Welcome to Week 3 of Writing Through Literature. Remember to respond to the initial question below and then to post a response to me and/or to one of your peers. You should end up with THREE posts in total. Always refer to the Course Information section on how the discussion boards are graded.Students tend to describe rather than analyze in their writing. It is usually not enough simply to outline what you have read. You need to evaluate the ideas, compare them with those of other writers, and examine issues and perspectives critically. But what is the difference between description and analysis? Review the chart below, consider the poems you are analyzing, and provide and example by writing description THEN analysis: (Woman Work & My Papa’s Waltz) these are the two poem.
Descriptive writing
Critical/analytical writing
States what happened
Identifies the significance
States what something is like
Evaluates (judges the value) strengths and weaknesses
Gives the story so far
Weighs one piece of information against another
States the order in which things happened
Makes reasoned judgements
Says how to do something
Argues a case according to evidence
Explains what a theory says
Shows why something is relevant or suitable
Explains how something works
Indicates why something will work (best)
Notes the method used
Indicates whether something is appropriate or suitable
Says when something occurred
Identifies why they timing is important
States the different components
Weighs up the importance of component parts
States options
GIves reason for the selection of each option
Lists details
Evaluates the relative significance of details
Lists in any order
Structures information in order (eg. of importance)
States links between items
Shows the relevance of links between pieces of information
Gives information
Draws conclusions
(adapted from Moon, cited in Cottrell 1999:23)
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