Call to Write, Third edition

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Call to Write, Third edition

• Chapter Nine, Commentary Identifying Patterns of
  Meaning

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Chapter overview

• Commentary is a genre using analysis and
  interpretation to find patterns of meaning in
  events, trends, and ideas.
• Commentary goes beyond reporting facts to helping
  readers make sense of them.
• Examples of this genre can be found on TV and
  radio, as well as in magazines and newspapers.

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Key feature of commentary personal opinion

• Takes a position
• Presents an explanation from a perspective of the
  commentator
• Presents an interpretation that is intended to
  persuade readers

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Three functions of commentators

• They label current trends (Generation X, the
  information superhighway).
• They encourage us to think about the causes and
  consequences of trends and events.
• They often praise or blame, and take a moral
  stance on events or trends.

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Commentators reflect society

• Commentators often have regular readers or
  viewers (depending on the media) who look forward
  to the next article or program.
• They seek to both inform and persuade their
  audience, and to help make sense of the world
  and what is happening.

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We are all commentators!

• All of us have opinions and share them with
  family, friends, classmates, and coworkers
• Our choice for president
• The latest scandal on Wall Street
• A movie sequel (worth seeing?)
• The war in Iraq (justified?)
• Possible layoffs at work

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Commentary in our world

• It grows out of our desire to analyze (or look
  carefully at) and explain what has happened.
• Everyday communication functions as social
  analysis.

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Readings

• Eric Liu, Remember When Public Spaces Didnt
  Carry Brand Names?
• Lundy Braun, How to Fight the New Epidemics
• Salim Muwwakil, Throwing Away the Key
• Susan Faludi, An American Myth Rides into the
  Sunset

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Visual design posters

• Lester Beall, Poster for the Rural
  Electrification Administration (REA)
• Serranos poster of Che Guevara
• An analysis follows, examining how the posters
  combine text and images.

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Going online

• Encourages you to find a discussion board online
  and follow the discussion for a few days.
• It refers to a thread, which is a message or a
  group of messages all on the same topic.

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Assembling a casebook

• Another option, mentioned under working together,
  is to put together a casebook.
• A casebook is a compilation of commentaries on an
  issue write a brief introduction and identify
  the writer.

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Writing assignment

• Write a commentary that addresses a topic of
  interest to you. The chapter gives you six
  options.
• Your instructor will let you know whether your
  class will be doing this particular assignment,
  and provide you with additional guidelines.

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Planning and drafting

• See five suggestions for naming a topic, page
  325-326.
• Four questions to ask yourself to discover what
  you already know about the topic
• Frame the issue chapter lists six ways to frame
  the issue in the introduction
• Four things to do in the conclusion

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Peer commentary and revising

• See page 331 for three questions to use when
  doing peer commentary with a classmate.
• See pages 331-332 for a list of five questions to
  use when incorporating ideas from the peer
  commentary into your revision.

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Student sample

• Rachel Smith, Socially Acceptable
  Discrimination
• See essay, p. 3.9-47-50
• Three questions about her essay, p. 3.9-52-53
• Three questions to reflect on your writing or to
  interview a classmate about his or her essay.

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Ethics and commentary

• Commentators often speak on behalf of others.
• In doing so, they play a vital role in a
  democracy, holding accountable those in positions
  of power and explaining what the publics stake
  is in events, trends, and ideas (3.9-54).

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Ethics and commentary, cont.

• Commentators need to be ethical in how they write
  about other people, and shouldnt stereotype
  groups, such as single mothers on welfare.
• This practice tends to create a sense of us
  versus them and does not treat groups fairly.

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Student Companion Website

• Go to the student side of the Web site for
  exercises, chapter overviews, and links to
  writing resources for this chapter
• http//www.ablongman.com/trimbur
• Click on the textbook cover, and then select
  Student Resources.