10 Sep English 1201 Informal Writing #2 – Reflecting on Informal Writing #1

English 1201

Informal Writing #2 – Reflecting on Informal Writing #1

Read Elizabeth Kolbert’s essay, “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds,” (

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds) again, practicing what you have learned from our discussions this week and the resources in eLearn on critical thinking and reading.

Begin this second reading by previewing the essay and thinking about the title and sub-title. Read the one sentence summary under the title. This essay was originally published for The New Yorker. Look around its website (https://www.newyorker.com/) and see what you can learn about who reads this publication. Are there clues about readers’ demographics, for example? What do these clues tell you?

Look at the illustration used in the article and try to figure out what information it conveys.

Use the GIST method, the SQ3R method of reading, and/or some of the other strategies we’ve discussed in class. Remember to take notes, look up concepts that are not familiar to you, and ask questions of the text in the margins as you read.

Then answer the questions from Informal Writing #1 again.

1. What is the main idea or point of the article?

2. Who is the audience that Kolbert is addressing?

3. What might be an alternative way to explain her conclusions?

Finally (and this is the part you will turn in), reflect on the above process and write about what you learned from not just reading this essay the second time, but from the research, deep reading, and annotations that you were asked to do above.

Be specific. Really think deeply about and reflect on this much harder, more time-consuming, more robust way of reading. Don’t just skim the surface and talk about the article or reading in sweeping generalities – “I learned that there’s so much more to this article,” or, “This really helped me to understand,” or “This is a lot of work but so worth it!” Instead, discuss how specific research challenged, complimented, and/or complicated your original ideas? Give examples.

When you have completed this short 1-2-page reflection assignment, please submit it in the appropriate Dropbox in eLearn. While this assignment is informal and you do not have to worry about MLA formatting, please make sure you proofread and edit your writing carefully!