{"id":14038,"date":"2019-08-20T11:12:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T15:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/?page_id=14038"},"modified":"2019-08-30T14:09:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T18:09:07","slug":"kaumenova-instructor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/journal\/past-issues\/issue-11\/kaumenova\/kaumenova-instructor\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Instructor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The essay is a comparative analysis of Lera <span>Boroditsky: <em>How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?<\/em> (Jerskey 135-143) and Stephen Pax Leonard: <em>Death by Monoculture<\/em> (Jerskey 145-148).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The writer does an excellent job of juxtaposing and drawing connections between the two texts. Not only does she examine the two texts insightfully and draw comparisons between them, but she also metacognitively questions the action of comparing the two texts.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the elements that make the piece a well-written, persuasive comparison essay:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Title: <\/strong><em>In Defense of Linguistic Diversity: Globalization of Languages Implies Identical Thinking<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The title of the essay signals the writer\u2019s main argument based on a careful comparison of the two texts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction and Argument<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe essay starts with a \u2018hook\u2019 sentence: \u201cVivid, vibrant, rich, complex and simply fascinating, language is our primary means to communicate and connect\u201d that sets the stage and draws the reader into the arguments of the essay.<\/p>\n<p>The first paragraph in the paper refers to both texts (titles, names of authors and brief summaries) and contains a <strong>thesis\/claim<\/strong>. The writer makes the argument that since Boroditsky concludes that languages shape the way we think, the globalization of languages, as outlined by Leonard, will lead to \u201ca uniform way of thinking\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Comparison:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe writer makes several specific points of comparison between the texts and explains the insight gained from putting the two texts together. For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>While Boroditsky reports her research results in her essay, Leonard takes a position based on his personal encounters with language change.<\/li>\n<li>While Leonard argues that the world is moving towards a monoculture because we are speaking fewer and fewer languages, Boroditsky\u2019s argument that language shapes the way we think supports Leonard\u2019s warning of the impending monoculture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Logical Development:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe body paragraphs of the essay are clearly focused on a specific <strong>reason<\/strong> that supports the\u00a0 claim. <strong>Topic<\/strong> <strong>sentences<\/strong> signal the arguments in each body paragraph. There are <strong>transition words and phrases<\/strong> such as \u201cwhile\u201d, \u201chowever\u201d, and \u201cof course, one might wonder if..\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Evidence:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe central focus of each paragraph is supported with <strong>evidence <\/strong>(quotes, paraphrases from the essays). The writer uses \u2018quote sandwiches\u2019 by providing the context that leads to the quote and engaging with the quote before moving on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Metacognition:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe writer metacognitively questions the action of comparing the two texts. While metacognition is not required for this essay, it is an indicator of the writer\u2019s growth as a writer and a thinker.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe conclusion restates the writer\u2019s claim, but also expands the writer\u2019s ideas further and\/or suggests some questions for further consideration or research. The writer does a good job of looking outwards from the essay and drawing connections with larger issues related to language and culture.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 34px; text-indent: -34px;\">\n<p>Boroditsky, Lera. \u201cHow Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?\u201d\u00a0<em>Globalization: A Reader for Writers<\/em>. Ed. Maria Jerskey. New York, Oxford University Press, 2014. 135\u2013143.<\/p>\n<p>Jerskey, Maria. Ed. <em>Globalization: A Reader for Writers<\/em>. New York, Oxford University Press, 2014.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard, Stephen Pax. \u201cDeath by Monoculture.\u201d\u00a0<em>Globalization: A Reader for Writers<\/em>. Ed. Maria Jerskey. New York, Oxford University Press, 2014. 145\u2013148.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>\u2014MALAVIKA SHETTY<\/strong><br \/>\n<span>WR 112: Academic Writing for ESL Students 2<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The essay is a comparative analysis of Lera Boroditsky: How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think? (Jerskey 135-143) and Stephen Pax Leonard: Death by Monoculture (Jerskey 145-148). The writer does an excellent job of juxtaposing and drawing connections between the two texts. Not only does she examine the two texts insightfully and draw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16503,"featured_media":0,"parent":13749,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14038"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14044,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14038\/revisions\/14044"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}