Week 67: College Reading and Writing: Carol Muske-Dukes and Donna Dee-Thomases

Week 67: College Reading and Writing: Carol Muske-Dukes and Donna Dee-Thomases

Annotating, Summarizing, Imitating, Analyzing, Synthesizing

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

to summarize: to put something in your own words

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

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

to synthesize: to connect two or more texts in your own writing

We are on page 122 of the book today.

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 sentences into your own words in notes in the margins or in your notebook

Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the poem

1. Who is named in the poem and who is not?

2. What’s going on with the capitalization of unexpected words?

3. Why do you think the speaker elevates “Gun” to god status (Muske-Dukes 124)?

Exercise: Questions for Comprehension of the response

1. What is the importance of Aunt Anna?

2. Is there a call to action? What is it?

Exercise: Summarize the poem

Write a paragraph summarizing the poem in your own words, with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.  Don’t include your opinion, just summarize the poem.

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

Carol Muske-Dukes’ poem “Gun Control: A Triptych,” tells the story of “[b]lood hour” another day in the land of “great god Gun” (123-124). The poem ends with a reflection that guns exist “without the power to die” (Muske-Dukes 124).

Work Cited Page

Muske-Dukes, Carol. “Gun Control: A Triptych” Bullets Into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Ed. Brian Clements et al. Beacon Press, 2017.

Exercise: Summarize the response

Write a paragraph summarizing the response in your own words, with quotations, in-text citation, and a Work Cited Page.  Don’t include your opinion, just summarize the response.

example summary, incorporating quotation and in-text citation:

Donna Dees-Thomases’ response to Carol Muske-Dukes’ poem “Gun Control: A Triptych,”

begins by stating: “I know lots of women just like Aunt Anna” (125). She goes on to explain all the ways women like “Aunt Anna...make indelible imprints on others’ lives” (Muske-Dukes 125). She concludes by stating how “every one of them” is a “lifesaver” (Muske-Dukes 125).

Work Cited Page

Dees-Thomases, Donna. “Response to ‘Gun Control: A Triptych" Bullets Into Bells: Poets and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Ed. Brian Clements et al. Beacon Press, 2017.

Exercise: Synthesizing Analysis

Question for synthesizing analysis: The poem and response each discuss gun violence and the role of “lifesavers” from three perspectives, what is the effect of this strategy on the reader (Muske-Dukes 125)? Do you relate to one perspective more than the others? Remember to use quotations from the poem to make your points, and cite them!

Exercise: Imitation

Write your own triptych. A triptych is a set of three associated creative pieces intended to be appreciated together. You can write a triptych about your favorite musicians, people, days of the year, whatever you like. Use elements from Muske-Dukes ’ poem that you admire to make your own story stronger.  

For homework, revise these in a blue book or on loose paper; do not turn in your notebook or rip out pages to turn in.

1.         Summary of Muske-Dukes

2.         Summary of Dees-Thomases

3.         Synthesizing Analysis

4.         Imitation

About this class:

Your notebooks belong to you; you can write first drafts in them, and make notes for yourselves.  To turn in homework, revise your work in a blue book or sheets of paper you can get from your instructor. 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.