American
Texas Monthly
Psychology Today
Discover
This typed assignment is due March 28 and serves as your fifth six-week project grade.
.
NOTES:
1. You must submit copies of the article that you used (3 pgs. min) along with your
typed analysis in order to receive credit.* Show highlighted quotes in your copies.
2. Analysis must be in MLA format – 1 inch margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font – in
order to receive credit.
3. THIS IS A ONE PAGE ANALYSIS.
*COPY THREE PAGES OF YOUR ARTICLE (text not pictures) AND STAPLE THEM
TO BACK OF YOUR TYPED ANALYSIS.
IN ADDITION, YOU MUST USE DIFFERENT QUOTES THROUGHOUT YOUR
ANALYSIS. In other words, do not use the same quotes for each item I – VII.
Scroll down to next page.
I.
Work Cited using MLA format (20 pts.)
Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine. Date: page numbers. Print.
II.
Main Idea (10)
Using your own words, summarize the point of the article in one sentence.
III.
Fact/Opinion (20)
A fact is something that is verifiable; an opinion is something that is not verifiable. Find
one example of a fact, and quote it. Find one example of an opinion, and quote it.
A. Fact: “
” (Carter 16).
B. Opinion: “
” (17).
IV.
Paraphrase (10)
To paraphrase means to take the idea of another writer and state it in your own words.
A. Quote: “
” (18).
B. Your paraphrase - no quotation marks needed, BUT YOU STILL MUST
DOCUMENT PAGE NUMBER.
V.
Tone (10)
Tone is a reflection of the author’s attitude toward his or her subject or audience. He or
she may be enthusiastic, cynical, nostalgic, sentimental, satiric, whimsical, etc. An
author’s tone may change throughout the article; however, for this exercise, look for the
overall tone, then select one adjective that best describes it. – Use your “Tone Words”
handout for this section. You must use a quote from the author in this section.
A. Tone: The author’s tone in this article is _________. (NO “INFORMATIVE”)
B. Support: (provide a quote that supports tone)
VI.
Inference (10)
To infer is to conclude by reasoning from premises or evidence – to guess or surmise.
For example, if you were to say “I’m going to fail this test,” I can infer that you don’t
understand the material, or you chose not to study, or you forgot about it, or you just
broke up with your boyfriend or girlfriend and are so devastated that you don’t care
about your grades, and so on.
A. Fact: “
” Quote a fact with page number from the article.
B. Inference: Draw an inference from the fact. Be careful that you are not just
paraphrasing the fact. Look back at IV Paraphrase.
VII.
Vocabulary (20)
To practice leaning the meaning of words from context, choose two words from the
article that you did not know previously. For each of the words:
A. Quote the sentence from the article in which the word is located. (Underline the word
in the sentence.)
B. Write what you think the word means based on context.
C. Write the part of speech and dictionary definition of the word.
D. Write your own sentence correctly using the word, and underline it.
Note: Each vocabulary word (two) for item VII is worth 10 pts. with A, B, C and D completed.