Charting a Text Charting involves annotating a text in order to show the “work” each paragraph, group of paragraphs, or section is doing. Charting helps identify what each part of the text is doing as well as what it is saying—helping us move away from summary to analysis. There are two strategies for charting that we’ll look at: macro-charting and micro-charting. MACRO-CHARTING How do we do macro-charting? Break text down into sections--identify “chunks” or parts of the text that seem to work together to DO something for the overall argument. Draw lines between sections and label each one, annotating them with “doing” verbs: providing context, making a claim, supporting a claim, rebutting counter argument, illustrating with personal anecdote, describing the issue, etc. Why do we do macro-charting? Macro-charting helps with understanding structure of argument, as well as locating claims, supporting evidence, and main argument. guides students toward identifying relationships between ideas. Macro-charting brings awareness that behind every sentence there is an author with intent who makes rhetorical choices to achieve his/her aims. How do we do micro-charting? Break down sections of text by paragraph to analyze what each paragraph is doing for the overall argument. Detail the smaller “moves” and strategies made within paragraphs: note when, where, and how and author makes a claim, cites evidence, and/or supports his/argument using a rhetorical strategy. Why do we do micro-charting? Micro-charting can serve as a way to thoroughly understand in a detailed way how a text is put together. Micro-charting encourages readers to look more carefully and closely at a text and helps us to focus our reading on tasks asked for in prompts. brings awareness of the specific rhetorical choices made throughout a text (addressing particular audiences by making deliberate moves). Thompson Group Charting Exercise Chart the first few paragraphs together as a class Divide sections of Thompson and assign major sections to 4 groups. Group 1: pages 48 – 51 2: pages 51 – 56 Group 3 pages 56 – 61
Evidence for Evidence for Evidence for Claim Evidence for Claim Evidence for Claim Strategies that support claim/arg Strategies that support claim/arg Strategies that support claim/arg Strategies that support claim/arg Strategies that support claim/arg Thompson: Argument Map Exercise You could provide students with some of the claims below, and have them fill in the rest. Project Argument The vast increase in public writing inspired by the Internet is an important, new, beneficial change for individuals and for society. It has profound cognitive, cultural, and political implications. Claim Claim Claim The new forms of digital writing, particularly their “public” character, involve writing for an audience, and this significantly improves writing and thinking (54). The increase in writing we see with digital technologies is good because writing can help clarify our thinking, generate ideas and improve memory. (51) The increase in writing we see with digital technologies is good because this can advance democracy and civil society, especially in countries (page 58) The new forms of digital writing, particularly their “public” character, are highly beneficial because they expand connections and improve the socials network that support research (the “law of multiples.”) Digital media are creating a golden age of literacy. Today’s students write far more than in the past, are much better writers, and resemble students of rhetoric from hundreds of years ago. Evidence for Evidence for Claim Evidence for Claim Evidence for Evidence for Claim
A full Works Cited entry for the source. A sentence incorporating a correctly formatted in-text citation from the source. The group to successfully complete all the citations—or have the most correctly completed by you calling time—is the big winner! (of course everyone gets a prize, some sort of candy or treat is always a good motivator). If you save time at the end of class, go over some of the more challenging sources. Source: Jack Newbill, MA Graduate & TA