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About Unit 3 
Unit 3 Learning Outcomes 
Concepts and Terminology 
Assignments for Unit 3 
Steps in the Assignments for Unit 3
A Sample Work Sheet for the Analytical Paragraph Exercise
A Sample Analytical Paragraph
An Example of an Analytical Paragraph Using a Personal Quotation
A Model Analytical Paragraph Based on a Reading in the Humanities
A Model Analytical Paragraph Using Short Quotations
A Model Analytical Paragraph on a Literary Topic
Examples Illustrating the Development of the Third Part of Analytical Paragraphs
A Checklist for the Development of Analytical Paragraphs
A Sample Student Essay with Analytical Paragraphs
Recommended Support Materials in the Learning Skills Center
Evaluation of Unit 3 Instruction

About Unit 3

This unit introduces you to one of the most important patterns of expository writing, the "analytical paragraph." It is a pattern of explanation that you can witness every day--on the evening news, on the radio, and certainly in written communications.

The analytical paragraph is an explanatory paragraph that includes within it references or direct quotations from an outside source of information. The word "analytical" refers to the process of analysis employed in the use of the outside source material. Each reference to or passage from an outside source has been selected for use through the process of analysis of the entire source. Furthermore, how the writer develops information from the source in the paragraph also reflects the critical thinking skill of analysis.

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Learning Outcomes for Unit 3

Studies and assignments completed in this unit emphasize the following educational objectives:

Increasing Writing Skills

You will be able to:

• use the elements of creating, drafting, revising, and editing appropriately.
• write for a variety of audiences, not just your instructor.
• write for a variety of purposes.
• adapt your language, sentence structure, and organization to fit the audience, purpose, and topic of the writing task.
• focus on a central idea that controls and unifies the whole piece of writing.
• support your ideas with details (illustrations, examples, descriptions) that will make them clear to your readers.

You will be able to:

• identify the main ideas and supporting details in a variety of reading selections, ranging from student to professional works.
• analyze how the work of student or professional writers achieve the writers' purpose. 
• produce writing based upon your synthesis of written material with your own knowledge and opinions.

You will be able to:

• locate and evaluate sources for writing tasks.
• demonstrate preliminary research skills: summarize, paraphrase, synthesize, and document information.

You will be able to:

• demonstrate maturity of thought by analyzing, questioning, and reflecting on ideas.
• understand the relationship between oral and written communication.

You will be able to:

• develop more confidence in yourself as a writer.

Concepts and Terminology Discussed in Unit 3

(1) the generation of thesis and topic sentences
(2) the periodic sentence 
(3) selecting quotations 
(4) use ellipsis and brackets in quotations 
(5) use of paraphrase 
(6) plagiarism 
(7) analysis of quotations 
(8) paraphrasing quotations 
(9) expanding the content of quotations 
(10) explanation of key words in quotations 
(11) comparing/contrasting quotations 
(12) synthesizing quotations with other sources 
(13) abstracting key concepts from quotations 
(14) interpreting quotations 
(15) debating quotations 
(16) evaluating quotations 

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Assignments for Unit 3

Following is a list of assignments and directions for completing the analytical paragraph exercises. 

(1) analysis of a news magazine article

(2) completion of a worksheet

(3) completion of three analytical paragraphs

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Steps in the Assignments for Unit 3

Goal: 
The purpose of this assignment is to develop your skill in using other people's remarks in the development of paragraphs. Such paragraphs I call "analytical" paragraphs since they make use of only one idea from longer remarks by other people. In the process of selecting a quotation from a longer piece of writing, you have employed analysis in identifying distintive ideas in the writing.

Objectives: 
In order to develop your skill in using other people's ideas, I have developed an assignment which will include your writing of three separate analytical paragraphs based upon a magazine article. Here are the steps:

Steps:

1. Select an article on a subject of national or international significance from a news magazine (US News and World Report, Time, Newsweek, etc.). The article should probably be more than nine paragraphs long.

2. Beside each paragraph write a word or brief phrase that identifies the main idea.

3. On a separate sheet of paper, in a column, copy the main ideas for each paragraph as you have written them beside each paragraph in the article.

1. drought in the Southeast 
2. outside help 
3. government response 
4. . . .

4. Circle three ideas in the list in Step #3 that seem to have something in common.

5. Complete the following statements:

Complete: "These three ideas are about (subject category)____________________." 

Example: "These three ideas are about (subject category) the continuing drought ."

Complete: "These three ideas are (functional category) ."

Example: "These three ideas are (functional category) effects ."

6. Write a periodic thesis sentence that focuses on these three ideas that you have circled. Use the following sentence frame to develop the initial draft of your thesis:

Example: Three effects of the continuing Southeastern drought are (1) a pledge of government support, (2) an outpouring of outside help, but (3) a prospect of crossover problems in farm-related industries.

7. Write three topic sentences, each one reflecting one of the three main ideas in the thesis.

Examples: 
(1) One of the effects of the continuing drought throughout the Southeast has been a pledge of federal support from Washington, D.C.
(2) A second effect of the Southeastern drought has been an outpouring of crop assistance by other U.S. farmers. 
(3) A third effect of the lingering drought will be major financial setbacks for farm-related businesses and industries.

8. On separate sheets of paper, compose three analytical paragraph, each one beginning with one of the topic sentences that you developed in Step #7.

9. Following the topic sentence in each paragraph, compose a lead-in statement for a quotation from the article that includes the following information:

(a) name of the author (if unknown, refer to the "correspondent," the "reporter," etc.) 
(b) date of publication of the magazine 
(c) name of the article (in quotation marks: "--------") 
(d) name of the journal or magazine (underlined) 
(e) a phrase that announces the main idea of the quotation you have selected for the paragraph

An example of a lead-in statement:

In his August 4, 1986, Time article, "Shedding Sweat, Tears and Dollars," Stephen Koepp reviews the federal government's reaction to the lingering drought.

10. Select a passage from your magazine article that fits the main idea in your topic sentence of each paragraph and write it after the lead-in statement.

11. Develop the third part of each paragraph using a combination of two techniques such as paraphrase and interpretation. Underline once the words that illustrate your use of the first technique; underline twice the words that illustrate your use of the second technique. Once you have used a technique in paragraph for this assignment, use different techniques in the development of the third part of the other paragraphs.

What to hand in:

At the end of your writing, you should have ready to hand in the following assignments and its components:

(1) your magazine article with the main ideas of each paragraph clearly identified in a word or phrase (see example);

(2) a sheet with a list of the main ideas of each paragraph in the article, three circled main ideas, a thesis sentence using those three main ideas, and three topic sentences derived from the thesis; and

(3) three additional pages, each of which contains an analytical paragraph, each one beginning with a topic sentence listed on the first page above. 
 

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Recommended Support Materials in the LSC:

Consult with tutors in the Learning Skills Center.

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