NROC Developmental English—An Integrated ProgramInstructor Guide: Unit 9

Unit 9: Applied Critical Analysis

INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................2LEARNING OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................2FOUNDATIONS ALIGNED WITH UNIT 9 .....................................................................3NECESSARY BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE .............................................................3

ABOUT THE READING ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................................4READING SELECTIONS...............................................................................................4INSIGHT INTO THE READING SELECTIONS .............................................................4VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT FOR UNIT 9 READINGS...............................................5TIPS...............................................................................................................................6ENRICHMENT...............................................................................................................8

INTEGRATING GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND USAGE (GPU)...............................8INSIGHT INTO THE UNIT GPU FOUNDATIONS .........................................................8TIPS...............................................................................................................................9ENRICHMENT.............................................................................................................12

ABOUT THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT ..........................................................................12WRITING ASSIGNMENT ............................................................................................12INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................12UNIT 9 WRITING ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................14TIPS.............................................................................................................................15ENRICHMENT.............................................................................................................16

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ........................................................................16EXTENSION ACTIVITIES ...........................................................................................16

ACCESSIBILITY .............................................................................................................17CLOSED CAPTIONS...................................................................................................17SCREEN READERS ...................................................................................................18ADDITIONAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................18

UNIT ASSESSMENT SAMPLE ANSWERS AND SCORING GUIDES..........................19UNIT 9, FORM A AND FORM B, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE ..................................19SCORING GUIDES .....................................................................................................20

MEMBER SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTS .....................................................................22JOIN THE COMMUNITY.................................................................................................22

Developed by The NROC Project. Copyright ©2015 Monterey Institute for Technology and Education

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IntroductionIn this unit, students will closely examine a reading for its effectiveness. They will be required to consider more than just what the author is stating—they will be asked to question whether or not the author is stating it effectively. By exploring two articles that discuss how passion and happiness influence one’s academic and career choices, students will ask important questions about what makes a successful and memorable argument.

They will then consider their personal reactions to the way the authors construct their statements. Did each author prove what he needed to prove? Does the reasoning make sense? Are you, as a reader, convinced? Students will also look for the presence of bias and logical fallacies to ensure that the authors stay grounded in their message and construct sound arguments with rational evidence and controlled emotions. Students will consider ways to avoid fallacies in their own arguments as they conduct a critical analysis asserting how successful one author was—or wasn’t—at expressing his opinion.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the main idea expressed in a complex reading with multiple viewpoints. Recognize bias within a reading. Identify opinions disguised as facts. Identify sources cited in a reading. Determine if credible sources were used in a reading. Write a thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that presents an

opinion about a text’s effectiveness. Outline a multi-page critical analysis essay that examines how successful a text

is at conveying its message and purpose using evidence from the readings as support.

Identify the most effective portions of a text to use as evidence in an essay or written response.

Use attributive phrases and in-text citations appropriately in an essay or written response.

Understand when to paraphrase and when to directly quote a source. Identify logical fallacies relating to analysis. Write a multi-page critical analysis essay using at least one direct quote and one

paraphrased citation. Employ editing techniques that lead to more concise and effective sentences. Develop sentences that effectively incorporate source material. Identify citation elements in MLA format. Identify citation elements in APA format. Use context clues to define unknown vocabulary in a reading. Use word parts to define unknown vocabulary in a reading.

Essential College Skills: Using the Voice of Others—Information Literacy and Credible Sources

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FOUNDATIONS ALIGNED WITH UNIT 9You can locate the Foundations for each unit by clicking on the “Resources” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. We have also provided this separate list of links for the Unit 9 Foundations:Recognizing the Main Idea and Source Bias in a Complex Reading

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/recognizing-the-main-idea-and-source-bias-in-a-complex-reading.html

Evaluating Credible Sources Used Within a Reading

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/evaluating-credible-sources-used-within-a-reading.html

Creating a Thesis and an Outline for a Critical Analysis Essay

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/creating-a-thesis-and-an-outline-for-a-critical-analysis-essay.html

Using Effective Evidentiary Support

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/using-effective-evidentiary-support-.html

Paraphrasing vs. Direct Quotations

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/paraphrasing-vs-direct-quotations.html

Logical Fallacies and Analysis

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/logical-fallacies-and-analysis.html

Writing a Multi-page Critical Analysis Essay

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/writing-a-multi-page-critical-analysis-essay.html

Creating Concise Sentences

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/creating-concise-sentences.html

Blending Source Material into an Essay

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/blending-source-material-into-an-essay.html

MLA Citation Styles

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/mla-citation-styles.html

APA Citation Styles

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/apa-citation-styles.html

Using Context Clues

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/using-context-clues.html

Identifying Word Parts

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/identifying-word-parts.html

Essential College Skills: Using the Voice of Others—Information Literacy and Credible Sources

http://content.nroc.org/DevelopmentalEnglish/unit09/Foundations/essential-college-skills-using-the-voice-of-others-information-literacy-and-credible-sources.html

NECESSARY BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGEReview these concepts with students prior to starting this unit:

Gaining computer access and navigating in an online environment Identifying the author, topic, implied main idea, major/minor details, intended

audience, point of view, cultural context, and purpose of a reading

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Understanding how different disciplines and contexts shape texts and an author’s purpose in creating them

Annotating, summarizing, paraphrasing, and outlining a text Identifying subtext in a reading by making inferences and drawing conclusions Recognizing and using figurative language Identifying logical fallacies in the writing of others and avoiding fallacies in one’s

own writing Crafting and supporting a thesis statement, both stated and implied Working through the writing process from choosing a topic and developing an

outline to employing effective transitions in a multi-paragraph essay supporting a position

Creating successful introductions and conclusions Using MEAL to produce body paragraphs Writing summaries, opinion-based responses, narratives, and analysis essays

using Standard English Creating functioning sentence structures; using verbs effectively; using the

appropriate punctuation, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, and modifying words; using active voice when appropriate; and choosing the correct word

Recognizing and creating definitional arguments, including the language (formal, informal, extended, subjective, and objective) and the terms (denotative and connotative) often paired with them

Identifying and creating comparative arguments, including patterns of comparison (point-by-point and subject-by-subject) and types of thesis statements (evaluative and explanatory) that denote them

Recognizing causal relationships in readings and producing a cause and effect essay in response to a college-level writing assignment

About the Reading Assignment READING SELECTIONS“Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” by Jamie Anderson (commissioned)“Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think,” by Zac Bissonnette

(An alternate APA version of “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” has also been created and can be used for enrichment activities: https://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U9_reading_AlternateAPAversion.pdf)

INSIGHT INTO THE READING SELECTIONSWhy they were chosen: For this unit, we wanted students to explore and evaluate multiple readings in depth to mimic the college experience. Specifically, students should be able to identify the argument within two articles on a similar topic and evaluate their success at achieving their purpose, while recognizing the impact of ethos, bias, and analytical logical fallacies on message effectiveness. We wanted an approachable topic, one that might also give them practical, directly applicable insights, so we selected "Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think," by Zac Bissonnette. This article should resonate with students as it discusses the importance of allowing one’s passions to guide academic choices. We needed to find a companion piece for students to

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comparatively critique, which led to commissioning “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” by the fictitious author Jamie Anderson. This article also offers applicable, related information as it pursues the question of whether or not happiness at work is a realistic goal. Students are given the chance to examine these similarly purposed pieces and decide which author had the most success in achieving his writing goals. “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” is commissioned and students will not be able to find it or the author through an internet search.

Reading difficulty: The articles present straightforward, conversational takes on content that relates to student interests. What makes the task challenging is the fact that there are two texts to negotiate, requiring students to make sense of, and fluctuate between, two separate pieces with related but different messages. While they have used multiple texts in previous units, these articles are longer, providing a realistic view of future college tasks. By encouraging students to take notes and process the pieces individually before evaluating them jointly, instructors can foster student success.

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT FOR UNIT 9 READINGSachievement G.M.A.T. pursuitadmissions G.P.A.'s randomadopt Gallup poll real worldahead of global economy realityappalled graduates rejoicingappreciate gratitude researchassume impractical researcherbehavioral change in contrast resultsby-the-book indignant reversedcandidate intellectually richercareer earnings internships rightscite jackass rigorsclass rank journaling S.T.S.Classical snob journals self-evidentClassics L.S.A.T. shapescliché landing social influencecompetitive edge leg up stimulatesconsultant lens strategiescontrary liberal arts suitcorrelation lofty technical trainingcreativity M.B.A.'s technology-drivenDeclaration of Independence majored Ted Turnerdestination management the herddisconnect meditation to witdisconnected mind development transferabilitydistinguishing misguided typicaldoomed move the goalposts unalienable

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dopamine obscure variationsdrop out obvious varyeconomic success opted VCR repair

educational optimismverbal communication skills

encounter optimists versionexaggerated outcome viewpointexcerpt passionate weirdfilthy perceptions wiredfinance major persuasion work ethicformula potential yieldsFounding Fathers productivityfuel pukedfundamental pursued

TIPSIf students have difficulty recognizing opinions disguised as facts:

Look at speeches or quotes from celebrities and identify the opinions Examine opinion columns in newspapers and identify facts, opinions, and

misleading opinions

If students have difficulty recognizing sources: Look at Wikipedia. Discuss and evaluate their use of sources, including the

pros and cons of using Wikipedia as a source. Examine sample student essays from online essay services. Discuss and

evaluate their use of sources. This activity also lets students know that instructors are aware of these websites.

If students have difficulty recognizing bias: Show students highly opinionated blog posts and identify blatant author

stances, making sure to evaluate author credibility, or ethos. Examine humorous sources, such as The Onion, and identify sources of bias.

If students have trouble with vocabulary: These readings include colloquialisms (i.e., “by-the-book”) and specific concepts

(i.e., “Founding Fathers” or “wired”) that might be unfamiliar to students and might be difficult to decode within context.

Ask students to create separate lists of unknown terms for each reading. Remind students that even the same word might mean something different in another context. Provide class time for individuals to familiarize themselves with confusing words or concepts.

Provide opportunities for students to discuss unfamiliar terms during Active Reading.

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If students struggle with the reading: Break down the reading into more manageable chunks, asking students to

summarize each section as they read. Outline the readings together, identifying the message, purpose and structure of

each article, and then jointly discuss how the authors approach and present their views of the topic.

Encourage students to read and discuss their comprehension with a partner.

Helping students connect reading and writing: Assign a well-known, yet brief, essay such as “Salvation”* by Langston Hughes.

Have students read and process it. Ask students to consider its message, purpose, style, and tone. What choices did the author make during its construction? Then look at a critical analysis of the essay, and discuss the effectiveness of the analysis. Did the author do an effective job creating the critical analysis? Why or why not? Is this something students should model? Why or why not?

Tips for Teaching English Language Learners1. Academic Word List (AWL) words from the unit vocabulary list appear below. At

this point in the course, it would be useful to review parts of speech with ELL students, as changing parts of speech is one technique for students to use when paraphrasing. Project the list below on-screen or distribute it to students and quickly go over the words as a class, identifying parts of speech: (“Achievement? Noun. Appreciate? Verb. etc.). If students stumble, ask “How do we know the part of speech?” (Common endings for word forms, position in the sentence etc.) If students cannot agree on an answer, have them examine the word in context in the reading, and if necessary, send them to an online dictionary.

achievementappreciateassumecite(Classical) snobClassicsconsultantcontrarycreativity(economic) successencounter(finance) (major)formula(Founding) Fathersfundamental(global) (economy)in (contrast)journals(liberal) arts obviousoutcome

perceptionspotentialpursuedpursuitrandomresearchresearcherreversedself-(evident)strategies(technical) training(technology)-drivenvariationsvaryverbal (communication) skillsversionwork (ethic)

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2. Pre-reading discussionDepending on students’ backgrounds and the makeup of the class, it can be interesting to discuss attitudes about choosing majors and careers to help students make connections to the reading. Is it common for parents to choose a child’s career path in the students’ home culture? Is there freedom of choice or pressure to choose a particular career? Is there wide access to college majors, or are there national placement exams for a limited number of spots in university programs?

ENRICHMENTSuggested activities

Provide students with a list of hot topics and ask the class to choose a topic of focus (i.e., http://abcnews.go.com/topics/* or http://www.libraryspot.com/features/currentevents.htm*). Then ask students to individually find an article on a topic that they think shows bias. Once selected, they should bring these articles to class and share their selection, making sure to show “evidentiary support” from the reading to justify their claim of bias.

To practice source evaluation and selection, find several sources on a similar topic. Instructors may continue using the unit topic, or find self-contained lessons, such as this one examining multiple perspectives from historical primary sources (http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume8/sept09/images/sept09/multiple_perspectives_psactivity.pdf*). Examine each source, identifying the author’s message, purpose in contributing to the topic, perspective, opportunities for bias, credibility, etc. Which sources would be best to use as evidence? Why?

Examine reviews of a book with which students are familiar, such as Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, from at least two different sources (i.e., “An Epic Showdown as Harry Potter Is Initiated Into Adulthood” by Michiko Kakutani, www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/books/19potter.html?_r=0*, and “Harry’s Final Fantasy: Last Time’s the Charm” by Elizabeth Hand, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/21/AR2007072101025.html*). Compare and contrast the two reviews. Which is the most effective? Why? How does this information relate to writing the critical analysis for this unit’s assignment?

Integrating Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage (GPU)INSIGHT INTO THE UNIT GPU FOUNDATIONSThe GPU Foundations for this unit focus on the specific skills students need to incorporate evidentiary support into their analysis essay. Three of the lessons are directly related to that task – Blending Source Material into an Essay, MLA Citation Styles, and APA Citation Styles – while the fourth lesson is meant to help students address the wordy sentences they tend to create when writing outside of their comfort zone.

Since the goal is college readiness, students will complete these last two units with some instruction on citing sources following either the APA or MLA style guide. The intent is to give them the foundation necessary to complete a typical research project tasked during freshman composition courses. The goal is not to make them experts in either style.

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Even though there are multiple style guides in use throughout different colleges and universities, we determined it best to narrow the instruction to just APA and MLA. For this unit, the examples in both the unit reading and the sample student writing are in MLA and the presentations use those versions for instructional purposes. In unit 10, an APA version of both the reading and sample student writing is used in the presentations. In both units, APA and MLA versions of the reading and sample student writing are available for instructors.

GPU Foundations MLA Citation Styles APA Citation Styles Creating Concise Sentences Blending Source Material into an Essay

You can locate the GPU Foundations for each unit by clicking on the “Resources” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

TIPSAPA Citation Styles and MLA Citation Styles: Both of these lessons are similar in their scope and focus and are both included to give instructors flexibility based on which style is preferred in their particular institution. The main outcome for these lessons on citing sources is not rote memorization of the varied ways to cite particular sources, but familiarization with style guide resources that students can use in future writing assignments. In both lessons, students are given a comparison between the two styles, and the overall goal is familiarity with how sources are cited and how in-text citations map to works cited and/or reference pages.

Since the Jamie Anderson article (“Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?”) follows MLA format, students are shown how source material is integrated into a reading in the GPU Lens of the Active Reader. (As mentioned earlier, an APA version of the Anderson text is available. However, multimedia video instruction focusing on APA is not available until Unit 10.) Students are then presented with more instruction in the Writing Workshops (which are part of the Writing Center) on integrating sources into their own essay and the sample student writing also follows the MLA style guide.

These two GPU Lessons will give students a detailed overview for how to cite sources and clarify the requirements for college-level writing.

Tips for Teaching English Language Learners1. Understanding citations

Depending upon their previous academic training, English language learners may have very different—or very little—experience with citation. In addition, the reasons and requirements for citation may vary by culture. A relatively quick and powerfully visual way to demonstrate key ideas is to do an in-class analysis and discussion of citations.

Project on screen or provide to students a printed example paper from the lesson or elsewhere, making sure to give source credit.

Ask students first to circle or highlight (or highlight on the screen) every instance of citation. Sometimes there may be no parentheses, so they should look carefully.

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In pairs or groups, students should decide the reason for the citation:1) Paraphrased information2) Quotations3) Numbers or statistics4) A combination of 1-3 above.When finished, compare answers. Ask students: Which reason was most common? (Probably number 1) When were quotations used, if at all? (For very unique and striking language, a special authority, etc.) How often inside a paragraph or section of the paper were citations used? (Perhaps more often than they expected. If students used a highlighter, a colorful and visual lesson on this frequency can be internalized.)

Finally, ask student pairs to make marks next to the sources on the Works Cited or References page each time they are cited in the body of the paper. As a class, go over their answers and discuss—How many times is each source cited? Does any one source dominate? What does it mean if one source is used predominantly? It is a good time to remind students that using several sources, in a well-balanced way, is a worthy goal.

2. Citation workshopIf students have no experience with citation, it can be helpful to build extra time into the schedule for a “citation workshop.” First, go over the citation lessons on MLA and/or APA citation styles with the students in class, encouraging extra questions for discussion. Following this, a hands-on workshop can help students internalize the process.

Instructors can raid their bookshelves and office waiting rooms for books, journals (with both pagination types), magazines, and anthology volumes to bring to class. It is also very important to print selections from websites (different types and selections) and library databases, as these are commonly used by students.

Put the students in pairs and groups, and have them write on index cards a Works Cited (or References) entry for each of the example sources, trading them with each other as they finish. Instructors can circulate, helping students decipher first name vs. last name; journal title vs. article title; dates and volumes, etc. All of these tend to give trouble to students inexperienced with academic writing in English.

When finished with all sources, they should alphabetize their index cards, and compare their Works Cited or References “page” with a previously prepared teacher model that can be projected or passed out. Any discrepancies should be discussed and an explanation provided.

Creating Concise Sentences: This lesson presents higher order editing strategies to help students eliminate wordy sentences from their final drafts. It builds upon skills from prior grammar lessons and helps students strengthen their writing from a more aesthetic point of view. The basis of the lesson is William Strunk’s well-known advice: “Omit needless words.”

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Prior foundation lessons that are touched on in this lesson are listed below. Students should be familiar with applying the concepts and rules of the following lessons since they will be asked to refine the use of these for concision.

Prepositional Phrases, Unit 1 Coherence, Unit 3 Adjectives and Adverbs, Unit 4 Understanding the Four Sentence Types, Unit 5 Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions, Unit 6 Commas with Relative Pronouns, Unit 6 Active and Passive Voice, Unit 7 Parenthetical Expressions, Unit 7

Tips for Teaching English Language LearnersEnglish Language Learners may use non-concise language in their writing—or be overly repetitive with key words—if they lack vocabulary and facility with sentence structure. If instructors notice these problems in drafts, they should direct students to review the unit resources to try to find a solution themselves. The resources are very clear and easy for students to use as a checklist against their own drafts. Instructors can also collect real (anonymous) examples from student essays and have the class work together to brainstorm ways to make them more concise.

Blending Source Material into an Essay: This lesson focuses on the nuts and bolts of integrating source material into an essay. If students have difficulty paraphrasing source material, this lesson may be particularly challenging since students are also likely to have trouble distinguishing between quoted material and paraphrased material. Referring students to the foundation lesson in Unit 7, Paraphrasing Reading Passages, as well as the lesson in this unit, Paraphrasing vs. Direct Quotations, can help in these cases. Also, if students have trouble determining when to use source material in their essays, make sure that they work through the foundation lesson in this unit on Effective Evidentiary Support as a precursor to this lesson.

Tips for Teaching English Language Learners The mechanics of incorporating source material can be almost as difficult for ELLs as selecting appropriate support and paraphrasing it. Reassure students that their writing from sources will improve and sound smoother with practice, and that the only way to get practice is to challenge themselves with the assignment. Share good final examples of student work—even just one good sentence—to encourage students and model success.

Finally, students should be instructed to view the Grammar in Context video presentation located in the Resources for the unit before editing and proofreading their essay. The video presentation addresses the three topics (omitting the lesson on APA style) in order to help students during the editing and proofreading stages of essay development. A good strategy would be to have students watch the video and immediately begin editing and proofreading their final response paragraph.

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ENRICHMENTSuggested Activities

In order to reinforce key elements of both APA and MLA style guides, have students change the unit reading, “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End” to follow APA guidelines instead of MLA. An APA version has already been created and can be used as a grading tool: https://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U9_reading_AlternateAPAversion.pdf

Split the class into two groups and have students in group one find an academic journal article on the subject of happiness at work (or some other topic) that follows MLA style guide, and have the students in group two find one that follows APA. In class, pair students up so that one has an APA journal article and the other has an MLA article, then have them compare the two and come up with similarities and differences. Steer the conversation to the types of disciplines that use each style.

To work on blending source material into an essay, have students create outlines for their essays that include the full quotes or paraphrases they plan on using as evidence in their supporting paragraphs. Then have them work in pairs at writing one supporting paragraph from each of their outlines.

To help students create concise sentences, develop a worksheet with examples of wordy and awkward sentences from the student drafts, either from this unit or from prior work that has been collected throughout the semester. Present these sentences to the class and have students work in pairs or small groups on making the sentences more concise.

About the Writing AssignmentWRITING ASSIGNMENTChoose one of the reading selections and write a multi-paragraph critical analysis essay identifying the author's thesis and purpose, briefly summarizing the selected reading, and evaluating the author's success, or lack of success, in supporting the thesis and satisfying his purpose for writing. Make sure to AVOID logical fallacies when establishing your evidence and analysis. Your essay should include carefully considered analysis as well as proper in-text citations for the source material you integrate into your essay.

INSIGHT INTO THE WRITING ASSIGNMENTWhy it was chosen: This unit asks students to perform a writing task that is critical in college writing—the analysis essay. Whether it is called a literary, rhetorical, or critical analysis, the basic premise is the same: students must know how to evaluate whether or not an author successfully met his or her writing purpose. Inherent within this evaluation is the need to break down the text and analyze it according to how effective it is—a task students will be asked to perform directly and indirectly throughout their academic endeavors. Therefore, the writing assignment for this unit exposes students to a concept they must eventually master, giving them a chance to practice now what they will need later. Instructors should note that we defined a process for “writing a critical analysis essay” for this curriculum, but there are different ways to approach writing this type of essay. Introducing one or more additional approaches to supplement this unit’s instruction has been left up to classroom goals and an instructor’s discretion.

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Task difficulty: Outside of the typical struggles students tend to have when writing essays (coherency, providing enough evidence and reasoning, staying on topic, etc.), this unit offers a special challenge because it asks students to evaluate the strength of the authors’ messages. Students tend to think they have this concept down, especially when instructors provide all the necessary modeling and preparation it takes to write a critical analysis, but they can veer off into two main directions, neither of which represents the task: 1) summarizing the pieces without critiquing them, and 2) talking about the topic rather than the author’s effectiveness in presenting the topic.

To avoid these two pitfalls, instructors should model the writing task in class, multiple times if necessary, and provide students with a chance to practice individually, in pairs, or in groups. Also, instructors should expect the review process to take additional time, since there may be a need for multiple checks to verify that students are on task. Creating an outline is a helpful tool, but students need feedback on their rough drafts because they can insert opinions or unrelated information when they start developing content. Once they get the basic concept down, their future endeavors will be much easier, and so this is time well spent.

Rubric: The following rubric can be used to score a student’s response using five separate categories. Each of these five categories will be rated as Proficient, Developing, or Needs Improvement.

Proficient means a student has met the standards of an effective response. Developing means a student has partially met the standards of a response, but it needs some revision. Needs Improvement means the student did not meet the standards of an effective response.

Multi-Paragraph Critical AnalysisProficient Developing Needs

ImprovementPurpose (critical analysis)

Clearly presents a well-supported, interesting

claim that analyzes how effectively the

chosen article achieves its purpose.

Includes a partial critical analysis, but doesn’t effectively evaluate the article and/or presents an unoriginal, unsound

viewpoint.

Does not present a critical analysis, or

presents an undeveloped critical

analysis.

Thesis Statement

Clearly presents a thesis statement in an

interesting way and shows how the essay

will progress.

Vaguely identifies a functional but

uninteresting thesis statement. The overall essay

direction is present but inconsistent.

Does not include a thesis statement and the essay’s

direction is unclear.

Supporting Ideas(use of Major and Minor Details, including evidence)

Uses solid examples to support the thesis

statement and prove important points;

effectively incorporates source material.

Partially uses examples as proof;

lacks support for some important

points; inclusion of source material is

only partially

Does not develop or provide examples to illustrate the claim; does not include source material.

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effective.Paragraph Development (strength of introduction, conclusion and coherency)

Smoothly connects ideas between/within

paragraphs in a purposeful manner;

introduction and conclusion make

interesting, effective statements about the

topic.

Ideas between/within paragraphs are

partially connected or moderately purposeful;

introduction and conclusion are present but not

effective.

Missing connection between ideas;

purpose of content is unclear; incomplete

introduction and conclusion.

Grammar & Punctuation

Essay contains concise, effective

sentences and correctly incorporates source material with

citations.

Essay needs further editing and/or contains some problems with

effective sentences and source

inclusion/citation.

Essay displays little attention to editing

or effective sentence

construction; attempts to include or cite sources are

missing or incorrect.

UNIT 9 WRITING ACTIVITIES Pre-Reading:

Reading Overview: Understanding Publication DatesHow important do you think it is to the credibility of these articles that they are recently published? List at least two topics where timely publication dates might not be as important.

Preview: Interpreting IntroductionsCompare the strategies used in the two introductions for the readings. Why do you think each of the authors chose to begin his article as he did?

Connect to the Reading: Personal ResponseIn your experience, what makes a person happy or unhappy at work? List at least three factors that make the biggest difference.

Make Predictions and Ask Questions: The Influence of BiasHow will you know if the authors are doing a good job controlling the potential for bias? Write a sentence summarizing your strategy of things to look for to determine if bias might be shaping the text.

Post-Reading: Review: Reading Purpose

o In a one-paragraph summary, explain the purpose of Jamie Anderson’s article, “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?”

o Next, write a one-paragraph summary explaining the purpose of Bissonnette’s article, “Your College Major May Not Be As Important As You Think.”

Discuss: Evaluating EvidenceJoin the discussion. Which author uses evidence more effectively? Use examples from the article to support your answer.

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Reflect: A ComparisonWrite a paragraph in which you explain the similarities and differences between how the two articles approach the topic of happiness and careers.

Pre-Writing: Understand the Assignment: Drafting the Summary

Write a one-paragraph summary for your chosen article. Be sure to consider the purpose, main point, supporting details, and any notable aspects of the structure and writing strategies. You will be able to use this when you summarize the article in your essay.

Generate Ideas: Purposeful AnnotationGo back to the article you have chosen to write about and make annotations. First, identify the author’s main point, sub-claims, and supporting evidence. Next, annotate each claim the article makes, and explain what you think the author accomplishes with it. (Note: You will see both articles in the annotations window, so only focus on the article you have selected to write about.)

Develop a Thesis Statement: Getting to the PointCreate a one- or two-sentence working thesis statement that includes your judgment about the effectiveness of your chosen article. Make it interesting so your reader will want to keep reading to discover how you will prove your point.

Organize Ideas: The StructureUse the structure below to draft ideas for what should go into each section of your essay:

Article’s messageArticle’s foundationArticle’s structureArticles’ purpose and impactIntroductory ideasConcluding ideas

TIPSHelping students connect reading and writing:

Choose a song that has recently won an award (Grammy, Oscar, Billboard 100, CMA, etc.). Print out the lyrics and distribute them to students. Ask students to identify the song’s message, purpose, audience, style, tone, emotional appeals, overall sound, specific musical techniques, and presentation strategy. Then ask the students to evaluate its effectiveness. Is it worth all the attention it’s getting? Why or why not? Is it possible to appreciate the way the artist created the song, but not like the song itself? Likewise, can a catchy song be poorly written?

If students have difficulty: Analyze the effectiveness of one of the essays together in class. Offer students a list of detailed questions that walk them through the critical

analysis process as a precursor to the writing process (i.e., http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/co301aman/pop7b3.cfm*).

Provide students with model essays and allow them to “grade” each essay. Ask students which strategies they would mimic and avoid (i.e. http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jewel001/CollegeWriting/WRITEREAD/CritReview/samples.htm*).

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Read a funny article together and conduct a critical analysis of it (i.e., “My God, What Passes for Crunch-tastic These Days” by Mel Crowley: http://www.theonion.com/articles/my-god-what-passes-for-crunchtastic-these-days,11151/*).

Have students brainstorm or outline their work in pairs. Allow class time for students to review each other’s work and check for

coherency.

Tips for Teaching English Language Learners The evaluation of evidence is likely to be challenging for ELLs. To help them get a handle on this key aspect of the assignment, have them practice first orally and then in writing (perhaps using some of the suggestions in “Tips” and “If students have difficulty” above). Students may have an easier time coming up with something to say about evidence by talking it out as a group; however, they will probably need the instructor’s help and group consensus to craft an appropriate academic tone for the written version. Constructing written statements on the board that represent the class evaluation of evidence can also be an opportunity to keep them on task, and help them avoid simply summarizing or just substituting personal opinions about the topic and not the author’s evidence. The instructor can be “led” by the students, writing their suggestions on the board, but always questioning whether it meets the assignment criteria, steering them in a better direction as needed.

ENRICHMENTOptional activities:

Ask students to think about how they would write an essay on the topic of allowing interest to direct academic and career choices. Brainstorm what should be said and how to support their argument. They can even create an outline illustrating their main points and the kind of evidence they would use. Students can use this information as a guide for evaluating the two articles in the unit. Did the authors do what they should have? Are their points valid, logical, and worth considering? Have they supported them with enough information? Wrap up the discussion by comparing an ideal version of the essay with the real thing.

Look at soft drink ads from the past and comparatively evaluate them in groups (i.e., http://www.vintag.es/2013/10/interesting-soft-drinkss-ads-in-past.html*). Students should identify the intended audience, message, purpose, inherent values, bias, and presentation strategy for each. They should then decide which is the most effective and defend their selection with proof from the ads.

Examine a movie review for a current movie from a national publication (i.e., The New York Times or USA Today). Ask students to 1. Summarize the review, 2. Evaluate the strength of the review, and 3. Identify examples of bias. Did the author achieve his/her purpose? Why or why not?

Common Core State StandardsEXTENSION ACTIVITIESOnce your students have completed Unit 9: Applied Critical Analysis, you can continue teaching with these extension activities. These activities build upon the skills learned in the unit and correlate with the reading selections. The material is designed to assist in

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addressing Common Core State Standards. The content is organized by grade level to mirror the organization of the standards.

Grades 9-10 students:1. Read Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird or Shakespeare’s play Romeo

and Juliet. While reading the novel, assign each student the role of one of the characters. The student is responsible for understanding the character’s motives and actions. They must come to class prepared to answer questions from fellow students regarding their character. The remaining students are tasked with creating questions to ask the characters in a classroom discussion. The students’ questions need to probe reasoning and use evidence from the readings. All students should propel the conversation by taking different stances, clarifying or challenging ideas, and/or offering creative perspectives. This process will be repeated as many times as necessary for each section of the reading.

2. Have students research a college major and create a presentation about the classes required for the major, how much people completing the major can expect to make, and what jobs are possible with that major. Students should use a variety of media to add interest to the presentation. Conduct a class discussion on whether or not the majors students select in college matter.

Grades 11-12 students:1. Study Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Othello by William Shakespeare, or Heart

of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. While reading the literature, students will be assigned a role of one of the characters. The students are responsible for understanding their character’s motives and actions. The remaining students are tasked with creating questions to ask the characters in a class discussion. The students’ questions need to probe reasoning and use evidence from the readings. All students should propel the conversation by clarifying or challenging ideas and/or offering creative perspectives.

AccessibilityCLOSED CAPTIONSAll of the videos in NROC English include Closed Captions (CC)—text versions of what is being spoken. To access the Closed Captions, click on the CC button in the controller bar for each video.

Once you click the CC button, the captions will open to the right of the video and will automatically advance as the video progresses.

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To close the captions window, click the CC button again.

SCREEN READERSThe NROC English Unit Player has been designed for use with screen readers. We have provided an Accessibility Guide, which you can share with anyone who will be using NROC English with a screen reader. You can also put the link to this accessibility guide directly into your course: http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/Accessibility.html

We have also provided a video that demonstrates how to use the NROC English Unit Player with a screen reader. The demonstration video can be accessed from the Accessibility Guide or directly at this URL: https://player.vimeo.com/video/132236450

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESWe have also provided an alternate form of two Active Reader lenses since they are not implemented for a screen reader:

Grammar, Punctuation, Usage lens: http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U09GPU.html

Vocabulary lens: http://gradeservice.montereyinstitute.org/courses/DevelopmentalEnglish/files/U09Vocab.html

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Unit Assessment Sample Answers and Scoring GuidesFor each of the constructed response questions (short answer) in the Unit Assessment, we provide you with a suggested point value, sample answer, and scoring guide (below).

UNIT 9, FORM A and FORM B, CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE Question 19

Question 20

Learning Objective text

Employ editing techniques that lead to more concise and effective sentences.

Point Value 2Prompt Read this sentence.

Bothered by allergies, a condition that made them sneeze, some of the high schoolers had sinus troubles that caused them to miss several days of school last fall.

Rewrite this sentence in a more concise way without losing important information.

Sample Answer: Bothered by allergies, some high schoolers missed several days of school last fall.

Learning Objective text

Write a thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that presents an opinion about a text’s effectiveness.

Point Value 2Prompt

A thesis for a critical analysis essay should identify what the author wanted to accomplish and then assess the author’s success in doing so.

You have just read the passage “The Future of the USPS.” Write a sample thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that presents your opinion about the passage’s effectiveness.

Sample Answer: In “The Future of the USPS,” Cedric Brown successfully explains why the USPS is in such dire straits, leading to proposals for change that might insure its survival. The passage described the history well, but included the most detail about the last seven years of instability and failure. It also effectively called all citizens to action to redefine the USPS.

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SCORING GUIDESThe following scoring guides are provided as a guide for scoring answers to the Unit 9 Constructed Response questions.

Scoring Guide: Editing Techniques Learning Objective: Employ editing techniques that lead to more concise and effective sentences.

CATEGORY 2 1 NS/0Convention: SENTENCE STRUCTURE (employ editing techniques for more concise and effective sentences)

The sentence(s) are reconstructed with both a subject and verb.

Student has employed the following editing techniques to make the sentence(s) more concise (where applicable):

-Avoids redundancy-Multiple words replaced with a single word -Unnecessary prepositional phrases deleted -Active voice replaces passive voice-Cliché removed-Changed nouns to verbs -Removed “There is/There are” phrase from beginning of sentence-Removed/avoided qualifiers-Changed negatives into affirmatives

The sentence(s) contain a subject and verb, although may not be as properly reconstructed as a 2-point sentence.

Student has attempted some of the following editing techniques to make the sentence(s) more concise, but not entirely successful (where applicable):

-Avoids redundancy-Multiple words replaced with a single word -Unnecessary prepositional phrases deleted -Active voice replaces passive voice-Cliché removed-Changed nouns to verbs -Removed “There is/There are” phrase from beginning of sentence-Removed/avoided qualifiers-Changed negatives into affirmatives

The sentences lack structure and appear incomplete or rambling.

Student was unsuccessful at most or all of the following editing techniques (where applicable):

Avoids redundancy-Multiple words replaced with a single word -Unnecessary prepositional phrases deleted -Active voice replaces passive voice-Cliché removed-Changed nouns to verbs -Removed “There is/There are” phrase from beginning of sentence-Removed/avoided qualifiers-Changed negatives into affirmatives

CONVENTIONS Writer makes no errors in convention that distract the reader from the content: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

Writer makes 1 or 2 minor errors in convention appropriate to the task that distract the reader from the content: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

Writer makes multiple errors in convention appropriate to the task that distract the reader from the content: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

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Scoring Guide: Thesis Statement Learning Objective: Write a thesis statement for a multi-page critical analysis essay that presents an opinion about a text’s effectiveness.

CATEGORY 2 1 NS/0Content:FOCUS ON TOPIC

There is one clear, well-focused topic.

The thesis statement is appropriate to the essay type, utilizing possible key words to help organize the structure of the essay.

The thesis statement evaluates the text provided, successfully assessing what the author wanted to accomplish and assessing the author’s success in doing so.

There is more than one topic introduced in the thesis statement.

The thesis statement does not focus on the essay type in an appropriate manner. The thesis statement is worded in such a way that it is unclear what the organizational structure of the essay will be.

The thesis statement may evaluate the text provided, and either assesses what the author wanted to accomplish or assesses the author’s success in doing so, but most likely not both, or not successfully.

The topic is not clear.

The thesis, if one is provided, does not focus on any essay type and does not provide any organizational structure.

The thesis does not evaluate the text provided.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

CONVENTIONS Exhibits REASONABLE CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Exhibits MINIMAL CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

LACKS CONTROL of grammatical conventions appropriate to the writing task: sentence formation; standard usage including agreement, tense, and case; and mechanics including use of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

Content: STYLE - Vocabulary

Exhibits skillful use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Exhibits minimal use of vocabulary that is precise and purposeful.

Illegible or otherwise unscorable: blank responses, responses that are off-topic or incoherent.

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Member Suggested SupplementsWe encourage our members to share teaching ideas, as well as any additional resources they create to pair with NROC English. To find materials other members have donated, go to The NROC Network and select “Professional Development”. http://www.nrocnetwork.org/professional-development

Additional member-suggested resources to use with Unit 9 include: There are currently no member suggested resources.

Please email editorial@thenrocproject.org if you would like to contribute resources or suggestions for this Instructor Guide.

Join the CommunityWe recommend that all instructors join the NROC English group at the NROC Community so they have access to all updates and notices about the English course.

The NROC Community is a user community of teachers and administrators who want to learn, share ideas, help each other, and work together to improve educational opportunities for everyone. We encourage all members to actively participate and support each other through posts in the Community.

*Any links to non-NROC, third-party resources listed in this Instructor Guide may change over time. We update the Instructor Guides annually and correct any broken links.

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