What information do you understand now about this article and/or the writer’s message that you might have otherwise missed or not fully understood if you did not analyze the article in this way?

Step 1: Analyze the article using the 7 questions provided:

1. What claim is the text making? How is the claim QUALIFIED, if at all?

2. What REASONS and EVIDENCE support the claim? Examples? Precedents? Personal experience? How effective do you find this support?

3. How does the author establish AUTHORITY to write on this topic? What does he or she do to gain the audience’s confidence?

4. What is the author’s STANCE toward the topic-passionate? critical? neutral?-and what words reflect that stance?

5. What COUNTERARGUMENTS or other perspectives does the author address-and how does he or she respond to them?

6. What overall impression does the text make on you, and what passages create that impression?

7. Are you persuaded by the argument? Why or why not? In this part of your post, please number your responses.

Step 2: Reflect: After you have completed your analysis, look back over the analysis and write about the impact of analyzing a text in this way. Here, you might respond to any/all of the following questions:

What information do you understand now about this article and/or the writer’s message that you might have otherwise missed or not fully understood if you did not analyze the article in this way?
What doubts or questions do you still have about the text? What additional information would you have liked to have?
Look back over the first 5 questions. In your opinion, which of these is the most important to understanding a text? Why do you think this?

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