Things That Work:
Working with Quotations
Working With Quotes
One successful(ish) exercise I did was to have each student write
a quote from Williams, and pass it on to another student, who would then
respond to it "in conversation." Then, the quote and response
went to a third student who responded to both. Then, it went back to the
original "quote picker" who, with the class-clock ticking, wrote
a paragraph on the quote that might go into his/her essay.
-- Anonymous
Extended Quotation Exercise
I have always had tremendous success with this exercise. It helps students
to learn to work with quotations and to make connections; it allows students
to work together to locate these connections, reinforces proofreading
skills, and then provides students an extra opportunity to locate more
connections.
I usually try to do this exercise during our discussion
of the third essay. Placing it before the third paper can be very useful
for students. I start by locating 5-7 quotations from the third essay
that definitely connect in some way to our previous essays. I type these
quotations up and bring them to class. Students work in groups of three
or four on these quotations. The goal is to produce a paragraph that connects
the quotation they are given to a quotation from one of the previous essays,
and to explain that connection. At times, I have directed students to
begin by paraphrasing the given quote, relate it briefly to the author's
argument as a whole, locate a connection from another author that connects,
and then explain that connection. I make it very clear that paragraphs
will be collected and typed for the class to see, so they should be formal
and as error-free as possible.
The next class, I return with the paragraphs typed up. There are ALWAYS
a host of errors in the hand-written paragraphs, and I bring them to class
as-is. The class as a whole reads the first group's paragraph, looking
for errors. Then, as a class, we identify these errors and correct them.
This proved an opportunity to discuss various errors as well as to discuss
hard error versus sentences that are just awkward and to devise strategies
for dealing with both. Then, when we have corrected the paragraph, I ask
the group that composed it to explain the connection they located. Then
I check to see if the class sees the connection and if they have any questions
for the group that located that connection. We repeat this process for
every group's paragraph.
At the end of class, I tell the students that they are to choose one
of the original quotations and write their own individual paragraph, connecting
to the author that particular group did NOT choose. Students see how connections
can be made between the third author and either of the previous essays.
I then collect these paragraphs the next day to see how individual students
are working with quotations and connections.
I try to devote at least half a class to the first day of this exercise
where the groups compose the paragraphs. Going over the paragraph takes
a whole class day (between finding errors and discussing the connections).
Close Reading Exercise
The purpose of this exercise is to assist all of you using quotes effectively
in your writing. For the quote you have been given, work as a group
on the following exercises.
- Paraphrase the quote.
- Relate the quote to the larger project that Anzaldua is pursuing.
In other words, relate the quote to her argument,
- Find a quote or example from either Tompkins or Pratt that connects
to this quote. The quote you find may explain, agree, or disagree
with, or complicate the Anzaldua quote.
- Explain in a sentence or two the connection, and the significance
of the connection.
Work together as a group, but in any way you see fit. One member may
be responsible for finding a quote from Pratt or Tompkins, another might
be busy explaining the relationship between this quote and the larger
project of these chapters. Or, you might decide to accomplish each task
as a group. The end result should be a short paragraph which accomplishes
all four goals outlined above.
Group #1:
These numerous possibilities leave la mestiza floundering
in uncharted seas, In perceiving conflicting information and points
of view, she is subjected to a swamping of her psychological borders.
She had discovered that she can't hold concepts or ideas in rigid
boundaries. The borders and walls that are supposed to keep the undesirable
ideas out are entrenched habits and patterns of behavior; these habits
and patterns are the enemy within. Rigidity means death. Only by remaining
flexible is she able to stretch the psyche horizontally and vertically.
(Anzaldua 50)
Group #2:
Like others having or living in more that one culture, we get multiple,
often opposing messages. The coming together of two self-consistent
but habitually incompatible frames of reference causes un choque,
a cultural collision. (Anzaldua 50)
Group #3:
The whites in power want us people of color to barricade ourselves
behind the separate tribal walls so that they can pick us off one
at a time with their hidden weapons; so they can whitewash and distort
history. Ignorance splits people, creates prejudice. A misinformed
people is a subjugated people. (Anzaldua 57)
Group #4:
The struggle is inner: Chicano, indio, American Indian, mojado,
mexicano, immigrant Latino, Anglo in power, working class Angle,
Black, Asian - our psyches resemble the bordertowns and are populated
by the same people. The struggle has always been inner, and is played
out in the outer terrains. Awareness of our situation must come before
inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing
happens in the "real" world unless it firsts happens in
the images in our heads. (Anzaldua 57)
Group #5:
La facultad is the capacity to see in surface phenomena the
meaning of deeper realities, to see the deep structure below the surface.
It is an instant 'sensing,' a quick perception arrived at without
conscious reasoning. (Anzaldua 36)
--Barclay Barrios
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