Analyze the structure of the passage by identifying all main ideas.
Analyze the structure of the passage by identifying all main ideas.
Death and JusticeCRITICAL ANALYSISENGLISH 1301 FINAL EXAMPurpose: To evaluate somebodys work (a book an essay a movie a painting ) in order to increase the readers understanding of it. A critical analysis is subjective writing because it expresses the writers opinion or evaluation of a text. Analysis means to break down and study the parts. Writing a critical paper requires two steps: (1) critical reading and (2) critical writing.Critical reading:1. Identify the authors thesis and purpose.2. Analyze the structure of the passage by identifying all main ideas.3. Consult a dictionary to understand material that is unfamiliar to you.4. Make an outline of the work or write a description of it.5. Write a summary of the work.6. Determine the purpose which may beTo inform with factual materialTo persuade with appeal to reason or emotionsTo entertain (to affect peoples emotions)7. Evaluate the means by which the author has accomplished his purpose.If the purpose is to inform has the material been presented clearly accurately with order and coherence?If the purpose is to persuade look for evidence logical reasoning and contrary evidence.If the purpose is to entertain determine how emotions are affected: does it make you laugh cry angry? Why did it affect you?Consider the following questions:1. How is the material organized?2. Who is the intended audience?3. What are the writers assumptions about the audience?4. What kind of language and imagery (relating to the five senses) does theauthor use?OUTLINE FOR CRITICAL ANALYSISI. Background information to help your readers understand the nature of the work.A. Information about the work1. Title2. Author3. Publication date and source (where was it published?)4. From where was this taken?5. Expertise of author6. Statement of topic and purposeB. Thesis statement (from the essay itself) indicating writers mainreaction to the work. Note: Be sure to use quotes and a citation(paragraph from which it is taken).C. Does the author have a strong argument in favor of capitalpunishment? Note: This does not mean you agree with it buthas he attacked his opponents views vigorously?II. Summary of the work (2-3 sentence overview). This cannot bequoted but must be in your own words. Note: You also need acitation. Give only the paragraph number from which it wastaken.III. Main points of argumentA. What does the author suggest but not state directly? (implication)B. What conclusion(s) does the author make? Note: This should bea paraphrase with a citation using the paragraph number fromwhich it is taken.IV. EvidenceA. Comment on the amount of evidence the author uses. Too much?Too little? Enough?B. Is the evidence a fact or measurement about something that hasactually occurred?C. Which kind of data does the author rely on the most (logicalethical or emotional? Give example of each kind of appeal(need one example of each kind of data as applicable). Anexample requires you to quote a sentence from the article and usea parenthetical citation.V. PersuasivenessA. Is the evidence consistent with the argument?B. Why or why not?C. Is the argument convincing? (This does not mean you agree withKochs point of view) but that he is an effective debater.D. Why or why not?E. Has the author used enough counterarguments and disprovedthem? (He used 7; should he have included more?)F. If so what additional counterargument should he have included?G. Is there enough evidence to judge the argument?H. If not what additional evidence do you think is needed to judgethe validity of the authors point of view?VI. World viewA. What general assumptions does the author have underlyingreaders thinking?B. What is he/she taking for granted or not taking into account?C. What world view does the author have about capital punishment?D. Is there another world view or point of view that author shouldconsider?E. Find an article on capital punishment from the internet whichagrees with your position. For example if you agree with Kochfind an article that says capital punishment should be a form ofpunishment that each state keeps. If you disagree withKoch find an article that says capital punishment is wrong.Be sure to do the following: (1) Print a copy of it and place itbehind your typed outline in a folder. (2) Quote one or twosentences from the article using parenthetical citationsto show it is borrowed material. (3) Underline the summarystatement from the article using a blue or black pen or ahighlighting pen.VII. PropagandaA. What examples if any of propaganda words and techniques areused in the arguments? Refer to Attachment 1 on PropagandaTechniques to Recognize). If one or more is used list it (them).B. If propaganda is used identify what technique is being used andcite an example of it from the essay.C. What fallacies if any does the author use? (A fallacy is reachinga conclusion falsely or jumping to conclusions.D. Cite examples from the text of each fallacy as applicable. Thisrequires you to quote from the article and use a citation.VIII. Your takeA. How effective is the topic? (Is this topic timely?)B. To whom is this essay directed?C. Do you agree or disagree with the article?Note: you must totally agree or totally disagree with the articleyou cant straddle the fencepost.D. State your rationale (reason[s]) for your position.Points to Remember (checklist before you submit the final for a grade):1. Avoid introducing your ideas by stating I think or In my opinion.Keep the focus on the subject of your analysis not on yourself.Identifying your opinions weakens them. Important: Do not use youor your unless it is quoted from the author. If you quote the authoruse parenthetical documentation. Include the paragraph number after theauthors name. Example: It is an illusion to let ourselves believe thatdoing away with capital punishment removes the murderers deed fromour conscience. The rights of society are paramount. When we protectguilty lives we give up innocent lives in exchange. Note: The periodafter the parenthetical note not before it.2. Always introduce the work. Do not assume that because your readerknows what you are writing about you do not need to mention the workstitle. Furthermore use the authors LAST NAME or refer to him as theAUTHOR. Use present tense when discussing the essay (unless a quoteis in the past tense). Koch is deceased but his work lives on! Do notbegin every sentence with Koch; vary your sentences so that some ofthem use the words the author. Important: Do not use the wordsays in every sentence when you are referring to Kochs work. Usesynonyms such as states asserts or affirms. WATCH OUT! Everytense that you use regarding Kochs work belongs in the PRESENTTENSE. The only exception is when you give biographical data onKoch and you must use the PAST TENSE in this case because Kochis deceased.3. Consider these questions as well:a. Is there a controversy surrounding either the passage or the subjectwhich it concerns?b. Is the subject matter of current interest?c. What is the overall value of the passage?d. What are its strengths and weaknesses?e. Support your thesis with detailed evidence from the text examined.Use parenthetical documentation to document quotes and paraphrases.f. Remember the purpose of a critical analysis is not merely to informbut also to evaluate the worth utility excellence distinction truthvalidity beauty or goodness of something.g. Even though as a writer you set the standards you should be open-minded well informed and fair. You can express your opinions butyou should also support them with evidence.h. Your review should provide information interpretation andevaluation.4. The information will help your reader understand the nature of the workunder analysis. The interpretation will explain the meaning of the workthereby requiring your correct understanding of it. The evaluation willdiscuss your opinions of the work and present valid justification for them.Directions: Write a 3-4 page critical analysis on the following article listed below. Use the standard format: title double spaced 12 font (Times Roman). Use parenthetical documentation when you quote from the author to prove your points. Accepted resources: a dictionary the internet (for reading the essay and an online article that agrees with your point of view) and a thesaurus but no in-person or online tutors help is allowed! Your title will be the following: name of the essay centered on one line the authors name and the words CRITICAL ANALYSIS on the third line beneath it (single spaced). This final will be written outside of class in Week 15 when we are not scheduled to have class. Your final will be submitted on the day/evening that has been announced in the Class Schedule and in class.Important: If you solicit help from a tutor I will receive an email informing me of your attempt to get unauthorized help which is plagiarism. Your penalty will be a 0 on the final exam. You will need a typed outline (fill in the data on the outline provided) and a Grading Profile Sheet with all blanks filled in. To help you prepare for the final we will discuss the questions on the outline on Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life in class which is the essay I have chosen for the critical analysis. You can find this article on Google.The critical analysis will be on the following essay: Death and Justice: How Capital Punishment Affirms Life (Google) by Edward Koch.Documentation: While there is no WORKS CITED page required you must use parenthetical documentation when you quote from Kochs essay or the internet article that expresses an authors position on capital punishment. This belongs in paragraph 6 (World View). When you find the article first summarize it. For example Martin Ellison affirms the death penalty should be available to deter heinous criminals from murderingindiscriminately once they have served their time and are released from prison. (The following is a summary statement). Martin Ellison in his essay entitled ______________ states the following: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(2). This is a direct quotation from the article. On the other hand if you disagree with Koch then find an article that disagrees with capital punishment and quote one or two sentences from it using parenthetical documentation. Referring to an article other than Kochs essay lets me know that you did some research on capital punishment to find another position that agrees with yours. Note: Be sure to underline the summary statement as well as the quote you used and attach it to your final. It will be the final page.Important: Only two or three of the following are used in Kochs article. Your job is to identify the ones he used by quoting from the article. Example: Koch uses a weak inference when he states the following: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(5).ATTACHMENT 1Propaganda Techniques to Recognize1. Name calling or stereotyping: Giving a person or an idea a bad label byusing an easy-to-remember pejorative name. This is used to make usreject and condemn a person or idea without examining what the labelreally means. Examples: Republican Tree-Hugger NaziEnvironmentalist Special-Interest Group.2. Virtue Words or Glittering Generality: These words are used to foolus into accepting and approving of things without examining theevidence carefully Examples: Natural Democratic SocialistTea Party Communist Moderate Left Wing and RightWing.3. Deification: This is when an idea is made to appear sacred or veryspecial and therefore above all law. Any alternative or opposite points ofview are thereby given the appearance of treason or blasphemy.Examples: God-given right Mother Earth4. Transfer: Transfer is when a symbol that carries respect authoritysanction and prestige is used along with an idea or argument to make itlook more acceptable. Examples: American Flag University SealMedical Association Symbol (or something that looks like it). Thismethod is also called Guilt or Virtue by Association.5. Testimonial: When some respected celebrity (or alternatively someonegenerally hated) claims that an idea or product is good (or bad). Thistechnique is used to convince us without examining the facts morecarefully.6. Plain Folks: This is a way that a speaker convinces an audience that anidea is good because they are the same ideas of the vast majority ofpeople like yourself. Examples: This is the will of the People MostAmericans jury of your peers. Another example is when thespeaker tells a story about a family or people that are just like you toreinforce the speakers point of view.7. Bandwagon: This common propaganda method is used when thespeaker tries to convince us to accept their point of view or else we willmiss out on something really good. The Band-Wagon technique is oftenused in advertising. Examples: This is the wave of the future Be thefirst on your block Act Now! You might ask yourself What if I wasthe only one on my block because no one else was interested (duped)?8. Artificial Dichotomy: This is when someone tries to claim there areonly two sides to an issue and that both sides must have equalpresentation in order to be evaluated. This technique is used to fool usinto believing there is only one way to look at an issue when in factthere may be many alternative viewpoints or sides. Like mostpropaganda techniques it signifies reality and therefore distorts it oftento the advantage of the speaker. A classic example is the intelligentdesign versus evolution controversy.9. Hot Potato: This is an inflammatory (often untrue) statement orquestion used to throw opponents off guard or to embarrass them.Examples: Have you stopped beating your spouse? When will youpay the taxes you owe? The fact that it may be utterly untrue isirrelevant because it still brings controversy to the opponent. Morerecently Mitt Romney in the 2012 election was asked by a journalistand others Why wont you submit more than two years income taxreturns? To this he responded that two years was enough.10. Stalling or Ignoring the Question: This technique is used to play formore time or to avoid answering a pointed question. Examples: Moreresearch is needed A fact-finding committee is working on thisissue I am calling for an investigation on this failure Whenasked about a tax increase possibility a senator replies: I have alwaysmet the obligations I have to those I represent.11. Least-of-Evils: This is used to justify an otherwise unpleasant orunpopular point of view. Example: War is hell but appeasementleads to worse disasters.12. Scapegoat: This often is used with built-by-association to deflectscrutiny away from the issues. It transfers blame to one person or groupof people without investigating the complexities of the issue. Examples:George W. Bush got us into Iraq President Reagan caused thenational debt. In the 2008 election of Barack Obama as president wesoon discovered how many times he was blamed for the weak economydwindling jobs and high numbers of unemployed Americans just a fewpoints mentioned.13. Cause and Effect Mismatch: This technique confuses the audienceabout what is really cause and effect. In fact the causes of mostphenomena are complex and it is misleading to say just one of thefollowing: Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria Tuberculosis is causedby un-regulated capitalism that creates poor working conditionsTuberculosis is caused by a lack of effective antibiotics.14. Distortion of Data or Out of Context or Card Stacking: This isused to convince the audience by using selected information and notpresenting the complete story. Examples: A study was done thatshowed eating peanut butter causes liver cancer. (The fact that later thestudy was later shown to be flawed or funded by the peanut butter hatersand therefore suspect is not revealed). A variation would be Raisingthe speed limit to 65 mph resulted in many fewer traffic fatalities. Suchstatements need to be checked with how many people were drivingbefore and after the change in speed limit. Fewer people may be drivingafter the speed limit change even thought the fatality rates (deaths per100000) may be higher leading to the overall result of fewer fatalities.15. Weak Inference: When a judgment is made with insufficient evidenceor the conclusion does not necessarily follow from the evidence given.Example: Ducks and geese migrate south for the winter; therefore allwaterfowl migrate south for the winter. Or most rich folks voterepublican; therefore most people who vote republican are rich.16. Faulty Analogy: This is when a comparison is carried too far.Example: The economy is following the same path as right before theGreat Depression; therefore we will experience a stock market crashsoon!17. Misuse of Statistics: Examples: Average results are reportedbut not the amount of variation around the averages. A percent orfraction is presented but not the sample size as in 9 out of 10 dentistsrecommend Absolute and proportional quantities are mixed as in$3400 more robberies occurred in our town last year whereas othercities had an increase of less than one percent. Graphs are used thatby chopping off part of the scale or using unusual units or no scaledistort the appearance of the result. Results are reported with misleadingprecision; for example representing 13 out of 19 students as 68.42105percent.18. Fear: Of course the people dont want war. But after all its theleaders of the country who determine the policy and its always a simplematter to drag the people along whether its a democracy a fascistdictatorship or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or novoice the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked anddenounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country togreater danger. Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials
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