Cultural Analysis - PowerPoint Presentation

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Cultural Analysis Peer Review

English 1020Slide2

The goals of peer review are to help each other strengthen your essays. Peer review is also great because it gives you a chance to be a real reader, practice asking critical questions about an essay, and see what others are doing.

You are not grading nor are you editing

(sentence-level, grammar, typos, etc) your partner’s essay.Be specific.“I was confused.” doesn’t tell the writer as much as they need to help them revise. What were you confused about? Were there certain places that lost you? Tell them that.Be thorough.Give your partner’s essay and ideas the attention it deserves. Be willing to engage in this process for their sake.Be honest.“Great job!!” doesn’t help your partner out. Consider the honesty you would want from a partner and give that to yours. Be kind.“Wow, this sucks.” also doesn’t help. 

Peer ReviewSlide3

Find a partner and exchange essays.Carefully read over your partner’s essay in its entirety.You don’t need to make notes at this point. Put the pen down!

Find a PartnerSlide4

Is it clear from the beginning what cultural

subject

(people, text(s), trends, events, places) the writer will be analyzing and why? What do you think is the writer’s main point about the subject (i.e. thesis)? Try to point to the actual sentence or two. Underline it. As the writer, if your readers can’t find your thesis statement, that’s a problem. It should be a statement, not a question.ThesisSlide5

Is the thesis specific and debate-able

? (If there’s no way someone could disagree with it, there’s no need to make it--unless it can be debated, it’s not an argument.) Does it go

beyond the obvious and approach the subject insightfully, in a unique way? Respond as a real reader (as yourself)—if it seems obvious, how could the writer perhaps make it more interesting—is there something else they could look at? Try to think of a question or an example that may contradict or complicate the writer’s thesis. Now, as the writer, consider how you can use this to actually strengthen your thesis.ThesisSlide6

Did you ever feel overwhelmed with information or ideas? If so, where could the writer

cut or focus

more? Are there any rabbit trails—where the writer digressed too far into a point or topic not as important to the focus of the essay? Focus Slide7

Look for

generalizations

and/or extreme statements where the writer can be more concrete and clear. Does the writer include specific examples from society and popular culture in relation to his/her points? Are there analyses of examples/parts of texts/people/etc, or just general pronouncements about the subject as a whole? Are the examples used purposefully to make a larger point about or reveal an interesting aspect of the subject? Tell the writer places in the essay where he/she could be more specific, give an actual example, expand idea, integrate a quote, etc.Is there too much summary/description/informative fact-giving (history or biography about people or trends)? There should be analysis/explanation/interpretation/connections-making.AnalysisSlide8

Are there any places where you are not sure if the information or idea comes from the writer or a

secondary source

? This could also mean there is no citation or a confusing one.If any quotations are used, are they integrated with introductory phrases? Do they fit it with the ideas around them? Or do they just seem to be dropped in as filler? Also, remember quotations are not self-explanatory--they should be introduced and analyzed and related to the paper’s main point.SupportSlide9

Whether or not the draft is still short, what other things would you—as a reader—like to know

about the subject? What

questions are you still left with?SupportSlide10

Do you see a clear subpoint

(topic sentences) in each body paragraph?

Remember that this is the best way to help your reader follow your line of thinking. Do you see the author using transitions—statements or phrases that bridge the main idea or purpose of one paragraph with the next? Read the thesis and topic sentences in order (whether the thesis is in intro or conclusion). Do they work together, i.e. the topic sentences supporting and developing the central claim (thesis)?OrganizationSlide11

Are there any places where you got confused

? Did the writer jump back and forth between topics? Give examples so the writer can be clearer.

OrganizationSlide12

Did the writer grab your interest with beginning and ending

? Did he/she make you think and go beyond general statements/boring proclamations/restating paper points? If not, give a suggestion for a better way to open or close the essay.

What parts of the essay were most interesting, and why? (This can help the writer make the rest of his or her essay equally engaging to the reader.)What ideas did the writer offer about the subject that you found most surprising or original? Do you feel the writer gave you a unique perspective on the subject? What was the most important think you felt that you learned as a reader? Interest Slide13

Look at the comments your partner wrote for your essay.

Ask your partner any

questions or concerns you have about your essays.Ask for clarification on anything you don’t understand that your partner wrote. Make sure you both understand what the other is trying to say and what is important for the cultural analysis essay.Exchange ideas and strategies for revision and improvement. Truly listen and take notes. You can write on your essay.Leave the peer review session with your first draft, comments from your partner, and notes you wrote during your dialogue with partner.Dialogue with PartnerSlide14

Does the writer give a lot of self-references (“I

”)? Highlight or circle every I, my, me you see.

For writers, the subject of your cultural analysis needs to remain center stage although in line with popular writing, this essay can include first-person and some informality. But do remember that your interpretations and ideas are still yours even when you don’t say “I think” or “I believe.” If there are multiple self-references per paragraph, then you should consider how you can revise that.Voice/Tone: Try to describe the tone of your partner’s writing. What feeling do you get from the essay? What kind of relationship do you feel the writer creates with you the reader? What kind of relationship do you feel the writer creates with the subject?Are there any places that seem to be an abrupt shift in tone? (i.e. don’t flow with the same voice/tone as the rest of the essay)StyleSlide15

Variety: Does nearly every sentence start the same way (e.g. with the subject then verb)? Does the author mix up the different types of sentences at her disposal (i.e. simple, compound, complex, compound-complex

)?

As a writer, you want to have variety of sentence structures.Redundancy: Is there redundancy in diction, thought, or support? Are phrases repeated often? Are ideas repeated a lot? Be careful with that!Cliches: Avoid any clichés or ways of writing about people or groups that may alienate your reader. Do you see any?Style