January
23
Responding to Critical Analysis
An analysis, whether literary or rhetorical, contains specific elements. Author Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan writes the article “Looking into the Self That is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved” in an ordered format. Re-read two or three of her paragraphs (Start at ‘Unraveling Beloved’s Identity’ [page 2]) and explain how she structures her body paragraphs. Think about the structure as it applies to the different terms you know: topic sentence (assertion), concrete detail (evidence), commentary (analysis), and conclusion.
Write a brief response to her body paragraph organization. Make sure you include everything you know to include when responding to a text.
Natasha R.
Keeble
AP English
period 5
5 Feburary 2013
In Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan’s article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved,” she analysis Toni Morrison’s novel ‘Beloved’ on her idea that the characters don’t want to remember slavery. Kirwan first states the Morrison’s insight on slavery and from there she cleary gives evidence from Morrison’s novel to support the thesis. Kirwan’s format is clear, organiezed, and straight to the point that anybody would be able to understand it.
You have to do more to trick me Natasha. 🙂
Hannah Reddy
Ms. Keeble
AP English 11, Period 2
25 January 2013
In Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan’s article “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved” she discusses the many interpretations of Toni Morrison’s character Beloved. Holder-Kirwan transcribes her article in a ripple-less (smooth) manner. Her topic sentences continue off of the conclusions of the previous paragraph. She clearly gives her evidence then follows with analysis. She uses quotes from other authors who wrote about similar topics (Beloved’s identity) and from Morrison’s own “Beloved”. She uses the quotes and then branches from them and creates her own commentary. It’s almost as if she uses them just to show everyone the different interpretations there are about Beloved’s character.
Rebekah Novak
AP English 11
Ms. Keeble
24 January 2013
In Holden-Kirwan’s “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved’.” the author has a very distinct yet familiar way of structuring her analysis. In many ways, the author conducts her analysis is similar to that of a debate. Every paragraph is a new fact, assertion, rebuttal, or an agreement. Sometimes even, the author will point out a time in where she is confused of someone else’s point.
In the article “Looking into the Self That is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved”, Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan, the author, structures her body paragraphs with a formal analysis structure style. She starts each of the paragraphs with an assertion, also known as a topic sentence. After using assertion, she creates concrete details to grasp the aspects of what she is writing with commentary pertaining to the concrete detail given before. After keying on these sections of ingenious writing formats, she concludes the paragraph by restating the topic of the paragraph and the paragraph’s purpose and importance.
Good job, Brandon. Be careful to not declare an author or speaker’s rhetoric or writing a “genius” or give any other accolades. Just analyze it. You do not have to evaluate it unless asked. Remember that. In an analysis, only analyze. You do not have to promote or judge the text unless asked. It rubs AP readers the wrong way.
Raymond P
AP English 11
MS. Keeble
27 January 2013
Jennifer L Holden-Kirwan’s article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved,” she writes a formal structure. In each paragraph she starts with a topic sentence, followed by quotes, and analysis for that quote. She shares her personal opinions and thoughts, which the reader could understand. At the end she ends with the concluding sentence.
Dennise Vazquez
Period 2
January 26, 2012
In the Article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved,” by Jennifer L. Holden Kirwan’s. She begins her paragraphs with a generalization and then she supports it by adding concrete detail such as quotes, which follows up with commentary. This allows the reader to have a better sense on Holden’s points and opinions. She knows how to make an opinion with back up information and with great commentary. Her paragraphs remind me a little of the TEJ’s we do for homework because when we do those we start introducing the quote, then we add the quote to support what was written and then lastly the commentary is added, which is what she does in her article.
Valeria Diaz
Period 5
AP English
Ms. Keeble
The author Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan organizes her essay on “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved” in seperate paragraphs to keep her essay easy to understand. Kirwan adds quetoes through out the essay from the book ‘Beloved’ to help describe what she has been aiming for. The quotes help the structure of her essay and her thoughts or opinons on it. Kirwan helps the reader to understand the activities behind ‘Beloved’ with her knowledge aiming to inform the readers things that we did not know.
Efrain E.
Period 1
AP English 11
In “Looking into the Self That is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved” the author, Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan organizes her paragraphs in a manner that is easy to read and easy to understand. She begins her paragraphs with an assertion and immediately backs up that assertion with concrete evidence in the form of a quote. Then she analyses the quote and adds commentary. In most of her paragraphs Holden-Kirwan uses two quotes and commentaries to support her assertion. She then finishes her paragraphs with a conclusion that connects the assertion and quotes to the main thesis of her writing.
Harrison Nguyen
Ms. Keeble
APENG 5th period
In Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan’s article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in “Beloved,” she organizes a formal essay analysis structure for her paragraphs. She begins with an assertion to introduce her argument. Next, She then provides concrete details and sites it. She then adds her own opinions and thoughts providing commentary for the concrete details. She then sums it all up with a concluding sentence thats wraps up with her concrete details.
In her analysis, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved,” Jennifer Holden-Kirwan looks deeper into the diction & meanings of the literary devices of Beloved. Its formal analysis with a specific order that supports her thesis. Holden-Kirwan makes an assertion using evidence from “Beloved”. Following her quotes, she either analyzes and goes more in depth into the quote or creates commentary that supports her thesis. The conclusion ties her analysis into the story itself in a cause & effect like manner. Her analysis is more powerful because of her choice in organization and syntax. She uses ethos by referring to and quoting other well recognized and respected writers. This builds her credibility.
Revise for clarity. I need you to remove redundancies–and ampersands, “&.” Keep it formal. Revise for credit.
Canyon Riley
Ms. Keeble
AP English 11, period 2
24 January 2013
In the article, “Looking into the Self That is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved” Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan organizes her thoughts by comparing them to the interpretations of others. She does not tell her readers what her interpretations on Beloved’s identity are until she narrows down and eliminates other possible choices. In the beginning of each body paragraph, her topic sentences are very general and are usually followed up by a quote serving as concrete detail. Then she analyzes each quote by comparing it to the perception of Beloved made by the person who said the quote and commentates on whether his or her perception of Beloved connects to the novel. Lastly, Kirwan concludes her paragraphs by collecting all of her thoughts into one sentence.
Beautiful, well organized reponse!
David M
Ms. Keeble
AP English 11
1/24/13
In the Article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved,” Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan writes her paragraphs with a structure that supports her thesis clearly. She tends to begin with quotes that state her assertion or support it. Later she adds in her own opinions on the matter with good commentary that always refers back to her assertion. There seems to be a pattern, which consists of Quote, commentary, quote, commentary. All of the commentary and quotes support her thesis for what she is talking about. After all is done she concludes with a concluding sentence. This is very formal structure that can clearly support her analysis.
Phuong-My N.
Keeble
AP English, Per. 2
25 January 2013
Responding to Critical Analysis
In the article “Looking into the Self That is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved”, Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan structures her body paragraphs in a certain way that follows a pattern each time. For every paragraph, she starts with a topic sentence. Following that topic sentence is usually a quote to supports it. She explains the quote and then gives her own opinion about the topic sentence. Lastly, she adds a concluding sentence to summarize everything in the paragraph. Holder-Kirwan uses these specific elements to make her analysis easier to follow and understand.
Adria W.
Ms.Keeble
AP English, per.2
25 January 2013
In the article “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved'” By Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan, shes writes her thoughts on the the story. Her format of the article is in a formal structure. Her paragraphs begin with a topic sentence and to follow that up is a concrete detail that is usually a quote or other peoples perspectives of the story. She adds a commentary which then explains her opinion and another concrete detail that follows the commentary to back it up. Holden-Kirwan concludes her paragraphs by rounding up her thoughts that she had through out the paragraphs.
In “Looking into the Self That is No Self: “An Examination in Subjectivity in Beloved”, the author Jennifer L. Holder-Kirwan looks deeper into the text of “Beloved”. The author not only understands the book, but also understands every aspect of the book, or so it seems. What she did was analyze, analyzed every piece of information to come up with something new. Reading this article, I noticed that she talks about some events in which they happened. The author not only talks about her knowledge of the book, but also her opinion. I’ve also noticed she used the analysis structure…starting with an assertion, the quote which is evidence, and to top it all off she responds to it. Then the whole cycle is repeated. After she’s done she writes a conclusion that somehow tie to her initial thoughts.
I hear your writer voice so clearly now. You are developing a style that is uniquely yours. Your syntax is getting more complex–look at the last sentence, though. Subject verb agreement?
In the article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved”, Holden-Kirwan structures the common way; a thesis, concrete details, the commentary. Everything she discusses connects to one another. She uses ethos by mentioning other names that have a significance in society like some authors. Her own opinions and claims are supported by the quotes she cites. This in return gives the reader comprehensibility about the book. She then closes everything with her conclusion, which correlates to the topic sentence or assertion.
So well thought out, DaJohn. Look at the second sentence, beginning, “Everything… .” It’s an awkward phrase. How might you say this more cleanly? Be sure to proofread for dangling phrases–added at the end of your sentences. If you proofread, listening to your syntax, you can hear the out of order phrasing. Revise please.
Caleb M.
Ms. Keeble
AP English, Per. 2
24 January 2012
Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan’s article “Looking into the Self That is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved” is written in a specific structure. Her first paragraph of “Unraveling Beloved’s Identity” begins with a topic sentence about the identity of Beloved, which is then supported by different perspectives made by other critics. The following paragraph is comprised mostly of her personal analysis, using the phrases, “My reading”and “I find”. Throughout these paragraphs, Holden-Kirwan maintains the ordered writing format: topic sentence, concrete detail, commentary detail, and conclusion. This format appears to repeat itself throughout the following paragraphs.
Kiana Ledda
Keeble
AP English, Period 5
24, January 2013
In her analysis entitled, “Looking in to the Self that is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved'”, Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan provides her audience with a specific structure of her body paragraphs. In each paragraph, she seems to describe certain events (in chronological order) that she finds controversial and most interesting to other readers. She later then provides her commentary using concrete details. In this case, the author uses specific quotes from the story to argue her topics. In my opinon, Holdan-Kirwan had a very sufficient of dispaying her analysis of the story, “Beloved”.
Haley R.
Ms. Keeble
AP English per. 2
24 January 2013
Jenifer L. Holden-Kirwan’s article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in ‘Beloved'” is written in a very structured format; an assertion is made, followed by concrete details such as quotes to back up her assertion, making them facts that are reliable. She then adds her own opinions and commentary to put a personable effect in the article. Finally there is a concluding sentence to complete the paragraph and give it proper closure.
Beautiful! Look at those complex sentences!!!! Wow, Haley. I am impressed by your growth as a writer. Bravo.
Merritt Walker
Ms. Keeble
AP English 2
24 January 2013
In her analysis “Looking into the Self that is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in Beloved” Jennifer L Holder-Kirwan organizes her paragraphs like formal essays. She has a topic sentence, concrete details, and commentary. She uses her topic sentence to draw the reader in and capture their train of thought, enough so that she can prove her point. Her concrete details are quotes from other writers. She quotes other writers to show that she can relate to his/her opinions/beliefs. She talks about the different beliefs and ideas she has about Beloved, and she tries to prove that her belief is the correct one. Finally she writes her conclusion, sums up her analysis, and relates her work back to the introduction. In her analysis Holder-Kirwan proves her opinion through the use of concrete details, commentary, assertion, and a conclusion.
Good job Merritt. I enjoyed your clear, succint analysis of Holder-Kirwan’s analysis. Looking at the sentence that begins, “She talks about…” I am wondering how you could rephrase that to be a more precise verb. Think: is she talking? I know you have a long list of active verbs from which to choose. Revise please, just for that.
Mary Jane Abeyta
Ms. Keeble
Ap Eng. per.1
1/24/13
In Holden-Kirwan’s article she starts out each paragraph with an assertion. The concrete details she uses are quotes from the book and other author’s writings. Then she analyzes each quote and uses her own commentary as evidence. In this article Holden-Kirwan does not write in chronological order, but by the importance of the quote. After each paragraph she concludes the topic and uses transitions to move on. The syntax, assertions, concrete detail, and commentary Holden-Kirwan uses makes it easier for you to understand her reasonings from her point of view.
Elvia Lopez
Ms.Keeble
AP English
24 January, 2013
In the analysis, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination” by Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan, we as readers see how she organizes her paragraphs to be comprehensible towards the reader. To start off, she introduces the paragraph by stating a fact on how the novel, “Beloved” impacted the readers thoughts. While Jennifer is being informative in her article she also proves her ideas by using a citation from the novel and make the reader understand the main point. After revealing a statement she includes commentary to make her assertion accurate and clear to the reader.
Jennifer? Revise for credit. Ask your classmates why. You must. Let me know when you finish.
Diana Larios
AP English 11
Period 1
Keeble
24 January 2013
In Jennifer L. Holden-Kirwan’s article, “Looking into the Self That Is No Self: An Examination of Subjectivity in “Beloved,” she writes her analysis in an organized fashion to support her thesis. She begins with an assertion and the follows up with concrete details that mostly seem to be quotes. Her commentary is what comes after where she shares her own personal opinion and also questions others thoughts in a very detailed way, breaking it down to the point where it is difficult for the reader not to agree with the statement she is making. She does an excellent job in transitioning her theories with the usage of the quotes and succeeds proving her thesis to the reader with the analysis that she presents.
Perfect. What else can I say?