Instruction
alysis and Response #1
Length: 1½ to 2 pages
Format: MLA
Due Date: ____________
Score: ______ / 30 points
Directions:
Paragraph 1: Summary
Read and study Kendall’s essay; then develop a summary in one paragraph. Open the summary by introducing the essay with a complete TAG (title, author, genre), the author’s credentials, and her main assertion (her thesis). Analyze what points she asserts on how the media shapes the public’s perception of social class.
A summary should be about half to two-thirds of a page in length. A summary must be one unified, coherent, and organized paragraph. Analyze the piece being summarized and interpret the author’s main and supporting ideas following these guidelines:
Read carefully and at least twice.
In the first sentence of your summary, provide the TAG (essay’s title, author’s name and genre of the reading), provide the author’s relevant credentials, and explain the author’s main assertion.
Interpret the meaning of the supporting points of the essay without repeating any content or retelling the essay. Throughout the summary, present the author’s other main ideas—put these into your own words.
Attribute each idea, in each sentence, to the author throughout the summary.
In the last sentence of your summary, infer the author’s underlying purpose for writing the essay.
Omit references in your summary to the examples, rhetorical strategies, and supporting details that the author uses in his or her essay.
Use no direct quotations in a summary; however, if you use any of the author’s key words, identify these as the author’s words with quotation marks.
Do not give your opinion—Be objective
Paragraph 2: Response
Diana Kendall argues that “wealthy media shareholders, corporate executives, and political leaders have a vested interest in obscuring class relations” (para. 31) concluding that major media outlets are unwilling to change the myopic views of class that they promote, affecting the public’s perception and obscuring people’s knowledge of the reality of class. Plato elucidates that “the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light” (para. 40). What might Plato say about Kendall’s concern that the public allows the mainstream media to form people’s opinions? Develop your response in one paragraph. Synthesize Plato’s main point on enlightenment with Kendall’s concerns about most people lacking insight on the realities—“coming out of the light”—of class due to corporate media’s powerful influence.