Reading Critically

1. Find some hints and make inferences from title because it can help show what the piece will be about. It can tell you the subject.

2. Next, you need to use whatever background information you have on the author to help you guess what the essay will be about. Sometimes there will be notes before to help with this step.

3. Knowing where the work was published can tell you what audience it is directed at.

4.Also, you should know the year it was published, so can guess what kind of information the paper could contain.

5. When you begin reading, read it all, but don't ponder over every single word. Circle it and move on, and that means you should read with a pencil in hand.

6. Now that you've read, you should summarize. It helps you understand what is going on in your won words. First, write a summary sentence for each paragraph, and then summarize each of those sentences.

7. Now is the time for critical thinking where can organize your thoughts with analysis, inference, synthesis, and evaluation.

8. Analysis is consciously looking at the main idea and other elements, and compare it with something else.

9. Inference is drawing conclusions from the work, and assumptions are opinions or beliefs that you think display the writers thoughts. 

10. During synthesis, you try to elements of a whole. Ask what this essay has to do with your own life.

11. Next, you evaluate the work form judgment and a point of view.

12. then we look at the purpose to see maybe why the writer wrote this. All these previous steps will help the purpose come to life.

13. Ask, how does the writer succeed?

14. look of unity and coherence.

15. When stepping deeper into understanding the language notice the tone,  think about connotations of words, and figures of speech.

Dave Barry

Dave Barry

            Subject- The subject of Dave Barry’s Batting Clean-up and Striking Out is that there are certain behaviors, cleaning and sports, that woman and men claim. Each gender has different things they notice or do, and it can anger a member of another sex. The differences between men and women are illustrated through women’s obsession with cleaning, and men being drawn to sports. According to him, women can always notice dirt more than men, so men just do an awful job at cleaning. Although, women don’t have the pull towards sports games like men do. These are the primary differences in genders.

Occasion- Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out was written in 1988. The essays time creation is shown in the intro paragraph where the year is stated. It is from Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits, and it was written 1988.

Audience- Dave Barry’s specific audience for Batting Clean-UP and Striking Out is adult or young adult men and women. The author’s target audience is revealed by the address to men and women, with a humor that children might not understand. The whole essay is talking about both genders, so men and women would enjoy reading this.

Purpose- Dave Barry’s purpose in this essay is to explain that there are real attributes that apply to just women, or just men. He wants to make you laugh, but also to notice and look for daily differences that you see in men and women in your everyday life. This purpose is illustrated by his examples of real, actual difference in genders.

Speaker- Dave Barry, the funniest man in America according to New York Times, believes that there are genetic changes from women to men. He thinks certain attributes belong to women and certain to men.

Tone- Dave Barry shows an funny, condescending, and sarcastic tone and attitude throughout the essay. These Attitudes are expressed through word choices like: extremely, representative, brilliant, “ he used their baby”, and prattled.  These words show that this paper is humorous and not very serious, but that he actually believes it to be true.

Voice Video

1. Voice in literature is the way your tone or dialect comes off to another. It helps the reader get a sense of what is happening in the story. Accents are used to convey voice, but so is the scene and the way you dress. That will influence how your voice sounds. Where you comefrom helps create your personal voice.

2.Emory Parsons is an active citizen of the United States. It is a very proper sentence, just like me! Where I come from, a very uptight home, makes me proper.

3. I would talk around subjects of disaster and sadness, like 9/11, because it makes me sad. I would casually bring up something else because I am not in the mood to be sad.

4. It helps narrate the story and make it personal. You should also avoid using 1st person.

5. We can develop by practicing over and over again in our own writing.

Pain VS Beatles

I like the original better because I have always listened to it, and dub step is just weird to me. I like originals of songs, and it is so good that it doesn't need to be changed. Why would you change something that is already so good?

The original song is more pleasing because it is simple, happy, and light. The dub step one doesn't flow and it's choppy.

The video

I felt the effect of something so warm, simple, cute, and happy could mean so much. You should enjoy the simplicities in life.

1. single speaker
2. It is a cold day, but he is so happy and warm!
3.The colors describe the people, and " the couple" are the ones in bright colors. They are the only ones.

I would have put the people in NYC because it is grumpier and meaner, so his warm and colorful attitude would contrast more.

Kandinsky VS Pollack

Personally, I like the Jackson Pollack much more because I grew up being exposed to it. My dad loves him, and I love him as an artist as well. It is interesting, cool, with dark colors, but loud at the same time.
However, Kandinsky's painting is much more visually pleasing because of all the shapes and different, pretty, colors. It is brighter and happier!

"Shooting an Elephant" SOAPSTone

Emory Parsons

SOAPSTone

Subject

The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” the main idea is people do things they don’t wan to do in situations of group pressure. This police officer does not want to kill the elephant, but he does because 2,000 people are watching and expecting him too. He would not have done it of he was alone. The pressure from the group to act in a way he normally wouldn’t, and this happens to all people in one way or another.

Occasion

“ Shooting an Elephant” was written during 1936. The officer riding a horse, and loading a rifle exhibits the essay’s time creation.  It had to have occurred before the 1900s because people didn’t ride horses in the 1900s, we had cars. Although, the story was written in 1936.

Audience

George Orwell’s specific audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is the entire human society. The target audience is shown by Orwell trying to send the message that people in general, teens, kids, adults, can be subconsciously persuaded to do bad things in the presence of others.

Purpose

George Orwell’s purpose in writing this is that anybody, no matter how strong, will conform to a group. He is warning human society that this situation occurs all the time. It can happen to you. Although, it might not be as severe as killing something or someone. This is proved when the officer knows with all his heart he shouldn’t kill that elephant, but when he turns around and sees 2,000 people, he kills without fear.

Speaker

George Orwell, a man with a intense opposition totalitarianism, believes the reason people do activities they don’t want to do is because of group pressure. He strongly believes that, and he shows it through his example and story of the elephant.

Tone

Orwell articulates a depression tone and blatant attitude about conforming under group pressure. He conveys how sad it really is that people will murder an animal just because people want them to, or the murderer wants the viewers to like him/her. He is very blatant when discussing this; he lays it all out there on the table for you to see. There is no beating around the bush.

Harry Nilsson " Good Old Desk"

Subject- good old desk
occasion- 1972-1973
Audience-more for himself
Purpose- to explain how reliable his desk is.
speaker- Harry Nilsson
tone-happy, simple, thankful

He is talking about how he has so many changing things in his life, but his desk is a constant. God, the desk, is always there. God is a constant part of his life. Three lines that support that are: keeps my hopes alive, the friend I've got, and giant of all times.

Rockwell's " The Runaway" Intro

Ever since World Wars and any major events before the 195o's, people have focused on the past. The past was on everyone's mind, and humans were just reflecting. Starting in the 1950's, however, a counter culture emerged. Soldiers came home, got jobs, moved to the suburbs, and had kids. Everyone became much more concerned with the present. In this painting, the police officer, worker, and child look content. This little boy is a stowaway, but the people in the restaurant seem okay with it. This shows that America is changing, and just having lunch, nothing else. Rockwell's " The Runaway" overlooks the fundamental rift that was rising in America throughout the 1950s-an emerging counter culture that was not concerned with how things were in America but rather how they are.