You can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important thing to remember is that your observations should be specific and detailed. You must select 5 quotes per Part from Jennifer Government. There are six parts, so you should have a total of 30 quotes (including the epilogue). A direct quotation from the text should be given on the left side of the paper. The right side should provide an analysis of the quote. Most importantly, your analysis should be at least double the length of the quote.
Dialectical Journals
The term Dialectic means the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer. Think of your dialectical journal as a series of conversations with the textsvisual and verbalthat you will read for your proposal arguments.
The process is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the texts you read. Use your journal to incorporate your personal responses to the texts, connections between the message of the text and themes we cover in our class discussions. Journaling is useful way to process what youre reading, prepare yourself for group discussion, and gather textual evidence for your research assignments.
Procedure:
As you read, choose passages that stand out to you and record them in the left column of the T-chart (ALWAYS include page numbers).
In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage)
If you choose, you can label your responses using the following codes:
(S) Summarize pull out the main idea of the quote and restate it in a condensed way
(A) Analyze break down the examples of ethos, logos, or pathos into their component parts (use the Aristotelian Appeals(chart).doc). Examine how each part contributes to the larger category of rhetoric that you are analyzing.
(I) Infer use the evidence (logos) to determine what is implied but not stated explicitly
(Syn) Synthesize explain how the authors combined use of ethos, logos, and pathos affects the audiences perception of their message. Does it work to
(E) Evaluate make judgments about the authors use of ethos, logos, and pathos. How the authors use of each of these appeals helps to increase the persuasive power of their overall argument.
Use the Dialectical Journal Chart.doc (see below for Sample DJ chart entry) to complete the assignment and submit it through turnitin.com
Sample Dialectical Journal entry: THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim OBrien
Passages from the text
Pg#s
Comments & Questions
-they carried like freight trains; they carried it on their backs and shoulders-and for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry.