Lesson 1: Critical Reading and Summary Writing—Foundations for Course Success
Reading 1: “Let’s Tell the Story of All America’s Cultures”
In preparation for the reading assignment in this lesson, I’d like you to reflect on what you know about events in American history. What events in America’s past do you consider to be an example of our nation’s failure to live up to the ideals of government presented in The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution? What were you taught as a child in school about these events? Who were the famous Americans you studied? What were their accomplishments? What were their racial and ethnic backgrounds? Does what you have learned since differ from the lessons you learned when you were younger? Are you aware of any historical information presented to you as being factual, but you realize now is inaccurate or distorted or just plain untrue?
Thinking about these questions in light of your own educational experiences will prepare you to read the article by Yuh Ji-Yeon, an author and history professor at Northwestern University. Yuh (her family name) was five years old when her parents brought her to the United States from South Korea. She grew up in Chicago, graduated from Stanford University and earned her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. She has written extensively about the concerns of immigrants, especially those struggling to escape oppression. Why are her academic credentials important to note? How do they contribute to her credibility?
This selection is an example of a persuasive essay employing a problem-solution structure. An effective problem solution essay establishes that a problem exists and then proposes a solution. The writer seeks to convince the reader that the solution will address the problem and is practical to implement. An effective problem-solution argument provides evidence in support of the author’s claims both about the problem and the proposed solution and considers important objections that others have raised.
As you prepare to read this assignment, be ready to look for the ways Yuh includes these features of problem-solution writing. Take this chance to develop your pre-reading skills: review and consider the Reading Outcomes and look at the Questions on Content and Questions on Craft that follow. What kinds of information will you be looking for? Remember to read this text at least twice, following the guidelines I described in the Introduction to this lesson.
Reading Outcomes
By the time you have read this selection two or more times, you should be able to:
- Explain the strategy that the author uses to introduce this article.
- Point out the places where she uses examples. What observations can you make about the examples she selects—both the kinds of examples and the numbers?
- Identify her use of repetition. Where are words and phrases repeated? What might be the reasons for this repetition?
- Restate the thesis of this essay and explain whether it is stated or implied.
- Explain the problem that Yuh describes. Has this been a problem in your school experience?
- Note where this essay seems to change or shift. What signals the shift?
- Identify and evaluate the solution she recommends. What support does the author offer for her solution? What will be accomplished? Who will benefit?
- Decide who the audience for this article is. How can you tell?
Questions on Content
- The article follows a classic problem-solution structure. What is the problem as the author defines it? How does she support her argument that the problem is, in fact, a problem?
- What is the solution that the author proposes? What purpose is served by her reference to the New York State Department of Education report and its recommendations?
- What is the objection that those who oppose her solution might offer? How does the author address this objection?
Questions on Craft
- Consider the use of first person in this essay. Remember, in the first person, the writer makes references to herself using the “I” pronoun. (“I grew up hearing and seeing, almost believing that America was white….”) You have probably been taught to avoid the first person when writing academic papers. What does Yuh accomplish by violating this convention?
- Later the author switches from first person to third person. Third person is impersonal—it has no direct references to the author (“I”) or the reader (“you”). Where does this shift occur? What is the effect of the shift?
- The author also uses examples from her personal experience. Why might this be an effective strategy for persuading her reader to accept her point of view?
- In the first six paragraphs, Yuh repeats “I have never heard . . .” and “I have never learned . . .” several times in succession. Why? What effect does this repetition have on the reader?
Follow-up Comments
The first reading is not especially difficult or complex, and if you are already a highly skilled reader, the objectives and questions may have seemed excessive or fairly obvious. My intention was to have you experience a process for close reading with a fairly straightforward text so that you know what to look for when a text is more complex—less accessible. Have you read this text with closer attention than you normally read assignments? Is your understanding better? Can you see the strategy in Yuh’s language choices? Can you see the shape of the argument—the relationship of her individual paragraphs to the essay as a whole and to what the essay aims to do? If you can answer “yes” to these questions, then you are well prepared to work on the next part of this lesson.
