The document summarizes Lorraine Genetti's presentation about using an "Article of the Week" approach to teaching writing skills. She discusses having students read, comprehend, and summarize complex articles. They then respond thoughtfully by integrating quotations and building background knowledge. Genetti provides templates and models to help students learn skills like summarizing accurately, weighing evidence, and participating in academic discussions. The goal is for students to enter meaningful conversations and succeed in college by mastering skills like argumentation.
1. A Presentation by Lorraine Genetti
April 18, 2015
Student Success in Writing Conference
Savannah, GA
Entering the Conversation
with the Article of the
Week
2. Reading:
Comprehend meaning and structure
Identify main ideas and supporting details
Writing:
Summarize accurately and honestly
Respond thoughtfully
Rationale: Students Need Skills!
3. Thinking:
Understand “the conversation”
Weigh evidence, formulate opinion
Speaking/Listening:
Express ideas clearly
Reflect and respond to others
Rationale: More Skills
5. “Argument is the currency of academic
discourse, and learning to argue is a
necessary skill if students are to succeed in
their college careers.”
First-year composition courses teach the
skills of argument
Help raise public discourse from the
“abysmal” depths to which it has sunk
Duffy, John. “Virtuous Arguments.” Inside Higher Ed.16 March
2012. Web.
John Duffy: “Virtuous Arguments”
12. Students must be able to adequately and
honestly summarize the position of their
opponent before they undertake to put forth
their own views (Fleming 256).
Templates provide guidance and structure to
keep students focused on what the article
actually says.
Fleming, David. “Rhetoric and Argumentation.” A Guide to
Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate et al. New York: Oxford
UP, 2013. Print.
Locating Themselves in the
Conversation
13. They Say, I Say: The
Moves That Matter
in Academic
Writing
Gerald Graff
Cathy Birkenstein
Central Source for Templates:
14. The general argument made by author X in her/his work,
__________________, is that _______________________________. More
specifically, X argues that __________________________. She/he
writes, “_____________________________________.” In this passage, X
suggests that ____________________________________. In conclusion,
X’s belief is that ____________________________________________.
In my view, X is wrong/right, because ___________________________.
More specifically, I believe that _____________________________.For
example,_______________________________. Although X might
object that ____________________________________________, I
maintain that
____________________________________________________. Therefore, I
conclude that _____________________________________________.
*Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: Moves that
Matter in Academic Writing. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007.
15. Two viewpoints on a topic
Selection of editorial cartoons
Vary the reading levels: NewsELA
Variations on a Theme
16. Extend the conversation
Promote engagement, thinking
Scaffold: Move toward teaching the skill of
academic conversation
Discuss and Debate
18. Duffy, John. “Virtuous Arguments.” Inside Higher
Ed. March 16, 2012. Web.
Fleming, David. “Rhetoric and Argumentation.” A
Guide to Composition Pedagogies. Ed. Gary Tate
et al. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.
Gallagher, Kelly, and Richard L. Allington.
Readicide: How Schools Are Killing Reading and
What You Can Do About It. Portland, Me:
Stenhouse Publishers, 2009. Print.
Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I
Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. New
York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. Print.
Stuart, Dave. "There and Back Again: My Journey
with Gallagher's Article of the Week Assignment."
Web log post. Teaching the Core. Dave Stuart
Consulting LLC, 27 Sept. 2014. Web. 2 Mar. 2015.
Resources
