Annotating and Questioning the Text: Reread the text, and complete the following assignment:
1. Highlight and label the following points in the essay in the left- hand margin:
• Introduction
• Issue or problem being addressed
• Author’s main arguments
• Author’s examples
• Conclusion
2. Write in the right-hand margin your reactions to what the author is saying.
3. Highlight in another color any places where you were confused.
Analyzing Stylistic Choices: The questions below about the author’s use of words and sentences will help you understand how the text works. Answer them in your journals or on a separate piece of paper. Be prepared to discuss your responses with others.
Words
1. What is the definition of “non-conformists” (par. 2)? What image comes to your mind when you hear this word?
2. How do the words “anti-social freak” (par. 2) make you feel? What image comes to mind when you hear those words?
3. Which words or synonyms are repeated? Why?
Sentences
1. What does Feys mean when he says, “Most anti-social freaks, in their obsession with displaying their freakishness, are just as dependent on others’ opinions as approval-seeking socialites” (par. 2)? Explain what he means in this statement.
2. In paragraph 4, Feys says, “society looks down upon freakish and extraordinary individuals alike and views them with suspicion.” Who is he talking about when he says “freakish and extraordinary individuals”?
3. Are the sentences in this essay mostly long or short? Are they complex or simple? What effect might these choices of the author have on the reader?
Mapping the Organizational Structure: Learning more about the structure of the text will give you a better understanding of the writer’s approach to his subject, which you can then apply to your own writing. Complete the following tasks individually:
1. Draw a line across the page where the introduction ends. Is it after the first paragraph, or are there several introductory paragraphs? How do you know?
2. Draw a line across the page where the conclusion begins. Is the last paragraph the conclusion, or are there several concluding paragraphs? How do you know?
3. Discuss your reasons for drawing the lines where you did. In this activity, thinking and reasoning about organizational structure is more important than agreeing on where the lines should be drawn.
4. Now divide the body of the text into sections by topics (what each section is about). Remember that the topic of a section may consist of more than one paragraph.
5. Write a short description of what each section is about.
1. Highlight and label the following points in the essay in the left- hand margin:
• Introduction
• Issue or problem being addressed
• Author’s main arguments
• Author’s examples
• Conclusion
2. Write in the right-hand margin your reactions to what the author is saying.
3. Highlight in another color any places where you were confused.
Analyzing Stylistic Choices: The questions below about the author’s use of words and sentences will help you understand how the text works. Answer them in your journals or on a separate piece of paper. Be prepared to discuss your responses with others.
Words
1. What is the definition of “non-conformists” (par. 2)? What image comes to your mind when you hear this word?
2. How do the words “anti-social freak” (par. 2) make you feel? What image comes to mind when you hear those words?
3. Which words or synonyms are repeated? Why?
Sentences
1. What does Feys mean when he says, “Most anti-social freaks, in their obsession with displaying their freakishness, are just as dependent on others’ opinions as approval-seeking socialites” (par. 2)? Explain what he means in this statement.
2. In paragraph 4, Feys says, “society looks down upon freakish and extraordinary individuals alike and views them with suspicion.” Who is he talking about when he says “freakish and extraordinary individuals”?
3. Are the sentences in this essay mostly long or short? Are they complex or simple? What effect might these choices of the author have on the reader?
Mapping the Organizational Structure: Learning more about the structure of the text will give you a better understanding of the writer’s approach to his subject, which you can then apply to your own writing. Complete the following tasks individually:
1. Draw a line across the page where the introduction ends. Is it after the first paragraph, or are there several introductory paragraphs? How do you know?
2. Draw a line across the page where the conclusion begins. Is the last paragraph the conclusion, or are there several concluding paragraphs? How do you know?
3. Discuss your reasons for drawing the lines where you did. In this activity, thinking and reasoning about organizational structure is more important than agreeing on where the lines should be drawn.
4. Now divide the body of the text into sections by topics (what each section is about). Remember that the topic of a section may consist of more than one paragraph.
5. Write a short description of what each section is about.
