2. Agenda / Participation
Quiz
Solnit Discussion
P4 Assignment Review
Narrowing your problem
Causes and consequences
Strategies and sample problem
explanation
Finding a source
Homework for Monday
Participation for today:
1 point for everything you say in
full discussion (limit 3).
2 points for participating in the
small group Hope in the Dark
discussion.
2 points for participation in the
“narrowing” discussion.
3. Quiz
1. Why does Solnit say “History is like weather, not like checkers” (61)?
2. What is the “Angel of Alternate History”?
3. Solnit suggests that it’s not helpful to get stuck in binary oppositions
in politics. One example she describes at length is her work in Nevada
with environmentalists. What is the group of people that seemed to be
opposed to her (but actually shared many of their concerns about land
use)?
4. Discussion: Hope in the Dark and the
Unpredictability of Action
FREEWRITE: I want you to write at least a
paragraph that describes some act by
someone else that had an important
(positive) effect on your life—and that the
actor didn’t realize how much it affected
you.
A small action by someone you know.
An act by a stranger.
A book or movie or show or social media
post.
How did it affect you in a positive way?
What would you want to tell that actor?
Then, describe these situations in your
small groups and be prepared to share in
the full discussion.
Solnit says, “Every act is an act of
faith, because you don’t know what
will happen” (65).
What does this mean?
What are some examples she gives
for this?
6. Topic vs. Problem
There is a difference between a
topic or a “fact” and a problem.
A problem demands a solution. A
topic does not. A “fact” may
suggest a problem; or it may
suggest a solution.
Examples:
Prison reform. TOPIC
California spends an average of
$71,000 a year per inmate. FACT
People or color receive longer
sentences for comparable crimes
than do white people. PROBLEM
Try it yourself. Is each of these a topic, fact,
or problem?
1. Public transportation.
2. Lead in public water supplies.
3. 26% of adult Americans speak a second
language.
4. Bicycling to work saves an average of
$32/week.
5. College tuition.
6. Lack of voter turnout in campus elections.
7. Financial literacy is decreasing.
7. Narrowing Your Problem
It’s likely that one of the
topics/issues you wrote about in
the HW seemed to overwhelm
you—especially when you started
to consider the causes and
consequences.
For example: inequity.
How many types of inequity are
there?
What are the causes of inequity?
What are the consequences?
These lists are long! Could you
write about all of them? (No.)
So now you need to narrow your
problem.
Consider specific situations:
Inequity of funding by school
districts in the state of California.
Do some school districts get more
money and why is this a problem?
Inequity in wealth by race. Do
people of color have less access to
wealth and why is this a problem?
Inequity of wages by gender. Do
women get paid less than men and
why is this a problem?
Etc.
8. Narrowing Discussion
Choose a problem that you wrote
about in your brainstorming that
seems too broad or overwhelming.
Now, share that problem with your
small group and discuss ways that
you could narrow and focus your
topic.
Each small group should be
prepared to share examples of
narrowing with the class.
Examples of narrowing:
Bullying -> Anti-gay bullying
Poverty -> Lack of resources for
student’s to buy school supplies or
books.
Technology -> inequitable access to
internet by geographical location.
Drug addiction -> opioid crisis.
Prisons -> non-violent drug crimes
and sentencing
Remember: this small group discussion is
worth 2 participation points.
9. Your Problem:
Causes and Consequences
Choose a narrowed version of your
problem.
Now write a paragraph where you
describe all of the potential
CAUSES and CONSEQUENCES of
that problem.
Causes
What is the cause of this problem?
Are there multiple causes?
How did this problem come into
being or how was it created?
Ex.: A cause of school traffic
congestion might be the lack of
public transportation options near
that school.
Consequences
What effects does this problem
have?
Ex.: School traffic may cause
students to be late to class, which
may cause them to do less well in
school.
10. Choosing a Problem:
Putting It All Together
Choose a narrowed problem that
seems most interesting/promising
to you.
Make sure it is narrowed enough
that it doesn’t feel overwhelming.
Write the following:
A few sentences that state what
the problem is.
A few sentences that explain why
the problem is serious.
A few sentences that outline the
causes of the problem.
A few sentences that describe the
consequences of failing to solve
this problem.You will submit this writing for
homework as Discussion 21.
11. Defining the Problem:
Writing Strategies
As you are describing the problem and discussing the causes and consequences,
you can make use of the following strategies (from SMG, p. 324).
12. Read and Annotate Sample PROBLEM Essay
Bracket/underline and then label the following components or strategies:
1. The causes of the problem.
2. The consequences of the problem.
3. A specific example of the problem.
4. Personal experience or observation (anecdote).
5. Testimony of those affected by the problem.
6. Statistics.
7. Vivid description.
Keep in mind: this is not a FULL sample proposal because it doesn’t offer a
solution! But, it does show you how to describe and explain a PROBLEM in detail.
18. Find a source to explain your problem
Now that you have a focused problem, you need to find at least one
outside source that you can use to provide you with useful information
about your problem. Use the library resources to do so.
Options for sources:
• Books or eBooks
• Articles from scholarly journals
• Credible websites
• Articles from popular magazines or newspapers, such
as Time, National Geographic, or The New York Times.
21. What should you look for in a source?
One that describes or explains your
problem in some depth.
An source that is focused on your
problem (not a source that just
mentions it in a paragraph).
A source that includes several
pieces of information: multiple
quotes, statistics, testimonies,
examples, etc.
Ideally, you want an article that
gives you more than just one
quote.
22. Homework for Monday
Read Hope in the Dark, pp. 96-110.
Discussion 21 on Canvas: post the
writing you did for Slide 10
(This slide:)
Discussion 22 on Canvas: post your
source (in MLA format). Describe
three useful pieces of information
that you can get from that source.
Participation for today
1 point for everything you said in
full discussion (limit 3).
2 points for participating in the
small group Hope in the Dark
discussion.
2 points for participation in the
“narrowing” discussion.
