Thursday, February 7, 2013

Analyzing Texts

Dear All,

Analyzing texts can help us understand the text better as well as learn from the strategies the writer - or speaker - has used and thus improve our own writing and/or speaking skills.

Please find below a list of texts and analyze them.


Prose Texts:


Deepak Chopra, "Cinema for Peace":
http://www.lighthousecompany.com/downloads/Choprah_speech.pdf

Elisabeth Sahtouris, "Cosmic Beginnings":
http://www.ratical.org/LifeWeb/Erthdnce/chapter2.html



Poems:


1) Meena Alexander, "Muse" 
    http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16286 

2) Margaret Atwood, "In the Secular Night" 
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/atwood/poem1.htm 

3) Bill Bisset, "They Cut Back Sew Much on th Backs uv th Poor" 
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/bissett/poem2.htm 

4) Roo Borson, "Summer's Drug" 
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/borson/poem4.htm 

5) Afua Cooper, "Memories Have Tongue"
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/cooper/poem7.htm 

6) A.M. Klein, "Heirloom" 
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/klein/poem2.htm 

7) Joy Kogawa, "Offerings" 
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/kogawa/poem1.htm

8) Li-Young Lee, "Persimmons" 
    http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171753 

9) Gwendolyn MacEwen, "Let Me Make This Perfectly Clear" 
    http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/macewen/poem1.htm 

10) Michael Ondaatje, "Notes for the Legend of Salad Woman" 
     http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/notes-for-the-legend-of-salad-woman/











If you are not sure how to analyze a text, please click on the following link (Tools for Textual Analysis):
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxndWRydW5kcmVoZXJ8Z3g6OGEyNjk5YjY3OTQyMzJm

Thank you!

Gudrun

8 comments:

  1. Hi Gudrun, here is my analysis of Gwendolyn MacEwen's poem, "Let Me Make This Perfectly Clear." Feedback would be appreciated:

    https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7AeKm6s_LIeTWVmRjBiVkpaeU0/edit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Joshua, your analysis does not appear to be open for public viewing.

      Delete
    2. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7AeKm6s_LIeTWVmRjBiVkpaeU0/edit?pli=1

      How about now?

      Delete
    3. A very late reply on my part, but yeah it is working now. Reading your analysis intrigued me in the poem and I had to go read it. I quite liked what you said and generally agree with it, but I probably should have read the poem before your analysis so that your ideas didn't influence my own.

      Delete
  2. I set-up a timer for 1.5 hours and in that time picked a text then wrote a textual analysis to mimic the conditions we will be given tomorrow. I quickly wrote the each paragraph, expecting to be able to go back and add detail and generally make it good, but barely even had time to write the conclusion. I'm also worried about the length as it's just barely fills 2.5 pages in Word. I don't think I'll be able to write much more tomorrow and I doubt the quality will be any better (I didn't even have time to read over anything). Please point out what you think I'm doing wrong so I don't make the same mistakes tomorrow:

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c_MKPxYWffytKAOxB_qSUtQO8_PgqemewQcojnC_Hd0/edit?usp=sharing

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also chose to analyze 'Let Me Make This Perfectly Clear'. And agreed, feedback would be appreciated, I just want to make sure I'm on the right track.

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/13TXT0nEL5i2An6Fj_j172uBwGVI_tm3vk-Lp2MqfeOU/edit?usp=sharing

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here is my textual analysis of Offerings by joy Kogawa

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ltylhHOYjmqLd0gAET5xVCtsDUucU643IN87kGKyJMY/edit?usp=sharing

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is Leon. Here is my analysis to Muse
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/16fvogmXPxERNoP7dUPkTqBfm2bIrFMd4LskaoC2XCbc/edit?usp=sharing

    ReplyDelete