Sociology

Posted: December 11th, 2013

1. The main purpose of this article is ________________ (Here you are trying to state, as accurately as possible, the author’s intent for writing the article. What was the author trying to accomplish?)

2. The key question that the author is addressing is ______________. (Your goal is to figure out the key question that was in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article. What was the key question addressed in the article?)

3. The most important information in this article is _________________________. (You want to identify the key information the author uses in the article to support his/her main argument. Here you are looking for facts, experiences, and/or data the author uses to support his/her conclusions.)
Include 5-8 fully explained pieces of information. Do not quote; restate the information in your own words. Or, you may quote and then explain in your own words why you chose the quote. Use complete sentences, and clearly separate each of your 5-8 pieces of info by either paragraph breaks, numbering or bulleting.

4. The main inferences (conclusions) in this article are __________________. (You want to identify the most important conclusions the author comes to and presents in the article.)

5. The key concept(s) we need to understand in this article is/are _____________. By these concepts the author means _________________. (To identify these ideas, ask yourself: What are the most important ideas that you would have to know to understand the author’s line of reasoning? Then briefly elaborate what the author means by these ideas. Hint: Key concepts are generally nouns, one or multiple-word phrases, that can be named and defined.)

6. The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is/are _______________. (Ask yourself: What is the author taking for granted [that might be questioned]? The assumptions are generalizations that the author does not think s/he has to defend in the context of writing the article, and they are usually unstated. This is where the author’s thinking logically begins.)

7(a). If we accept this line of reasoning (completely or partially), the implications are ___________________. (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author’s line of reasoning seriously? Here you are to pursue the logical consequences of the author’s position. Include implications that the author does not state. What do you think some implications/consequences are?)

7 (b). If we fail to accept this line of reasoning, the implications are ______________. (What consequences do you think are likely to follow if people ignore the author’s reasoning?)

8. The main point(s) of view presented in this article is/are ________________. (The main question you are trying to answer here is: What is the author looking at, and how is he/she seeing it? What seems to be the frame of reference of the writer? Does s/he show respect or sympathy or disdain, etc. for those people described or the events portrayed? Is the author’s line of reasoning sensitive to alternative relevant points of view?)