Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill.original_ [109]
If, for example, you sought to define the meaning of darkness in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and any two other modern British novels, you would do better to ask why the writers find darkness such a fertile term than simply to accumulate various examples of the term in the three novels. You might start by isolating the single best example from each of the works, preferably ones that reveal important differences as well as similarities. Then, in analyzing how each writer uses the term, you could work toward some larger point that would unify the essay. You might show how the conflicts of definition within Conrad’s metaphor evolve historically, get reshaped by woman novelists, change after World War I, and so forth.
GUIDELINES FOR MAKING COMMON TOPICS MORE ANALYTICAL
Find ways to move beyond passive summary (what questions). Use information to develop some idea (how and why questions) rather than just repackaging what others have written.
Drastically reduce scope. Concentrate on what seems the most important or revealing part of your subject (ranking) rather than trying to cover everything.
Avoid turning comparisons into pointless matching exercises. Only set up similarities and differences in order to discuss the significance of that comparison.
You needn’t devote equal space to both sides of a comparison. If one side is used primarily to illuminate the other, a 30–70 ratio (or 20–80 or 40–60) makes more sense than 50–50.
Rather than answering a question of definition with inert summary, test the definition against evidence and/or explore its competing parts.
For agree/disagree questions, the best move is to choose neither side. Question the terms of the binary so as to arrive at a more complex and qualified position. Decide to what extent you agree and to what extent you disagree.
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Assignments: Making Common Topics More Analytical
1. Write Two Summaries of the Same Article or Book Chapter. Make the first one consecutive (the so-called “coverage” model), that is, try to cover the piece by essentially listing the key points as they appear. Limit yourself to a typed page. Then rewrite the summary, doing the following:
• rank the items in order of importance according to some principle that you designate, explaining your rationale;
• eliminate the last few items on the list, or at most, give each a single sentence; and
• use the space you saved to include more detail about the most important item or two.
The second half of this assignment will probably require closer to two pages.
2. Explore Significant Differences and Similarities. This assignment first appeared as a Try This in Chapter 4. If you did not do it then, try it now.
Use any item from the list below. List as many similarities and differences as you can: go for coverage. Then review your list and select the two or three most revealing similarities and the two or three most revealing differences. At this point, you are ready to write a few paragraphs in which you argue for the significance of a key difference or similarity. In so doing, you may find it interesting to focus on an unexpected similarity or difference—one that others might not initially notice.
1. Accounts of the same event from two different newspapers or magazines or textbooks;
2. two CDs (or even songs) by the same artist or group;
3. two ads for the same kind of product, perhaps aimed at different target audiences;
4. the political campaigns of two opponents running for the same or similar office;
5. courtship behavior as practiced by men and by women; or
6. two clothing styles as emblematic of class or sub-group in your school, town, or workplace.
3. Write a Comparative Definition. Seek out different and potentially competing definitions of the same term or terms. Begin with a dictionary such