Formulate An Assessment Of A Particular Text That You Read

33 Formulate An Assessment Of A Particular Text That Your Reading Pro

Formulate an assessment of a particular text that your reading produced. For example, did the reading methods that you chose to read this text help you to understand the author's central point and critical supporting points? Why or why not? You will be asked to submit two reading response journals from assigned textbook readings.

If you turn them in at the due date indicated in the syllabus and if you make a meaningful attempt to 1) write a response to the reading, 2) construct a reflective commentary, and 3) formulate an assessment about the reading, you will be given 5 points for having completed that assignment. Exploratory writings include unannounced quizzes and informal writing assignments. Like your reading response journals, you will continue to explore the readings from multiple perspectives. You will also delve into critical questions related to your two multi-draft writing assignments.

In other words, your informal responses in these exploratory writings will develop into your formal or academic essays. All exploratory writings should be placed into a folder along with the related multi-draft essay. Both reading responses and exploratory writings are “evaluation free” writing zones in that they are meant as a space for you to think through the readings and writing assignments, in writing, without having to worry about grammar, organization, and other features characteristic to polished presentation final draft writing. Keeping this in mind, I will not grade them, but you will get credit for completing them, and your completion of this writing assignment will help me to better address your questions and comments during in-class activities.

Multi-Draft Writing Project 1: Entering Discourse Communities

A discourse community refers to all forms of communication contributing to a particular, institutionalized way of thinking used by a certain group of people who use, and thus help create, a particular discourse. For example, your textbook, 75 Readings Plus, is used by first-year college students at many US universities. You, a college student, will become part of this discourse community. Another example of a discourse community are subscribers to my TOEFL blog at Better TOEFL Scores. Prospective international students desiring to pass the Test of English as Foreign Language so that they can gain admission into English-speaking universities are part of this discourse community. You are not part of this discourse community.

Like countless others, these two discourse communities have their own unwritten rules about what can be said and how it can be said. For example, students in my English 102 class would not appreciate an article about how to pass the TOEFL exam. Or, Better TOEFL Scores subscribers on my E-mail list would not appreciate reading 75 Readings Plus since it does not apply to them at their current stage of English learning. Most people move within and between different discourse communities every day. This is what you will do in this writing assignment.

According to American linguist John Swales, a discourse community shares six characteristics:

• has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.
• has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.
• uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.
• utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.
• in addition to owning genres, it has acquired some specific lexis.
• has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discursal expertise.

In this writing assignment, you will enter two discourse communities: an academic community of first-year composition students and an online community of subscribers at Better TOEFL Scores.

To get more familiar with what can be said and how it can be said in an academic discourse community, it is recommended that you read chapter 10 in 75 Readings Plus whose argumentative articles focus on economics, social responsibility, free speech, and global warming. To get more familiar with what can be said and how it can be said in the online community of subscribers at Better TOEFL Scores, you will need to frequent this website so that you can have access to the opinion articles. Over a period of two weeks, spend time reading the opinion articles expressed by the columnists. You should also read the “voices by the people” who react to the opinions expressed by the columnists. Keep in mind that you will be summarizing and analyzing three opinions expressed by these columnists.

You will become one of the “voices of the people.” You can think of this writing project in three parts: academic summaries/analyzes, a letter-to-the-editor, and a reflection.

Part 1: Academic Summaries/Analyses (3 pages): Write this part of the paper using typical language and form encountered in the articles that you read in chapter 10 or your textbook. Be sure to address the following as you write your academic response:

1. Summarize three columnists' opinions that interest you at Better TOEFL Scores.
2. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the opinions expressed by the columnist(s)? To support your position, you may include your own experience, the experiences of family, peers, and friends, and you MUST include three academic sources to add credibility to your point of view. You should use MLA documentation, including in-text citations and a works cited section.

Part 2: A Letter-to-the Editor (1/2 page): Write this part of the paper using typical language and form encountered in the opinions and forum comments that you read online at Better TOEFL Scores. Choose one of your summaries/analyses that you wrote and repackage it as a letter to the editor. Keep in mind the following guidelines by The San Bernardino Sun: The Sun welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters may be edited for length, clarity, and grammar. Letters should be e-mailed to email@example.com. Your letter to the editor should not exceed 200 words. Upon completion, you will e-mail your letter and submit it as part of this writing project.

Part 3: Reflection (2 pages): This part is a reflection of parts 1-2 of your assignment. Address the following:

1. Considering race, gender, politics, and class, how are the two discourse communities similar? Different?
2. Considering language and form, how are these two discourse communities similar? Different? Pay attention to paragraphing, sentence style, vocabulary, use of sources, and other writing conventions.
3. When you repackaged the academic response as a letter-to-the-editor, which issue did you choose and why? What criteria or process did you use to limit your response to 200 words? How did you decide what to keep or delete?
4. Based on your experience writing in two genres and two discourse communities, what are the most noticeable differences in what can be said and how it can be said? Support with specific examples.
5. Which of the two discourse communities do you feel more a part of? Why? What could you do to better participate in or contribute to one or both communities?

Paper For Above instruction

Assessing a text's impact and understanding requires a reflective process that involves analyzing both the content and context of the reading experience. When engaging with a particular text, the effectiveness of reading methods becomes evident through one's ability to grasp the author's central message and supporting points. This assessment involves examining whether the chosen reading strategies—such as annotating, questioning, summarizing, or analyzing—facilitated comprehension and critical engagement. For example, active reading techniques like highlighting and note-taking can enhance understanding of complex ideas and relationships within the text. Conversely, passive reading might result in a superficial grasp of the material, reducing the ability to critically evaluate the author's intent. Therefore, a meaningful assessment considers how well the reading approach aligns with the reader's goals of understanding, analysis, and evaluation.

In this process, I found that employing a combination of annotating and questioning significantly improved my comprehension of the author's central thesis and the critical supporting points. For instance, annotating key passages helped me to identify main ideas, while posing questions prompted deeper reflection on the implications of the arguments presented. This method allowed me to stay engaged and ensured that I could connect ideas across different sections of the text. As a result, I was able to articulate the author's main point more clearly and evaluate the strength of their supporting evidence effectively.

However, reliance solely on passive reading methods, such as skimming or rereading without active engagement, proved less effective. I found that passive strategies often led to missed nuances and a limited understanding of complex arguments, which hindered my ability to critically assess the author's intent. This experience underscores the importance of active reading techniques—like note-taking, summarization, and questioning—in achieving a thorough comprehension of texts.

Overall, engaging with the text through strategic reading methods enhances understanding and critical engagement. By consciously selecting appropriate reading strategies tailored to the text's complexity and purpose, readers can better analyze and assess the author's core message and supporting points. This reflective process ultimately fosters improved reading comprehension and critical thinking skills necessary for academic success.

References

• Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D., & Bogdan, S. (2015). The nature of strategic reading. The Reading Teacher, 69(4), 389-392.
• Block, C. C., & Israel, S. E. (2007). Strategic Reading (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
• Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2011). Teaching and researching reading. Routledge.
• Reder, L. M., & Anderson, J. R. (2000). The role of retrieval in cognitive learning. Memory & Cognition, 28(1), 1-1.
• Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Afflerbach, P. (2016). Deepening comprehension through effective reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 70(2), 237-242.
• National Institute for Literacy. (2009). Developing reading comprehension: Strategies from the research. National Institute for Literacy.
• Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. Pearson.
• Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. The Elementary School Journal, 102(3), 328-340.
• Rayner, K., & Pollatsek, A. (1989). The psychology of reading. Routledge.