Tutorama: Week Five: Making Connections I

Introduction
In Basic Composition and Basic Composition with Reading you are asked to enter into a conversation created by the texts you read. In order to enter fully into that conversation, you have to make connections between the essays. Below is a strategy for making connections.

Strategy: Applying key concepts

1. On a blank piece of paper, draw lines to make three columns. Label the columns as follows from left to right: "Key concept or term from Essay #1"; "Quote from Essay #2"; "Connection"

2. In the "Key concept" column, make a list of 3-4 key concepts or terms presented in the first essay, drawing a horizontal line between each concept. Be sure to leave plenty of blank space underneath each concept. Find a quote in the first essay that helps explain the concept. Then define the concept in your own words in the space left in the box.

3. Find quotes in the second essay that confirm, contradict, or complicate an example of each of the concepts listed in the first column. Write them down in Column #2.

4. Underline the parts of the quote in Column #2 that directly address the idea in Column#1. Draw arrows that link words in the quote and definition you wrote in Column #1 to significant phrases in Column #2.

5. In the "Connection" column, write down the relationship between the ideas in the two columns. Remember that an idea or example that challenges or complicates another idea is also a "connection," and often the kind that produces the best results for you.

6. Repeat Steps 1-5 using the key concepts from Essay #2 and quotes and examples from Essay #1.

7. Use the quotes you've found to construct paragraphs around the connections you've made.

Conclusion
The key to making connections is to think about the ways the authors both are responding to an idea or problem. Your job is to identify where a connection can be made, and focus the discussion by pointing out how each author's idea works in the context provided by the other author. Such connections can help you to build your own argument about the issues they discuss.

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