Please respond to the questions below about “The Coddling of the American Mind” which you annotated last week. Remember, you can use your annotations and/or your Annotation Worksheet to help you answer these questions.
The Writer or Speaker (his/her voice or persona)
- How does the author present himself or herself?
- Is the author familiar with the subject? How can you tell?
- How does the author show good judgment or a broad perspective?
- Is the author reasonable? How can you tell?
- How does the author treat those who disagree? • How does the authors value others’ welfare?
- How does the author treat the reader?
- Does the author use stereotypes or show prejudice?
- Where is this published? What does that say about this work? •
- What did you expect to see what was not on the page? How does the author distract your attention from this?
The Audience
- What are the characteristics of the audience? How can you tell? Consider: *Race, age, sex, physical characteristics, habits *Economic or educational level *Religious or educational level *Ethnicity, citizenship, location
- Is the reader/audience encouraged to have an emotional response to this writing? How can you tell?
- How should the audience use information about opposing views?
- Is the reader encouraged to examine or question the opposition’s motives?
- What reader needs, values, or beliefs are presented here? How can you tell?
- Is there a pattern to word choice or word order? Is the language simple or complex? Are terms defined?
- What is the style of this work? How is this style created? Does the style of this piece resemble that of other works?
- Consider imagery, coherence, emphasis, repetition, rhythm, analogy, metaphor, simile.
The Message (i.e. the text)
- How is this work organized? What are the cues to this organization? Does the organization work?
- What claims are made? Are these claims strong, obvious?
- What evidence is used to support the claims?
