Week 34: College Reading and Writing: Alan Dugan

Week 34: College Reading and Writing: Alan Dugan

Alan Dugan: Annotating, Summarizing, Analyzing, Imitating

to annotate: to make notes on something to help you understand it better

to summarize: to put something in your own words

to analyze: to consider a question on the text, providing supporting examples from the text

to imitate: to create an original piece of writing based on something you have read

We are doing the twentieth poem today. It’s a handout.

Exercise: Read and annotate

1. Read the poem and response out loud and underline any words you need to look up

2. Write any questions you have in the margins or in your notebook

3. Put tricky parts into your own words in notes in the margins or in your notebook

Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the poem

1.     Why do you think the poem starts with “Oh”? What’s the effect?

2.     Does the tone of the poem remain the same throughout? If not, when does it shift?

3.     What does the speaker mean “the last half wasn’t worth this word”?

Exercise: Summarize the poem

Write a paragraph summarizing the poem with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.

example too-short summary, incorporating quotation and in-text citation:

Kyle Dargan’s poem “Natural Causes” tells the story of a boy who purchases a gun “from a farm in Virginia” (31) from a farmer who “keeps his gaze down as to remember nothing of the boy’s face” (31). The speaker of the poem insinuates that the farmer has sold guns to other boys like this one, when they say, “His customers rarely return older” (31).

Work Cited Page (for today’s poem)

Dugan, Alan. “On a Seven-Day Diary.” Poem Hunter. August 2018.

Exercise: Write a Response

What is the poem saying about what happens to a person during a work week? Do you agree with Dugan? Why or why not? What does this poem remind you of? Do you relate to this poem’s message? Why or why not?

Exercise: Analysis

Question for analysis: What is the effect of the repetition in this poem? How does it add to the meaning of the poem? Does the repetition ever change tone? Examining closely the tone and language of this poem, write an analysis where you explore how the poet relies on language to make a statement.

Exercise: Imitation

Take your free-write about your week and turn it into a poem. Repeat one phrase at least 5 times. Feel free to add or remove lines.

Homework:

1. Summary of Poem
2. Summary of Response
3. Analysis of Poem and Response
4. Imitation of Poem

About this class:

In this class, you are welcome to submit homework for a grade.  If it’s not strong enough to earn an A, I’ll give you some comments to help you revise it, and let you do it over again. You have as many chances as you want to complete and perfect the work in this class, and you are welcome to do more than one week’s worksheet for homework at a time; ask me for sheets you’ve missed.  Students who complete 15 weeks of graded assignments and a longer paper can qualify for college credit.  When you get close to completing 15 weeks, I’ll help you get started on your longer paper.