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ARTICLE ANALYSIS

Select ONE article in the "Article Database" folder in the Course Documents section of our Blackboard web site. Read and mark the article as you would any of our primary texts in the anthology and then write a response that answers the following:

  • Give a properly formatted MLA citation for the article. Remember to use the hanging indent and double space it.
  • Who is the article's intended audience? That is, specialists, the general public, scholars with certain interests, something else entirely?
  • What is the central claim or question of the article?
  • What's your response to the article's argument — do you find it persuasive, unpersuasive, interesting, or uninteresting? Explain your response. Refer to details from the article in your response.
  • What do you notice about the article's methodology — the kinds of evidence the writer draws on and the critical approach the writer takes in framing a question or problem to analyze?
  • How does the scholar situate his or her argument in relationship to other critics? That is, does the scholar write to undercut x's argument, or to build on y's argument, or in agreement with z's argument? How does the argument signal its participation in a larger critical conversation?
  • What questions come to mind as you read the article? You do not need to answer these questions.
  • What quotation best represents a key idea from the text? Explain what you think it means and why it is the best representative statement for the article.

Please note that you can use each question as a separate section header, but please follow the MLA paper guidelines for page numbers, the information block, and the works cited page. The total page count should be three pages including the works cited page.

When completed, please save the file using this naming convention: LASTNAME_FIRSTINITIAL_211_Article.docx

Post a copy to the discussion board in the "Article Analysis" forum. Name the article in the subject line. Copy and paste your response into the text box AND attach the file as well.

Note this is a 20 point assignment. The reading and marking of the article is an additional 5 points.

 
 

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