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Critical Inquiry

Critical Inquiry. research analysis argument See discussion in Knowing Words chapter 2. PWR goals. analyze texts in a variety of genres , understanding how content, style, structure and format vary across a range of reading and writing situations . Teaching Analysis.

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Critical Inquiry

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  1. Critical Inquiry • research • analysis • argument • See discussion in Knowing Words chapter 2

  2. PWR goals analyze texts in a variety of genres, understanding how content, style, structure and format vary across a range of reading and writing situations

  3. Teaching Analysis Dictionary definitions of analysis invoke an act of dissection—pulling something apart to see what it's made of, to see how it is composed. To analyze is to determine how the parts make the whole or how the whole fits into a bigger whole. Jackson (10-11)

  4. Teaching Analysis Gerald Graff has argued that the intellectual life is the analytical life. Clueless in Academe

  5. Analysis & Transfer In essence we promise students that what they learn from us will go with them to other contexts and give them power in their personal, professional, and public lives — power, more specifically, to analyze texts . . . to determine their merits and demerits. Are we delivering on this promise? Are we teaching the analytical life? Or is the analytical essay a "school genre," as David Smit argues, that often does not "really convey any information to anyone who needs the information, nor really try to persuade anyone of any particular viewpoint." Brian Jackson “Teaching the Analytical Life”

  6. Teaching Analysis • 92% of FYW programs and instructors surveyed assign “analysis” Brian Jackson’s (BYU) 2010 survey of 138 writing programs

  7. Teaching Analysis Jackson (14)

  8. Teaching Analysis Jackson (15)

  9. Teaching Analysis Jackson (16)

  10. Teaching Analysis • Summary – finding the main ideas in a source or article • Compare & contrast • Rubrics • Guided questions • Annotated bibliographies

  11. Teaching Analysis Things only get interesting when they are different

  12. Teaching Analysis • Fission – breaking dissimilar things apart to find the commonalities • Marleen Barr Genre Fission • “same” things – break them down until you find the differences • Same conclusion – different rationale, facts, methodology, philosophy

  13. Teaching Analysis • Approaching a problem from a variety of angles or disciplines • Asking different kinds and/or qualities of questions • Finding or organizing information into patterns or “shapes”

  14. Teaching Analysis • The more information you have, the more important it is to conceptualize it – to give it a shape. • Show your students a variety of tools they can use to arrange their information in ways they can use.

  15. Analysis: tools mapping: from invention to organization

  16. Analysis: tools characterize / find a shape for information Pro/con? Majority/minority views? Multi-sided problem? Continuum?

  17. Analysis: tools use a matrix to organize & visualize Venn diagrams Vector based charts • ____ • ____ • ____ • ____ • ____ • ____ • ____ • ____ T-charts Electronic notes

  18. Teaching Analysis: stakeholders You borrowed your parent’s car and ran into a light pole. Who is going to care about this?

  19. Teaching Analysis Talk them through questions like: Who cares? What do they care about? Why?

  20. Teaching Analysis: questions • What kinds of questions do different disciplines ask about an object?

  21. Teaching Analysis: questions

  22. Analysis Argument “I wonder if you people aren't a bit too — well, strong, on the virtues of analysis. I mean, once you've taken it all apart, fine, I'll be first to applaud your industry. But other than a lot of bits and pieces lying about, what have you said?“ Roger Mexico, in Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow (88)

  23. PWR goals construct effective and ethical arguments using appropriate reasons and evidence to support your positions while responding to multiple points of view

  24. Teaching Argument “To teach students to argue knowledgeably, thoughtfully, and ethically is to equip them to participate effectively in the formal institutions of a large democracy as well as in smaller organizations, such as religious groups, school boards, or community action projects.” (Timothy Barnett, Teaching Argument in the Composition Course)

  25. Teaching Argument Toulmin? Rogerian? Stasis theory? Enthymenes? Syllogisms? Students can be overwhelmed with categories. Knowing Words (chapter 5) presents a basic approach to argument based on Toulmin and Rogerian argument.

  26. Teaching Argument • To write an effective argument, students need • to: • Identify the basic components and context • of an argument • Analyze/evaluate an argument • Apply this knowledge to their own • arguments

  27. Teaching Argument • Identify basic components/context: • Exercises & activities that provide background information/history/context, range of perspectives • Stakeholder analysis – discussions of social, political & economic motivations/beliefs/values of various • groups • Identify key questions/issues

  28. Teaching Argument • Analyze/Evaluate: • Rhetorical analysis of sample arguments (see worksheet #2)

  29. Teaching Argument • Apply to their own argument: • Students use rhetorical framework to build an argument • related to their topics (see worksheet #3) • Note: Break the menu of questions into smaller tasks • for homework assignments, inclass work, • and individual projects.

  30. Teaching Argument • What’s your claim? • What are your reasons? (proofs) • Who’s your intended audience? • What beliefs/assumptions/ideas do they probably have about this issue? • What do you anticipate your audience will say to your argument and how can you respond? (counterargument) • What do you want your audience to do after reading your argument? (call to action) • What are the potential ethical issues in composing your argument?

  31. Teaching Argument • What types of evidence do you need? • (logic, emotion, credibility) • What style is appropriate for this audience? • (voice, tone, diction, etc.) • What structure will best support your argument? (outline/do a visual of your claim, reasons, and • counterargument)

  32. Teaching Argument Classical Rhetoric: Enthymeme - A Teaching Tool for Analyzing Arguments in Popular Media Observation - This man has perjured himself in the past. Generalization - Those who perjure themselves cannot be trusted. Inference - This man is not to be trusted. Generally, an enthymeme is a truncated argument – either the generalization or the observation is unstated. For example: The bill will promote the use of quotas in the workplace. (Quotas give unearned opportunities to minorities - unstated) Whites’ opportunities will be given to minorities if the bill passes.

  33. Teaching Argument Key concept: Whatever the theoretical framework and however you identify the basic parts of an argument, students should learn that an argument is part of a larger conversation. They should see that understanding the rhetorical situation (the purposes, audiences and context) plays a significant role in making effective choices in content, style, and structure when writing their own argument.

  34. Teaching Rhetorical Analysis • Students already do rhetorical analysis every day (mag cover exercise) • It’s about persuasion: “What makes you change your mind?” (KW) • Provide a framework for understanding the rhetorical situation: Purposes (message, motive, and moment) Audiences (primary, secondary, etc.) Choices (appeals – strategies: content, structure, style, format, etc.) Ethics and Effects (power, consequences: intended and unintended) • Questions about context: When, where, who? (circumstances around the text) • Questions about the text: What? Why? To whom? How? • Questions about consequences: Effects/ Results? Ethics?

  35. Teaching Rhetorical Analysis • What are our texts? Symbols (words, images, logos, colors, objects – clothing, cars, etc.) • Language is slippery… (range of meanings) • Cultural context (colors, objects – Red Cross / Red Crescent) • Symbols accrue meaning (Nike swoosh)

  36. Teaching Rhetorical Analysis

  37. Teaching Rhetorical Analysis Daryn Cagle political cartoon site, Cagle Post - searchable

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