I’m stuck on a Writing question and need an explanation.
Please use the following method to break down key aspects of the long-form essay: Answer the questions and then include the MLA Citation of the essay followed by the concise and clearly formulated single-spaced summary.
Note: You can use this method of note-taking for every long-form and peer-reviewed journal article you read in order to ensure accuracy, practice reading comprehension, compose the formal summary and set yourself up for an informed, integrated and (perhaps) comparative analysis in your essay. It seems like a lot of work, but if you do it for 3-5 sources, you will have a richly prepared amount of writing to draw upon for your essay.
1. What can I learn about this essay’s concerns and argument(s) just from an analysis of its title?
2. What can I learn about the way the essay might present and engage its topic by considering the profession of its author, when it was published and where?
3. What are some of the essay’s key terms: people, institutions and organizations, places, dates, court cases, laws, etc.?
4. What key legal, historical, political, environmental, social and/or cultural problem(s) does the essay address?
5. Describe the key players and staging involved in the problem’s production: 1) Who are the players who create and perpetuate the problem(s) and what stakes do they have in doing so? How are these individuals tied to laws, reports, court decisions, individuals, institutions, policies, and/or mores that caused or led to the problem? 2) Who suffers from the problem and how?
6. What is the essay’s main argument or arguments?
7. Who might disagree with the author’s arguments and the evidence she uses to make them and why? (If you cannot find disagreement, do you think it is because the evidence the essay uses is overwhelmingly convincing? Explain).
8. Do I have questions that I need to answer before I feel adequately prepared to evaluate this essay’s argument and evidence? If so, what are they? If not, what impact did this essay have on me, the reader?
Full formal summaries should aim to include much of the information above (use your judgment to determine the order):
–the author’s profession (e.g., “Journalist Sam Lebovic argues that…” and/or particular area of focus (e.g., “In his capacity as Legal Director of the ACLU, David Cole argues that…”)
–a brief description of the problem the author addresses and his or her argument
–a description of key pieces of evidence the author uses to advance his or her claims, using key phrases from the source (integrate quotations; do not quote entire sentences)
–a description of any counterarguments or obstacles to the author’s argument(s)
–a description of the purpose of the article/source and how that purpose connects to your project.