978-0393617467 Lecture Note Part 7

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7 % Part II: Writing Pro cesses [ 105 ]

early and to avoid the busiest times around assignment deadlines. You will want

to consult the director of the writing center ﬁ rst, and then ask your students to

list of basic questions, but ask them to develop at least two additional questions of

their own. Be sure to encourage students to ask questions that help them get to

[ 106 ]

BECAUSE STUDENTS TODAY ARE SO AWARE OF GENRES—in part thanks to

the big role genres play in their social lives—we think it’s impor tant to begin

a discussion of genres by asking students to read this introduction, on pp. 105–07.

Here we try to introduce students to a rhetorical way of looking at genres. Rather

than thinking of them as static categories, we ask students to see genres as active

In a recent discussion on the WPA listserv, Jordynn Jack made several key

points about a rhetorical perspective on genre. In response to a colleague who had

said that naming genres (reports, reviews, etc.) didn’t seem very helpful, Jack— a

professor of En glish at the University of North Carolina– Chapel Hill— said that

genres don’t merely name entities. Rather, they name “recurring rhetorical situa–

tions.” She went on to say that such naming is useful to students because it points

As teachers, we can help students employ genres by asking them ﬁ rst to look

closely at what ever rhetorical situation they are facing and then to identify what

genre best addresses that situation. For an assignment that asks students to con–

duct a rhetorical analy sis of a candidate’s speech and to pres ent their ﬁ ndings to

the class, they can look at that rhetorical situation— purpose, audience, context,

After you have introduced students to a rhetorical view of genres, consider

asking them to come up with two or three rhetorical situations they often encoun-

ter in their classes: the need to explain a concept, for example, or to evaluate a text.

eight

Part III: Genres of Writing

8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 107 ]

Then ask them to discuss the purpose of such assignments along with their

audience(s) and contexts— and then to describe the genre they think would be

most helpful in addressing these assignments.

Chapter 10: Choosing Genres

Chapter 11: Arguing a Position

Chapter 12: Writing a Narrative

Chapter 13: Writing Analytically

The six genre chapters (11–16) all follow the same basic structure, so students will

know what to expect and in what order they’ll ﬁ nd key information on the genre

and the pro cess of composing in it. Each begins with examples of that genre in the

Then comes a brief discussion of how the genre is used Across Academic Dis-

ciplines, Across Media, Across Cultures and Communities, and Across Genres. We

ﬁ nd that these topics help get students interested in the genre and thinking about

what they can do with it. And if you’re interested in focusing on media, each

chapter includes an exercise that invites students to Think beyond Words, refer–

ring them to an example text on the web with prompts getting them to think about

Next comes a brief exercise prompting students to think about where they’ve

encountered the genre in their everyday lives, and then to ﬁ nd one example text

that interests them and analyze it to get a sense of how it goes about making its

point.

We then explain each of the genre’s Characteristic Features, those ele ments

that usually occur in most writing of that kind. And while these should not be

seen as a one- size- ﬁ ts- all recipe for writing, they can be very helpful to students

[ 108 ]

texts, and so on. If you’re using Every one’s an Author with Readings, you’ll ﬁ nd links

In Chs. 12–16, there follows a discussion of a commonly assigned subgenre.

These sections introduce the subgenre, lay out its characteristic features, and

include an annotated example showing those features and the features of the

• In Ch. 12: Literacy narrative

• In Ch. 13: Visual analy sis

• In Ch. 14: Proﬁ le

Next comes a Roadmap that provides explicit guidance in the pro cess of com-

posing an essay in the genre. Roadmaps are designed to be used by students as

they write, helping them move from an assignment to a ﬁ nished text by following

a series of steps:

• Choose a topic

• Consider the rhetorical situation

• Or ga nize and get started writing

The Roadmaps are built around a series of prompts, leading students to think sys-

tematically about the choices they have as authors, to get their ideas down in writ–

ing, and then to work with their writing. Key terms are highlighted, signaling that

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 109 ]

its point and appeals to its audience, whether readers will be able to follow it, and

so on— and how it needs to be revised.

Each Roadmap concludes with a brief exercise that asks students to reﬂ ect on

what they’ve learned. How well did they do as writers? What would they change if

they could? What will they keep in mind for the future?

Chapter 10: Choosing Genres

While the following chapters teach six genres that students are often assigned to

write in composition classes, often they encounter assignments that do not spec-

ify a par tic u lar genre. This chapter offers some guidance to help them understand

the concept and purpose of genres in writing and choose a genre when they need

or get to.

We like to start by asking students to read the ﬁ rst page of the chapter, some-

times aloud, and then setting them loose coming up with and discussing genres,

many of which they will know very, very well. You might ask them to call out

We always ask our students what genres they are coming across in their other

classes. If students report ﬁ nding the same genres in dif fer ent courses, it’s always

in ter est ing to see how they compare. How, for example, does a psy chol ogy analy–

We want our students to experience genres as living, ﬂ exible entities that

get work done in the world, rather than as static templates. It’s also instructive

(and fun) to alert students to the fact that genres evolve and change. Ask them, for

example, what they know about how Facebook has evolved over the last few years.

What has provoked those changes? Can they predict or imagine future changes?

In this regard, you might note some of the exciting scholarly work being done

on genre today. We mention Carolyn Miller on p. 109: her essay “Genre as Social

Action” is a touchstone for the re nais sance of genre studies within composition

and rhe toric. In addition, you might want to consult the work being done by Anis

[ 110 ]

Chapter 11: Arguing a Position / “This Is Where I Stand”

This chapter teaches an assignment that is familiar in many disciplines— taking a

position on a pertinent topic and making a compelling argument in support of

that position. Position papers challenge ﬁ rst– year students to move beyond sim–

ply expressing their opinions to making arguments and supporting their argu-

Introducing the genre. You might begin teaching this par tic u lar genre by point–

ing out how often it’s assigned in college classes. Perhaps start by asking students

to come up with examples of proj ects or assignments they have encountered that

have called on them to take a stand, and spend a bit of time talking about the

demands of those speciﬁ c assignments. Since they will likely cite assignments

from a number of dif fer ent disciplines and that engage dif fer ent audiences and

Using the exercises. You’ll ﬁ nd several brief exercises throughout the chapter that

give students an opportunity to stop and think about key concepts. These exercises

prompting students to Reﬂ ect are italicized and marked by a red ﬂ ourish. They

can be used as brief classroom exercises or assigned for journal writing or other

one text. We like to introduce the features in class, asking the class to identify a

good potential topic and then working together to formulate an explicit position,

discuss how it responds to other positions, list background information we would

need, indicate why the topic is impor tant, come up with all the good reasons we can

think of for supporting our position, address alternative points of view, decide how

we could appeal to the values of our intended audience, and discuss strategies for

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 111 ]

are they equivocal or wishy– washy? What can they do to make their positions less

general and more explicit? You might point them to the example from Thomas

Friedman (p. 121) that shows a clear, very explicit position. You might also point

them to Rex Huppke’s essay (pp. 146–49) and ask students to compare and contrast

how Friedman and Huppke state their position. Adding Huppke to the discussion

is an opportunity to demonstrate that taking an explicit position does not always

mean taking one side or the other.

A response to what others have said. When you’re teaching this chapter, it’s impor–

tant to stress early on the degree to which all arguments are part of a larger conver–

sation circulating around a topic— and that academic writers pres ent their ideas as a

response to what else has been said about their topic. Perhaps ask students to name

a trending topic that they are hearing a lot about: on one of our campuses, such a

topic would be the attempts by local conservation groups to make a small lake on

larger web: remembering this point will help them avoid rushing to an immediate

judgment on their topic without considering all sides and perspectives. In addition,

you’ll want to point out that in writing about what they think, they’ll be adding

their voices to the conversation.

members might need. If they were writing about the endangered frogs, readers

would prob ably like to have some information about the history of this lake and

its frog inhabitants as well as about how the lake has traditionally been used.

Thinking about what the audience needs or wants to know will usually lead writ–

ers into doing some preliminary research— and then be on the way to ﬁ nding

information that will be impor tant to forming and supporting their position. Once

students have some sense of background information they think their own

[ 112 ]

audiences will need to know, ask them to do the digging necessary to come up

with that information and then bring it to class: again, they might ﬁ nd it produc-

tive to work in groups, where they can analyze what they’ve come up with and

help one another reﬁ ne the information or identify additional information they

Clear indication of why the topic matters. Because student writers do their best

work when they are writing about issues that are signiﬁ cant to them, you might

begin by asking them to write brieﬂ y in class about why their topics are impor–

tant, ﬁ rst to them and then to others. Use this brief writing as a springboard for

Spriggs addresses a universal topic— food production and consumption— with a per–

sonal investment: her experience of growing up with farmers. All three authors

connect with their audiences by demonstrating the importance of their topics

with good reasons and examples supporting their positions.

In our experience, students often do choose topics that are in ter est ing and

signiﬁ cant— but far too broad to yield a good argument. They need help, then, in nar–

rowing and focusing topics into ones that they can manage within the time and

length limits of the assignment. Point them to the guidance in this chapter on cut–

Consider asking students to come to class with at least two (and no more

than three) potential topics to explore. Then make time for them to work together

in groups of two or three to test out their topics on their classmates, seeing which

ones will hold up to scrutiny as being manageable, in ter est ing to the audience

addressed, and impor tant enough to spend time on. Explain to them that as

authors, they’ll need to show why their topics matter.

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 113 ]

are they? Can they ﬁ nd multiple sources to corroborate what they are saying? If

students have done primary research— based on observations, surveys, or inter–

views, for example— ask them to describe exactly how they went about it. The goal

the issue from the viewpoints of those who hold other perspectives before reject–

ing them (and before deciding what they themselves think). Again, Ruppke’s arti–

cle on the minimum wage debate (pp. 146–49) will be particularly helpful, as he

points out the strengths and weaknesses of both sides of this impor tant issue. You

might ask students to write out one- or two- sentence summaries of the vari ous

positions they ﬁ nd on their topics, and to plot them out visually, perhaps placing

them on a spectrum to show how far each one varies from the others. They could

then brainstorm in groups to see if they can identify perspectives they’ve left out, to

An authoritative tone. Students need to demonstrate that they know what they’re

talking about, and to be taught how to establish that authority in their writing.

Katherine Spriggs’ essay “On Buying Local” (pp. 150–58) provides a good example.

An appeal to readers’ values. Even the strongest evidence may not be good enough

to convince an audience— unless it is carefully framed to appeal to things that the

audience values. Pages 134–35 introduce students to the need to craft such appeals

and provide several examples of authors doing just that. (We especially like the

one about the “Yes, We Can” video that went viral during the 2008 Obama cam-

paign: it succeeded so spectacularly precisely because it appealed to values that

[ 114 ]

Looking Critically at a Draft (pp. 143–45). It will be helpful for your students if you

lead them through a sample peer review on a sample position paper— maybe a let–

ter to the editor or an op-ed piece from a newspaper—to model how good peer

review works. They can practice before they begin the pro cess with their

classmates.

. tumblr . com). We like to ask students to pay attention to how Honoré establishes

his authority as an author in his writing— and how that authority comes through

in the spoken version.

After studying this essay, students could be assigned to ﬁ nd another essay

that takes a position on an issue that interests them, to analyze its use of the genre

features taught in this chapter, and to annotate it the way we did Honoré’s essay.

“In Minimum Wage Debate, Both Sides Make Valid Points,” by Rex Huppke (pp. 146–

49). This position paper illustrates how researching a topic can change a writer’s

position on an issue. Rex Huppke begins by stating how the research process—

primary and secondary research— has led him to understand how “complicated”

this debate is. Huppke tells the readers that he began on one side of the debate

(“raise it [the minimum wage]”) and through interviews with experts on both

sides and reading pro and con papers, found himself seeing the other side of the

1. As his title suggests, Huppke approaches the minimum wage debate by

arguing that this issue is far more complex than it appears. Rather than

stating unequivocally that one side is right and one wrong, Huppke

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 115 ]

Jonathan Guryan, whom he pres ents as a neutral ﬁ gure, to point out the

conﬂ icting data and interpretations of that data (¶8–10). While he points

out the strengths and weaknesses of each position, his willingness to sug-

gest that neither position is without fault, and may, in fact, be right to

some extent, is unusual in discussions of such a partisan issue.

he wants people to make more money and is not opposed to raising the

minimum wage, he now sees poverty as a prob lem that just raising the

minimum wage will not solve. While readers may vary in their reaction to

Huppke’s revelations about how his position has changed, what’s valuable

about his revelation is that he pres ents himself as a reasonable, fair per–

son who carefully considers all the information before him to reach a logi-

cal conclusion. He gains more credibility than he would have had he only

looked to ﬁ nd evidence to support his position and ignored evidence and

reasons that counter it.

the prob lem of one par tic u lar group, those who do not make enough

money to move above the poverty line. In these two paragraphs, as well as

in ¶20, he argues for a balanced view: “. . . what I’m in favor of is a compre-

hensive approach to making life better for American workers. And that

will require both sides to compromise.”

4. Huppke does not shy away from pointing out counterarguments on either

side of the debate. For example, in ¶8, he writes that in a Congressional Bud-

get Ofﬁ ce report one reason given for opposing the 40 percent minimum

wage increase is that 500,000 jobs will be lost. However, Huppke points out

5. By reading Huppke’s two articles that precede this one in his series, read–

ers see that each one is devoted to one side of the argument— one arguing

against raising the minimum wage and one arguing for raising it. In each

[ 116 ]

piece, Huppke cites experts and research studies that support arguments

in favor of the stated positions. Readers recognize, in the third article, that

Huppke relies on evidence and reasons from the ﬁ rst two articles to try to

come to a reasonable position. Huppke comes to the position by the end of

“On Buying Local,” by Katherine Spriggs (pp. 150–58). This is a good example of a

source- based academic essay. Spriggs states her position explic itly in a thesis at

the end of her ﬁ rst paragraph, supports her argument with reasons and evidence,

and carefully (and respectfully) considers and responds to counterarguments.

Here are suggested answers to the study questions:

1. Answers will vary as to whether Spriggs has convinced readers that her

topic matters. Students who feel she has done so may cite ¶3, where she

discusses the contribution of agriculture to global warming, pollution,

2. In ¶8, Spriggs addresses the arguments that buying local can actually

have negative environmental effects for several reasons: growing items

where they grow best uses energy most efﬁ ciently, small farms are less efﬁ –

cient than large ones, and growing more food in the United States rather

than in third world countries will lead to more use of industrial equipment.

Her response to the ﬁ rst counterargument is to agree that buying local is a

matter of “as much as pos si ble”; to the second, that small farms are less

efﬁ cient only if they are monocultures; and, to the third, that only a small

3. Answers will vary.

4. Answers will vary, but some may say that Figs. 2 and 3 dramatize the dif–

ferences between the human scale of small polyculture farms and the

industrial, abstract scale of large monoculture ones, and that Fig. 4 effec-

tively pres ents large- scale, long- distance trucking in an unattractive light.

5. Answers will vary.

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 117 ]

Additional readings. If you’re teaching with Every one’s an Author with Readings,

the following readings at the back of the book also demonstrate authors arguing

a position:

Barbara Ehrenreich, “Serving in Florida”

Gerald Graff, “Hidden Intellectualism”

bell hooks, “Touching the Earth”

You can also ﬁ nd fresh readings that make arguments— and that do so in a vari–

ety of media—by visiting everyonesanauthor . tumblr . com and ﬁ ltering posts by

genre.

Suggested assignments and evaluation criteria. You’ll ﬁ nd sample assignments

for an argument essay in the “Sample Writing Assignments” section of this Guide

Chapter 12: Writing a Narrative / “ Here’s What Happened”

This chapter teaches a genre that is often assigned in and of itself, especially in

composition courses— but narrative is even more often used as an impor tant part

of a larger assignment. Many writing classes, for instance, may ask students to write

literacy narratives, stories about key moments in how they became the writers

Introducing the genre. It’s worth taking time to talk with your students about

the ubiquity of narratives in our lives and about how stories function in much

that we do every day. In fact, stories seem to be universal, a feature of every single

known culture. So there must be something fundamentally human about stories,

and about our close connection to them: perhaps that’s why Anne Haas Dyson and

[ 118 ]

may mention the Bible or other religious texts as forms of early and impor tant

stories; others may remember Greek myths; some may even be familiar with ancient

cave paintings that told stories.

Like language itself, telling stories seems to come naturally to us human beings.

But as with all rhetorical acts, doing so artfully and with purpose requires con–

scious effort. Narrative essays challenge ﬁ rst– year students to move beyond simply

Using the exercises. You’ll ﬁ nd several brief exercises throughout the chapter that

give students an opportunity to stop and think about key concepts. You’ll ﬁ nd these

Reﬂ ection exercises in this chapter on pp. 161, 163, 174, 178, 184, and 189. They can

be used as brief classroom exercises or assigned for journal writing or homework.

Introducing the genre features. Each of the characteristic features of narrative is

explained in the book, beginning on p. 164 with a bulleted list. In introducing and

discussing these features, you might usefully refer to the readings on pp. 175–78

and pp. 180–84, which are annotated to call attention to the genre features of a

narrative as they come into play.

We like to introduce these features carefully in class, asking members to

identify a good potential narrative topic and then working through the features

together. For instance, the class might decide to write a coming- of– age story, which

is something that most or all of them will have experienced. You can lead them in

crafting a sentence or two that captures a key moment in coming- of– age and then

ask them to work through the characteristic features: What is the speciﬁ c event

they want to write about? What happened, and who are the key players in the

story? Then ask them to describe the setting they envision for this hy po thet i cal

A clearly identiﬁ ed event. Begin by reading the passage from Mike Rose’s Lives on the

Boundary (p. 165) aloud, asking students to listen carefully. Then ask them to write

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 119 ]

down what they remember about the event he describes, but without looking at the

passage. You can then look back to Rose’s paragraph and ask students how Rose

identiﬁ ed and introduced this event so clearly and memorably.

You might then ask students to start brainstorming about highly signiﬁ cant

events in their lives: if they bring three potential events to class for the next day’s

discussion, you might give each student a few minutes to introduce these events

A clearly described setting. We like to begin discussion of setting by focusing on

the description of Oxford that appears on pp. 166–67, reading it aloud, and then

asking students to jot down what they can remember about the setting. Ask them

what helps them visualize Oxford and its locale and perhaps talk about some of the

words Wright Thompson uses (like “gap- toothed smiles of crenellated walls”) or the

Vivid descriptive details. It’s likely that students will have picked up on descriptive

details in both the paragraph by Mike Rose and the passage about Myron Rolle at

Oxford by Wright Thompson, seeing as both include a number of memorable

details. Go back to those passages, asking students to identify what they ﬁ nd to be

the most descriptive details in them— and then move on to the example about

them to revise the entire ﬁ rst paragraph, making it as vivid and descriptive as pos-

si ble. Then ask several students to read their openings aloud: hearing what other

students have written is almost always an inspiration to others to try to do as

well—or better—on their own openings.

A consistent point of view. You might begin discussing point of view by looking

closely at the two examples (pp. 169–71) included in this section and noting the

[ 120 ]

differences between Kleege’s ﬁ rst– person narrative and the third– person perspec-

tive in Lewis’s description of a bone- breaking moment in football. Students could

underline every use of ﬁ rst– person pronouns in Kleege’s piece and then discuss the

ﬁ ne line between using ﬁ rst person to build coherence and keep the focus on the

topic at hand and overusing ﬁ rst person in ways that seem egoistic (and can get

boring). Then ask students to bring in an example of a ﬁ rst– person narrative and of

A clear point. By now students should have a full draft of their narratives, and it’s

a good time, we ﬁ nd, to think about the overall meaning of their narratives. What

point do they want to emphasize about the event they are narrating? What makes it

so impor tant to them and to their lives? Why should it matter to their readers? It’s

worth reading the example passages from bell hooks and Alice Walker (pp. 172–74)

and asking students to paraphrase the major points they are making. In addition,

Teaching literacy narratives. If you are assigning a literacy narrative in your

class, you might ask students to turn to Luken’s essay (pp. 180–84) and read it

together, noting the strong and direct point with which she opens the narrative:

her father’s impor tant inﬂ uence on her reading and writing. You might also point

to the concrete examples she uses to show that inﬂ uence, as well as the quotations

from her father. In addition, you might ask students to work in pairs to outline

Luken’s essay, noting how each paragraph connects to the next, and underlining

Most literacy narratives will take a ﬁ rst– person point of view. But you might

discuss another possibility with students: writing a narrative about someone

else’s literacy development, perhaps a sibling, or someone they have met through

tutoring or other community work. One of the authors of this textbook once wrote

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 121 ]

a literacy narrative about her grand mother, an extraordinarily wise woman who

provided guidance and inspiration though she was only able to attend school up to

eighth grade. Her literacy was developed mostly on her own.

Another workshop session can focus on the signiﬁ cance of the stories: what’s

the message readers will leave with? Why does this take- away matter? It might be

fun to ask students to read their conclusions— the section of the narrative that con-

tains the signiﬁ cance, the answer to “so what?”— aloud in class. Hearing their writ–

ing read aloud often helps students identify unclear or rough patches that they can

then improve.

“Lydia’s Story,” by Jan Brideau (pp. 175–78). Brideau’s narrative relates the events

of another person’s story. She begins her narrative in ﬁ rst person but shifts to third

person in ¶4 as she relates Lydia’s experiences; aside from one sentence in ¶9, she

returns to ﬁ rst person only in her last two paragraphs, as she sums up the point of

her narrative: that of all the people she met and served in Louisiana, “it’s Lydia’s

story that stays with me most, prob ably because it represents the essence of hope

and determination in the face of terrible adversity.” The point of view is clear

despite these shifts; readers understand that Brideau is telling Lydia’s story as it

context clear. Writing for an audience largely of professionals in the ﬁ eld of health

policy— doctors, nurses, scientists, and other academics— Brideau uses an appro-

priately reserved tone. She tells most of the story through objectively observed

details. Her serious approach to the topic is part of what makes her narrative

impactful.

[ 122 ]

of his encouragement of her reading and writing throughout her childhood. Luken

cites several quotations from literary works that her father read or quoted to her

and her brothers when she was growing up: an extended excerpt from a Longfel-

low poem in ¶1 (one line of which she echoes in her conclusion) and briefer

excerpts from works by Kipling, Housman, Eliot, and Melville in ¶3. All these

“Liar’s Poker,” by Michael Lewis (pp. 190–95). Told from the perspective of an insider

on a Wall Street trading ﬂ oor, Lewis’s narrative includes many memorable details

to bring the characters and events to life. This narrative can also teach students

1. Students will interpret the basic analogy at play in Lewis’s essay— that

Liar’s Poker “has some of the feel of trading, just as jousting has some of

the feel of war”—in a variety of ways. Some may argue that trading on

Wall Street is nothing more than a game. Others may emphasize the risk

inherent in both Liar’s Poker and trading. To complicate these understand-

3. Lewis prolongs the suspense in this incident by interrupting the story to

provide information about how Liar’s Poker is played and about Meri-

wether’s character and choices. The suspense ends with a moment of

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8 % Part III: Genres of Writing [ 123 ]

such as two that occur near the beginning of the essay. Early on Lewis

compares how traders react when Gutfreund approaches their desk to

“the ner vous twitch of a small furry animal at the silent approach of a

grizzly bear” (¶2). A paragraph later he describes Gutfreund’s calling card

“The Look,” by Larry Lehna (pp. 196–200). Larry Lehna’s ﬁ rst– person point of view

in this essay emphasizes how personal a story this is. Discussing the author’s voice

and the tone it evokes can lead to a productive analy sis of Lehna’s perspective, his

argument, and how he brings the story to life. Here are some suggested answers

to the study questions:

1. Students may disagree about the main point of Lehna’s narrative. Some

may want to call attention to his ﬁ rst sentence: “I fear that I carry more

baggage than the typical college student.” Lehna’s interaction with his

counselor, Noreen Ruchs, is obviously central to this narrative and its

story of redemption, but Lehna does not include a single thesis statement

(something expected in a more traditional source- based academic argu-

2. Lehna’s essay has a sophisticated organ ization that is roughly chrono-

logical. He begins by providing a general context about his past life and

experiences in prison and in the halfway house in Pontiac he entered

upon his parole. The body of the essay vividly re- creates his life- changing

3. Lehna connects with his audience by establishing an honest and frank

tone, and by telling his story with a vulnerability that can only come from

having lived the events described and having reﬂ ected on them deeply.

Students may point to some of the private moments Lehna reveals— him

practicing “the look” in the mirror (¶3), his internal reaction upon hearing

4. If Lehna were writing this narrative as part of an argument for prison

reform for a po liti cal science class, he would subordinate the most per–

sonal ele ments of his narrative to his larger argument. While his personal

experience could play an impor tant role in his argument, he would need

[ 124 ]

Additional readings. If you’re teaching with Every one’s an Author with Readings,

the following selections at the back of the book also demonstrate the narrative genre:

Lynda Barry, “The Sanctuary of School”

Alison Bechdel, “Compulsory Reading”

Andy Hinds, “I’m Considering Becoming a Sports Fan— How Do I Pick a Team?”

Judith Newman, “To Siri, with Love”

You and your students can also ﬁ nd some examples of literacy narratives in the

readings:

Alison Bechdel, “Compulsory Reading”

Dana Canedy, “The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shaded Conversation about Race”

Gerald Graff, “Hidden Intellectualism”

Fi nally, you can ﬁ nd fresh readings that tell narratives— and that do so in a variety

of media—by visiting everyonesanauthor . tumblr . com and ﬁ ltering posts by genre.

Suggested assignments and evaluation criteria. You’ll ﬁ nd sample assignments

for a narrative in the “Sample Writing Assignments” section of this Guide that can

Chapter 13: Writing Analytically / “Let’s Take a Closer Look”

This chapter teaches a skill valued in essentially all disciplines: writing analyti-

cally. In order to compose an analy sis, to write analytically, students must ﬁ rst

[ TEACHING WITH EVERY ONE’S AN AUTHOR ]