Empoword

Part Two: Text Wrestling 216 Assignment: Text wrestling Analysis To practice critical, analytical thinking through the medium of writing, you will perform a text wrestling analysis and synthesize your findings in an essay driven by a central, unifying insight presented as a thesis and supported by evidence. Assignment First, you will determine which text it is that you’d like to analyze. Your teacher might provide a specific text or set of texts to choose from, or they may allow you to choose your own. 1) If your teacher assigns a specific text , follow the steps in the next section. 2) If your teacher assigns a set of texts to choose from , read each of them once. Then, narrow it down by asking yourself, a. Which texts were most striking or curious? Which raised the most questions for you as a reader? b. How do the texts differ from one another in content, form, voice, and genre? c. Which seem like the “best written”? Why? d. Which can you relate to personally? Try to narrow down to two or three texts that you particularly appreciate. Then try to determine which of these will help you write the best close reading essay possible. Follow the steps from #1 once you’ve determined your focus text. 3) If your teacher allows you to choose any text you want , they probably did so because they want you to choose a text that means a lot to you personally. a. Consider first what medium (e.g., prose, film, music, etc.) or genre (e.g., essay, documentary, Screamo) would be most appropriate and exciting, keeping in mind any restrictions your teacher might have set. b. Then, brainstorm what topics seem relevant and interesting to you. c. Finally, try to encounter at least three or four different texts so you can test the waters. Now that you’ve chosen a focus text, you should read it several times using the active reading strategies contained in this section and the appendix. Consider what parts are contributing to the whole text, and develop an analytical perspective about that relationship. Try to articulate this analytical perspective as a working thesis—a statement of your interpretation which you will likely revise in some way or another. (You might also consider whether a specific critical lens seems relevant or interesting to your analysis.) Next, you will write a 250-word proposal indicating which text you’ve chosen, what your working thesis is, and why you chose that text and analytical perspective. (This will help keep