PB2A, and PB2B, and WP#2

Writing Project #2:
Considering Different Disciplinary/Professional Perspectives About a Topic

How might people write texts, read texts, and perceive issues in different ways depending on their personal identities and their professional/disciplinary backgrounds?

PB2A: Spotting and Evaluating “Moves” (~600 words)

·      Tracing a writer’s rhetorical “moves” is a crucial part of becoming a more conscious reader and writer (and it’s also a requirement for WP2!).  I want you to pick a text written by someone from one of the four main disciplinary paradigms that we’ve been focusing on: the social sciences, the natural sciences, the humanities, and business fields. 

·      For example, you can pick a text written by a teacher (social sciences), a chemist (natural sciences), a historian (the humanities), or an investment banker (business fields).  (Note: you can also choose a text that is written about someone in different fields, but it might be more difficult to analyze writing for clues to their disciplinary/professional identities.)

·      Within whatever text you choose, pinpoint three moves that are listed in the They Say, I Say Appendix and another three moves that you found on your own.  Give each move a name, describe the reason(s) why the author may have chosen it (i.e., what the move does for the text), and evaluate the move’s effectiveness.  If you have difficulty spotting “moves” from the They Say, I Say Appendix, then describe some moves that this writer could have made to make his/her piece more effective.

PB2B: Reading Texts and Considering Topics From Different Perspectives  (800 words)

·      Pick a text about a topic that you’re interested in.  Identify the different “players” involved in this issue—the different people/organizations who are impacted by the underlying issue(s), either directly or indirectly.

·      For example, if you picked a text about the Black Lives Matter movement, ask yourself: who are the major “players” involved in this issue?  There are certainly many, but some of the predominant ones are (1) black Americans, (2) white/non-black Americans, (3) cops and law enforcement, and (4) political parties.  (Of course, you don’t have to stop there: think about how we’ve broken down broad topics/ideas with our nesting dolls—do all black Americans have the same view on this topic?  All white citizens?  All cops?  All politicians?  Probably not, so it’s a good idea to separate the “players” based on their specific stances towards whatever issue is at hand.) 

·      Once you’ve identified the major players, take a look at Shelley Reid’s “Critical Reading Strategies” handout and then combine the “Doubting and Disagreeing” strategy with the “Taking Positions” strategy.  Take the positions of the different “players” involved in this topic/issue and then, from their unique perspectives, brainstorm critical questions that they might ask about the text that you’ve read and about the topic that it’s about. 

·      Ultimately, I want you to be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes and see how they might perceive a topic in different ways based on their personal identity and professional background.

WP2: Analyzing and Evaluating Disciplinary and Professional Perspectives  

·      Our WP2 unit is designed to get us thinking about how people write texts, read texts, and perceive issues based on their personal identity and disciplinary background.  In other words, whenever people engage with information, they bring their existing experiences, interests, biases, and perspectives about the world “to the table.”  I’d like you to think about how people approach specific issues based on who they are and what they’re most concerned about.  For the purposes of this assignment, I want you to compare and contrast at least two of the four main disciplinary paradigms we’ve been looking at—the social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and business contexts—and tell me how they each think about an issue in different ways.

·      Select at least two texts (about the same topic/issue) that have been written by people from different disciplinary perspectives.  Make sure you purposefully choose texts that illuminate how these individuals perceive the topic/issue in unique ways, depending on their personal identity and/or disciplinary background.  (In other words, don’t just settle on the first two texts you find; choose ones that will give you something to write about!)

·      Your job is to make an argument about their arguments.  Who has the most effective one(s), and why?  I ultimately want you to make a case about how these different writers—who each represent different perspectives—help you understand this topic/issue in different and deeper ways.  Some aspects you might want to base your argument on include:

o   Who are the authors?  What is each author’s purpose for writing each piece?  Who is their likely audience? 

o   Which writer has the most confrontational or aggressive stance?  Which writer seems to present the most-balanced “take” on an issue?  Did one writer address multiple perspectives, whereas others only focused on one perspective?  If so, why?

o   What concepts are introduced in the texts, and by whom?  What types of evidence does each writer use, and how do they use it? 

o   What “moves” does each author make in their writing?  Whose “moves” are most effective, and why?

o   What questions do these writers ask?  Based on the questions that they pose, what issues seem to be the most important to them?  Do certain writers/disciplines seem to be more “balanced” than others—that is, do they acknowledge other disciplinary perspectives?

o   What genres have they chosen to write in, and why?  How do the affordances and constraints of their genre help them get their message across?

o   How could someone read or interpret each text in different ways?  What questions do you have about these texts or these writers?

·      You don’t need to answer every question—pick the question(s) that helps you create a focused argument that you can support based on textual evidence.  This paper should be 5 pages long, double-spaced, MLA format, with 1-inch margins.  Tailor your research-based, thesis statement-driven argument to an academic audience.  Use direct evidence from the textual genres themselves to support your claims.  Draw on ideas from our course readings using direct quotes and paraphrased passages to supplement your argument.