The Little School

Treat this assignment like you would an in-class midterm; that is, arrange a time when you’d have 1-2 hours free and sit down to complete the essay. Make sure you have read the ENTIRE book before completing the midterm. It is an essay, not just a series of answers to the questions below, so please have a quick introduction and use the response section as a conclusion. This is an open book, so you can use any notes you have on the book and the book as well.  Summary / Analysis / Response Midterm – The Little School For the sake of time, skip the summary in this essay and jump right into the analysis, however, leave space for a quick intro that covers the main points of your essay. Analysis Use SOME of the questions below to shape/guide your essay. Text How is the book organized? What is effective or ineffective about the organization of the book? How does the author try to interest the reader? How well does the author explain the main claims? Are these arguments logical? Does the support and evidence seem adequate? Is the support convincing to the reader? Does the evidence actually prove the point the author is trying to make? Author Who is the author? What does she know about this subject? What is the author’s bias? Is the bias openly admitted? Does that make his or her argument more or less believable? Do the author’s knowledge and background make her reliable for this audience? How does the author try to relate to the audience and establish common ground? Is it effective? How does the author interest the audience? Does she make the reader want to know more? Does the author explain enough about the history of this argument? Is anything left out? Reader Who is the reader? How would they react to these arguments? How is this book effective or ineffective for this audience? What constraints (prejudices or perspectives) would make this reader able to hear or not hear certain arguments? What is the exigence (events at this moment in time which affect the need for this conversation) that makes the audience interested in this issue? Response – USE AS CONCLUSION What is your personal reaction to the book? What common ground do you have with the author? How are your experiences the same or different from the author’s and how has your experience influenced your view? What in the book is new to you? Do you know of any information the article left out that is relevant to the topic? What does this book make you think about? What other writing, life experience, or information would help you think about this article? How much of your response is related to your personal experience? How much is related to your own worldview? How is this feeling related to the information you know?