Unit 3: How to Write Analytically about General Topics

Unit 3: Assignment #1 (due before 11:59 pm Central on Tuesday August 31):

  1. To appreciate why learning to write clearly and analytically is important, read Aims’s (no date) article, “Why Learning How to Write an Analytical Essay Is Important” (original web link).
  2. To prepare for watching Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video, read the first essay in this packet of five-paragraph essays. (The first essay is on the first page of the packet, and it’s the essay about the Five-Paragraph Model.)
  3. To learn the Five-Paragraph Model, watch Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video, “The Five-Paragraph Model.” (A transcript of the video is available here.) Be sure to learn from the lecture video that
    1. a Thesis Statement is ONE statement that captures ALL THREE of the essays’ supporting reasons or supporting examples. Therefore, when you identify a Thesis Statement (or write your own Thesis Statement), make sure it’s ONE SENTENCE that captures all three supporting reasons or supporting examples.
    2. a Re-stated Thesis Statement is ONE statement that summarizes ALL THREE of the essays’ supporting reasons or supporting examples. Therefore, when you identify a Re-stated Thesis Statement (or write your own Re-stated Thesis Statement), make sure it’s ONE SENTENCE that summarizes all three supporting reasons or supporting examples.
    3. Supporting Reasons support the essay through explanation or justification.
    4. Supporting Examples support the essay through illustration. As the dictionary tells us, “an example of something is a particular situation, object, or person which illustrates that what is being claimed is true.”
  4. To ensure your understanding of the Five-Paragraph Model, outline each of the seven essays in the packet of five-paragraph essays (including the essay Professor Gernsbacher outlined in her lecture video). Outline each of the seven essays (from the packet) in the way that Professor Gernsbacher outlined the first essay in her lecture video.
    1. Use this fillable PDF. First, download the unfilled PDF and save it on your own computer.
    2. Second, rename the unfilled PDF to be YourLastName_PSY-311_FiveParagraph_Fillable.pdf. In other words, add your last name to the beginning of the filename.
    3. Third, on your computer, open a PDF writer app, such as Preview, Adobe Reader, or the like. Be sure to open your PDF writer app before you open the unfilled PDF from your computer.
    4. Fourth, from within your PDF writer app, open the unfilled PDF, which you have already saved onto your computer and re-named.
    5. Fifth, using the PDF writer app, fill in the PDF.
    6. Sixth, save your now-filled-in PDF on your computer.
  5.  Go to Unit 3: Assignment #1 and submit your filled-in PDF.
    1. The Unit 3: Assignment #1 link is an Assignment link, rather than a Discussion Board link, so it will look a bit different than the other submission links you’ve seen in this course so far.
    2. Click “Choose File” to attach/upload your filled-in PDF.
    3. Immediately after submitting your assignment, check to make sure that your filled-in PDF is really filled-in (and isn’t empty)!

Unit 3: Assignment #2 (due before 11:59 pm Central on Wednesday September 1):

  1. To get more hands-on experience planning essays using the Five-Paragraph Model:
    1. Choose two “Reasons/Arguments Prompt” quotes from page one of this list of quotes (page one provides a list of 20 quotes that are “Reasons/Arguments Prompts” for five-paragraph essays).
    2. Take a look back at Unit 3: Assignment #1 and make sure you know what a “Supporting Reason” is.
    3. Think of and then jot down (somewhere) a Reason A, a Reason B, and a Reason C in favor of or opposed to each of the two “Reasons/Arguments Prompts” quotes you have chosen.
    4. Make sure your reasons explain or justify WHY the quote is true.
      1. Remember, reasons don’t illustrate; they explain or justify.
      2. A good cue word for a reason is “because” (e.g., something is true because Reason A, Reason B, and Reason C).
  2. To get even more hands-on experience planning essays using the Five-Paragraph Model:
    1. Choose two “Examples Prompt” quotes from page two of the list of quotes (page two provides a list of 20 quotes that are “Examples Prompts” for five-paragraph essays).
    2. Take a look back at Unit 3: Assignment #1 and make sure you know what a “Supporting Example” is.
    3. Think of and then jot down (somewhere) an Example A, an Example B, and an Example C to support each of the two “Examples Prompts” quotes you have chosen.
    4. Make sure your examples illustrate HOW the quote is true.
      1. Remember, examples don’t explain or justify; examples illustrate.
      2. A good cue phrase for examples is “as illustrated by” (e.g., something is true as illustrated by Example A, Example B, and Example C).
  3. You have now chosen four quotes.
    1. For both the first and the second quotes, you have written down your Reason A, Reason B, and Reason C in favor of or opposed to each of those two quotes.
    2. For both the third and the fourth quotes, you have written down your Example A, Example B, and Example C to support to each of those two quotes.
    3. Check to make sure you have done all of this.
  4. For each of the four quotes you’ve chosen, write a Thesis Statement that incorporates your three reasons or three examples (just like you did in Unit 3: Assignment #1!). Thus, you need to write four Thesis Statements:
    1. a first Thesis Statement that incorporates into ONE SENTENCE your Reason A, Reason B, and Reason C in favor of or opposed to the first “Reasons/Arguments Prompt” quote you chose;
    2. a second Thesis Statement that incorporates into ONE SENTENCE your Reason A, Reason B, and Reason C in favor of or opposed to the second “Reasons/Arguments Prompt” quote you chose;
    3. a third Thesis Statement that incorporates into ONE SENTENCE your Example A, Example B, and Example C to support the first “Examples Prompt” quote you chose; and
    4. a fourth Thesis Statement that incorporate into ONE SENTENCE your Example A, Example B, and Example C to support the second “Examples Prompt” quote you chose.
  5. For the hook of an essay, you can definitely use a quote, including the prompt quote. However, to get other ideas for good hooks:
    1. Read “Essay Hook Ideas,”
    2. Read WikiHow’s (no date) “Types of Hooks,” and
    3. Definitely read and learn “How Not to Begin an Essay.” (Printable PDF.)
  6. Go to Unit 3: Assignment #2 Discussion Board and make a new post in which you do the following:
    1. For each of your two Reasons quotes:
      1. write out the “Reasons Prompt” quote you chose;
      2. list your Reason A, Reason B, and Reason C in support of the quote; and
      3. write out your Thesis Statement.
    2. For each of your two Examples quotes:
      1. write out the “Examples Prompt” quote you chose;
      2. list your Example A, Example B, and Example C in support of the quote; and
      3. write out your Thesis Statement.

Unit 3: Assignment #3 (due before 11:59 pm Central on Thursday September 2):

  1. Read Wilbers’ (2015) “Top [5] Reasons You Should Learn to Use Proper Grammar” (original web link).
  2. Learn when to use me, myself, and I correctly.
    1. Watch Ted-Ed’s (2015) video, “When to Use ‘Me,’ ‘Myself, and ‘I’.”
      • Remember that you can adjust the speed on this YouTube (or any YouTube) by following these directions.
      • Remember that you can access a transcript of this YouTube (or any YouTube) by following these directions.
    2. Read Grammar Girl’s (2007) article, “How to Use ‘Myself’ and Other Reflexive Pronouns” (original web link).
    3. Read Stevens’s (2012) article, “Grammar-Grouching on ‘Myself’ Misuse” (original web link).
    4. Test yourself on the Me/I or Myself Quiz. Re-take the Quiz again (and again) until you earn a perfect score.
  3. Learn when to use “you and I” versus “you and me.”
    1. Read Stevens’s (2012) article, “You and I and Lady Gaga’s Bad Grammar” (original web link).
    2. Read Grammar Girl’s (2007) article, “Between You and Me” (original web link).
    3. Because “you and I” and “you and me” are often used incorrectly in song lyrics (as Stevens’ and Grammar Girl’s articles note),
      • find four songs in which EITHER “you and I” OR “you and me” is used correctly in their lyrics AND
      • find four songs in which EITHER “you and I” OR “you and me” is used incorrectly in their lyrics.
    4. How are you going to find those things? Sounds like a daunting—or even an impossible—task, right? Here’s a hint: Do some research online—Google it! With a little creativity and persistence, I am sure you’ll find sites that will help you identify such songs. There is no need to start going through songs in your playlist one by one!
  4. Read Gaertner-Johnston’s (2006) article, “Its? It’s? Or Its’?” (original web link). Then find, on the Internet,
    1. four instances when someone has correctly used its,
    2. four instances when someone has correctly used it’s,
    3. four instances when someone has incorrectly used its, and
    4. four instances when someone has incorrectly used it’s.
    5. How are you going to find those things? Again, do some research online—Google it! Finding instances of correct use should be pretty easy (e.g., in news stories). To find instances of incorrect use, you might need to be a little creative and and persistent. Using Google, I am sure you’ll be able to find sites that will help you identify instances of incorrect use.
    6. For all instances, be sure to write down or otherwise capture the sentence in which the usage of its or it’s occurred (and the URL where the instance occurred).
  5. Learn why it’s probably not a good idea to double space after a period.
    1. Read Manjoo’s (2011) article, “Space Invaders: Why You Should Never, Ever Use Two Spaces After a Period” (original web link).
    2. Read Grammar Girl’s (2005) article, “Two Spaces After a Period” (original web link).
    3. Think about whether you were taught to double space after a period.
  6. Top off all your grammar learning by watching Pleated Jean’s (2013) YouTube, “Grammar Lessons with Food.”
  7. Go to the Unit 3: Assignment #3 Discussion Board and create a new post in which you list
    1. how many times you needed to take the “Me/I or Myself Quiz” (it’s okay if it took you a few attempts; the point is to learn when to use “me” versus “I” versus “myself);
    2. the titles of the four songs you found that use either “you and I” or “you and me” correctly and the titles of the four songs you found that use either “you and I” or “you and me” incorrectly;
    3. the four instances you found on the Internet when someone used its correctly (you must embed a link to each instance) and the four instances you found on the Internet when someone used it’s correctly (embed a link to each instance);
    4. the four instances you found on the Internet (and their context) when someone used its incorrectly (embed a link to each instance) and the four instances you found on the Internet when someone used it’s incorrectly (embed a link to each instance);
    5. whether you were taught to double space after a period and, if so, whether you’re surprised to learn that you shouldn’t double space after a period; if you were not taught to double space after a period, whether you’ve wondered why other people (erroneously) double space after a period; and
    6. which grammar lesson provided in Pleated Jean’s video you were the least familiar with before watching the video.

Unit 3: Assignment #4 (due before 11:59 pm Central on Friday September 3):

  1. The goal of this assignment is to learn the Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs.
    1. First, re-read (or skim re-read) Aims’s (no date) article, “Why Learning How to Write an Analytical Essay Is Important” (original web link).
    2. Then, watch Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video, “Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs.” (A transcript of the lecture video is available here.)
  2. To ensure your understanding of the Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs, outline three paragraphs using this fillable PDF.
    1. Refer back to Unit 3: Assignment #1, part d. for how to download, save, then open, and fill in a fillable PDF.
    2. Rename the PDF to be YourLastName_PSY-311_ParagraphRecipe_Fillable.pdf. In other words, add your last name to the beginning of the filename.
    3. For the three paragraphs you will outline, use the other two paragraphs in Aims’s article that were not completely outlined in Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video (“Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs“) and select one other paragraph from another essay in the packet of five-paragraph essays.
  3. To learn other helpful essay writing tips, read Kaplan’s Test Prep (no date) “7 Tips for a Perfect GRE Essay” (original web link).
    1. Although these tips are for writing an essay during the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) test, the recommendations apply to the types of essays you write in college and that you are writing for this course.
    2. Pay specific attention to the recommendation to avoid writing “I think” or “I believe,” along with the reason why you should avoid writing such terms in your essays.
  4. Now comes the time to put into action everything you’ve learned in the first three assignments of this Unit.
    1. Choose one of the two “Reasons/Arguments Prompts” quotes that you have been working on in this Unit and write an entire five-paragraph essay on that one Reasons/Arguments quote.
    2. Remember that
      • your five-paragraph essay needs an Introduction Paragraph with a hook and a Thesis Statement;
      • your Conclusion Paragraph needs to restate your Thesis Statement and end with something witty or profound.
      • ALL FIVE of your paragraphs, including your Introduction Paragraph, each of your three Reasons Paragraphs, and your Conclusion Paragraph, need to be structured following the basic recipe you learned in “Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs” lecture video. Therefore, ALL FIVE of your paragraphs need to have
        • A Topic Sentence,
        • three Supporting Sentences, and
        • a Conclusion Sentence.
    3. Save your “Reasons/Arguments” essay as a PDF with the filename YourLastName_Reasons_Essay.pdf.
  5. To obtain more practice putting into action everything you’ve learned in the first three assignments of this Unit:
    1. Choose one of the two “Examples Prompts” quotes that you have been working on in this Unit and write an entire five-paragraph essay on that one Examples Prompt quote.
    2. Again, remember that
      • your five five-paragraph essay needs an Introduction Paragraph with a hook and a Thesis Statement;
      • your Conclusion Paragraph needs to restate your Thesis Statement and end with something witty or profound.
      • REMEMBER: ALL FIVE of your paragraphs, including your Introduction Paragraph, each of your three Examples Paragraphs, and your Conclusion Paragraph, need to be structured following the basic recipe you learned in “Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs” lecture video. Therefore, ALL FIVE of your paragraphs need to have
        • A Topic Sentence,
        • three Supporting Sentences, and
        • a Conclusion Sentence.
    3. Save your “Examples Prompts” essay as a PDF with the filename YourLastName_Examples_Essay.pdf.
  6. Go to the Unit 3: Assignment #4 Discussion Board and make a new post.
    1. Use your initial post to “Attach” your Reasons Essay PDF using the “Attach” tool.
    2. If you can’t remember how to “Attach” a file, review Unit 2: Assignment #5.
    3. Because the Discussion Board will allow only one file to be attached to each post, make a reply post to your first post (which was the post where you attached your Reasons Essay post). Then, use your reply post to “Attach” your Examples Essay PDF.
    4. Finally, make a second reply post, and this time “Attach” the PDF you renamed YourLastName_PSY-311_ParagraphRecipe_Fillable.pdf and filled in
    5. Thus, your Unit 3: Assignment #4 will have
      • an initial post to which you attached your Reasons Essay PDF.
      • a reply post to which you attached your Examples Essay PDF.
      • a second reply post to which you attached your filled-in Paragraph Recipe PDF.

Unit 3: Assignment #5 (due before 11:59 pm Central on Saturday September 4):

  1. To gain more experience writing five-paragraph essays (and to illustrate the usefulness and versatility of the five-paragraph essay), choose two of the following tasks:
    1. Write a five-paragraph Reasons or Examples Essay that is a hypothetical cover letter for a job application (providing three reasons why you’re, hypothetically, the best person for the job or explaining, as examples, three hypothetical skills you’ll bring to the job).
    2. Write a five-paragraph Reasons or Examples Essay that’s a hypothetical letter to your landlord explaining three reasons or providing three examples why you should receive your full deposit back.
    3. Write a five-paragraph Reasons or Examples Essay dissuading a hypothetical student who didn’t receive the grade they hoped for from approaching the professor to ask if there’s any extra-credit they can do, after the class is over, to get the grade they hoped for. (Dissuade means to advise someone not to do something.)
    4. Write a five-paragraph Reasons or Examples Essay arguing either in favor of or against the following essay prompt from the GRE Analytic Writing Assessment: “As long as they are aware of the dangers involved, adults should not be legally bound to use seat belts.”
    5. Write a five-paragraph Reasons or Examples Essay arguing either in favor of or against the following essay prompt from the GRE Analytic Writing Assessment: “To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.”
    6. Write a five-paragraph Reasons or Examples Essay arguing either in favor of or against the following essay prompt from the GRE Analytic Writing Assessment: “In any field of endeavor, it is impossible to make a significant contribution without first being strongly influenced by past achievements within that field.”
  2. Remember that both of your two five-paragraph Reasons or Examples essays need
    • an Introduction Paragraph with a hook that contains a ONE-sentence Thesis Statement  incorporating all three of your reasons or examples;
    • a Conclusion Paragraph that contains a ONE-sentence Re-stated Thesis Statement summarizing all three of your reasons and that ends with something (mildly) witty or profound; and
    • within each essay, ALL FIVE of your paragraphs, including your Introduction Paragraph, each of your three Reasons or Examples Paragraphs, and your Conclusion Paragraph, need to be structured following the basic recipe you learned in “Basic Recipe for Writing Paragraphs” lecture video. Therefore, ALL FIVE of your paragraphs need to have
      • A Topic Sentence,
      • three Supporting Sentences, and
      • a Conclusion Sentence.
  3. Take a screenshot of each your two essays (i.e., take two screenshots: one screenshot of one essay and another screenshot of the other essay; if you do not know how to take a screenshot, this website will help you). See here for what they should (and shouldn’t) look like.
  4. Go to Unit 3: Assignment #5 Discussion Board and make a new post in which you embed the two images (screenshots) of the two essays you wrote for this Assignment. Remember to size each image correctly (no wider than 500 pixels and no taller than 500 pixels, as explained in the Course How To) and be sure to embed the image, not “attach” it.

Unit 3: Assignment #6 (due before 11:59 pm Central on Sunday September 5):

  1. Read both essays that each of the other members of your small Chat Group (see Unit 2: Assignment #6 for how to find who is in your small chat group) posted in Unit 3: Assignment #4. If you are in a Chat Group with two other students, that means you will read four essays; if you are in a Chat Group with only one other student, that means you will read two essays.
  2. Learn how to provide peer review on your Chat Group members’ essays by reading the Peer Review Guidelines. Note that you will be answering 12 questions about each member’s essays.
  3. For this assignment, you will meet online with your small Chat Group at the time your Chat Group arranged for your one-hour text-based Chat.
    1. Prior to your Chat Group meeting online, all members of your Chat Group must have completed steps a. and b. of this Assignment.
    2. Prior to your Chat Group meeting online, the member of your Chat Group whose last name comes last alphabetically in your Chat Group needs to have set up the chat room (as instructed in Unit 2: Assignment #6) and according to the instructions in the Course How To for “How to Set Up a Group Text Chat Room in Microsoft Teams.”
    3. Prior to your Chat Group meeting online, all members of your Chat Group need to have learned from the Course How To
      • “How to Participate in a Group Text Chat”; and
      • “What to do if….,” which describes what to do if your Chat Group agrees on a date and time for your Chat, but one member of the Chat Group wants to reschedule or hasn’t joined the Chat within 15 minutes after the agreed upon time.
    4. Begin your one-hour Chat by introducing yourselves, including the name mnemonic that each Chat Group member provided in Unit 1: Assignment #2. Also, tell each other the specific four hours per six days a week that you are working on (only) this course.
    5. Then, spend the remainder of your hour-long Chat with each Chat Group member providing peer review of the other Chat Group members’ essays.
    6. Before ending the Group Chat, arrange the time for the Group Chat you will need to hold during the next Unit (Unit 4: Assignment #6).
  4. At the end of your one-hour Chat:
    1. Nominate one member of your Chat Group (who participated in the Chat) to make a post on the Unit 3: Assignment #6 Discussion Board that summarizes your Group Chat in at least 200 words.
    2. Nominate a second member of your Chat Group (who also participated in the Chat) to save the Chat transcript as a PDF, as described in the Course How To (under the topic, “How to Save and Attach a Group Chat Transcript”).
      1. Then, this member of the Chat Group needs to make a post on the Unit 3: Assignment #6 Discussion Board and attach the Chat transcript, saved as a PDF, to that Discussion Board post.
    3. Nominate a third member of your Chat Group (who also participated in the Chat) to make another post on the Unit 3: Assignment #6 Discussion Board that states the name of your Chat Group, the names of the Chat Group members who participated the Chat, the date of your Chat, and the start and stop time of your Group Chat.
    4. Across the semester, be sure to trade off which member of your Chat Group does each task (writes and posts the summary; creates the transcript PDF and attaches it; posts the names, date, start/stop time) so that across the semester each member of the Chat Group carries an equal load. You don’t want to create a groupwork experience like the bottom chart of these charts.
    5. If only two persons participated in the Group Chat, then one of those two persons needs to do two of the above three tasks.
    6. Before ending the Group Chat, arrange the date and time for the Group Chat you will need to hold during the next Unit (Unit 4: Assignment #6).
  5. All members of the Chat Group must record a typical Unit entry in your own Course Journal for Unit 3.

Congratulations; you have finished Unit 3! Onward to Unit 4!

 

Open-Access Active-Learning Research Methods Course by Morton Ann Gernsbacher, PhD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. The materials have been modified to add various ADA-compliant accessibility features, in some cases including alternative text-only versions.
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