How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?
Writing
MAJOR UNIT ESSAY: CRITICAL ANALYSIS
For this essay, you will be using the article that you selected for the previous essay (Boroditsky or Okrent) as a theoretical lens through which to view one of the other texts from Language: A Reader for Writers.
Although you will be using the skills that you developed in the previous assignment (e.g., summarizing, identifying core arguments), keep in mind that the critical analysis is different from the analytical summary in that you are using one text to shed light on another (the target) in order to show your readers something that they might not otherwise be able to see. That could mean showing how it complements, complicates or contradicts a position expressed in the lens text. It could also mean using the target text to call into question the validity of the lens text, extend its arguments, or reevaluate it in some way. No matter what you end up finding, you should be able to make a claim and support it with evidence from both texts while bringing them into dialogue with one another.
Basic organization of paper:
• Introduction: introduce the article that you are analyzing and offer a strong claim about how it complements, complicates, or contradicts the lens text (your thesis);
• Body paragraphs: focus on detailed descriptions and analyses of the two texts that support your thesis and show how they are connected;
• Conclusion: reinforce your claims and emphasize the importance of doing this kind of analysis (i.e., what did you learn?);
• Use appropriate academic vocabulary; cite all sources in MLA style. Please share any ideas, questions, or concerns with me at your earliest convenience. Do not wait until the day the rough draft is due to tell me that you’re having trouble.
Length: 1,000 – 1,250 words (4-5 pages)
Format: Double-spaced, 1-inch margins, standard 12-point font. Make sure your name, assignment, and due date are in the upper left hand corner of the first page. Last name and page numbers should appear in the upper right hand of each page. For this essay, you must include an MLA-formatted list of works cited that includes, at a minimum, a full citation for the chapter or article that you are discussing in the essay.
ARTICLE 1 which was used to write first essay https://www.edge.org/conversation/lera_boroditsky-…
ARTICLE 2 https://slate.com/human-interest/2012/04/hen-swede…
