ESSAY TWO: TEXT-IN-CONTEXT ANALYSIS
This unit will build on the close reading strategies and critical analysis of essay one, adding a new layer: context analysis. This unit will divide itself into two sections: one on close reading and research, and one on your writing and writers' workshops. You will examine secondary works that provide contexts from which or through which you can better understand the primary text. These secondary texts should provide information to establish historical background, biographical information about the writer, and/or opinions of critics. The essay should argue about the primary text and be supported by references to secondary materials. Thus the thesis of the essay will connect some aspect of context in which the text was written or has been examined to your interpretation of that primary text; in other words, you will both analyze the text AND directly discuss its place in its context.
You will also do focused research (a small collection of related materials, perhaps on reserve in the library, given to students in a bibliography, or generated by focus groups of students in each class). Thus the emphasis will be on using a few sources correctly and effectively more than on finding many sources. The practice of research and argumentation will enable you to consider the text in relation to other materials, instead of in isolation. The purpose of the research is to illuminate something in hte text for you, not to do a research paper.
Context is defined as any factors or influences surrounding a text. A text may be a written work but also a film, event, or situation. Contexts shape the way people view or understand a work or happening.
You will use your writer's journal throughout this unit to reflect on how your own beliefs and contexts affect how you read and analyze this text(s). You may also be asked to summarize, paraphrase, or answer specific prompts about the readings in your writer's journal.
Your essay should be 6-8 pages in length, double spaced, typed in a normal font and point size. Your sources should be sited corectly using MLA format.
