ENGL062 / ENGL062N / ENGL 062N / ENGL062 N
ENGL062N Introduction to Reading and Writing
Week 4 Discussion
Reading and Writing with Transitions
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: pp. 127-128 (chart of transitions)
Textbook: Beginning on page 651: “Theme: Television and Stereotypes” (four essays – choose one to read and analyze for this discussion)
Lesson 1, 2
Initial Post Instructions
This week, your assigned reading includes a rich discussion of transitional words and phrases. Pages 127-128 of the textbook provide an extensive categorized chart of dozens of examples. This discussion activity will help you recognize transitions in reading and incorporate transitions into your own writing.
To complete your initial post for this discussion, follow these steps:
In your textbook, beginning on page 651, you will find a series of 4 essays on the theme of television and stereotypes. Choose one, and engage closely with the text, using the reading strategies we have studied, such as annotating, underlining, and “talking to the text.”
After you have done this, read the essay again, this time highlighting all instances of transitional words and phrases.
Complete each of the following for your full discussion post:
List 10 transitions used by the author, and address their effectiveness for you, the reader.
Using the chart in your textbook and other resources, write the type of transition that each word falls under.
Do the transitions vary (i.e., no repetition in word choice for transitions)? If so, discuss how this impacts the reading experience. If not, discuss how this impacts the reading experience.
Does the writer use mostly words or mostly phrases (multi-word transitions)? Explain how this impacts you as a reader.
What is the foremost lesson you learned about using transitions in your own writing from this reading exercise? How will you employ it?
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least one peer. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification in the form of the following:
If you read the same essay as your classmate, did you have similar or different responses related to transitions? How, and why do you think that might be? If you read a different essay, how would you compare your analysis of its use of transitions to your classmate’s analysis of his or her chosen essay? Did your classmate’s “lessons learned” mirror yours, or did you learn something new from your classmate?
