Guidelines
Useful phrases
Common mistakes
En DEUG1, on vous demande essentiellement de ...
—faire la liste des grands traits de civilisation américaine qui apparaissent dans le texte
— ordonner cette liste de façon logique
— bâtir un paragraphe autour de chacun de ces traits de civilisation,
— avec une citation par paragraphe.
Les principes ci-dessous viennent compléter ces direcrives de base:
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| racism | "... During the civil rights movement [in the 1950s], Southern whites had done much to justify defamatory stereotypes..." |
| sectionalism | "Incidentally, this movement was not, as many assumed, an invention of Northern liberals..." |
| etc. | |
2.3. Find a/the problematic underlying the document.
2.4. Find a suitable final controlling thesis (C.T.) for your interpretation of the document.
The controlling thesis is your interpretation fo the text summarized in one sentence in your conclusion. All the paragraphs in your commentaire must point to this controlling thesis.2.5. Write your outline [plan] ...
... using problematic + concepts-quotations + controlling thesis. You may start from the C.T. and move upward to the introduction, always finding links from one paragraph to the previous one. Read your outline again and again to convince yourself that from one step to the next it logically leads your reader to the necessary controlling thesis. Using a computer is especially helpful to organize your ideas.2.6 Do take some time to check that there are logical links throughout between each section and sub-section of your outline.
It is essential at this stage to tell yourself the final commentaire mentally, or at least, a condensed version of it, to make sure that indeed there are logical links from one paragraph to the next, and that the whole outline can work.
In your introduction you should state:
3.1. the nature of the document
3.2. the author (and what role he played in his or her time if he or she is famous and links with the text)
3.3. the date of the document
3.4. the main theme or issue dealt with in the document and the link between the historical background and this theme (2/3 lines) and how it relates to American culture and civilization.
3.5. A short rendering of the document (4/5 lines) using the main underlying concepts of the text should follow.
3.6. Then state the ensuing problematic (write one question to guide your whole interpretation of the text until the conclusion). (1/2 lines).
3.7. Sketch the outline of your commentaire (give the headings of main parts showing how they are elements of the answer to the problematic).
The comments will be a series of paragraphs.4.1. WRITING A PARAGRAPH
4.1.1. Begin the paragraph with a heading sentence inserting the concept of the quotation given later in same paragraph (1 sentence). The heading sentence should make the link with the heading of the main section to which it belongs clear. Do not start a new paragraph after that.
4.1.2. Explain what you mean in the heading sentence. (2/3 sentences). Do not start a new paragraph after that.
4.1.3. Introduce and give the quotation. Do not start a new paragraph after that.
4.1.4. Show how the quotation illustrates the heading sentence, and, whenever possible, how the paragraph is linked with and points to your controlling thesis. (1/2sentences). Do not start a new paragraph after that.
4.1.5. Write a transition to proceed to next paragraph. (1 sentence).Example: (C.T.: The text—a description of the area around Jamestown as discovered in 1607—is a distorted rendering of reality to meet the high expectations of the London Virginia Company).B- The so-called land of plenty
Another myth associated with America which has somehow survived to this day is that of America as the land of plenty. It is worth mentioning here that the author of this report on the early days of Jamestown is trying to make the mythical image of America as a land of abundance and the reality of the American soil coincide. He mentions "three fertile iles, about it many of their cornfields," most probably to comply with the views of America from Europe, and perhaps to reassure the share-holders of the Virginia Company. But here the myth of America as a land of plenty was sustained only because the earth was made fertile by the work of the Indians.
C- The kind "savages": suspicion, violence
An ambiguous image of the Indians prevailed among Europeans at the time. He was seen either ...
5.1. In the first part of the conclusion, summarize your points briefly. ("Thus, we have seen that...").
5.2. In the second paragraph clearly state your controlling thesis —use (a) (new) concept(s) that expresses the outcome of your argumentation, especially the last large section of your comments. Develop your controlling thesis (3 or more sentences).
The American's
main concern is the state of the economy.
La
principale
préoccupation de cet Américain est l'état de
l'économie.
To lead
Utilisation erronée de "lead" au passé.
To lead, I led, ledPassé
What led you to think I was ill?
Qu'est-ce qui t'a fait penser que j'étais malade ?Présent
What leads you to think I'm wrong?
Qu'est-ce qui te conduit à croire que j'ai tort ?To what extent (et non to what
extend)To succeed - Ø success
He said he wanted to succeed and he succeeded. Ø Success was his reward for his hard work and ingenuity.Note: no "the" [Ø] before success as it is an abstract, undefined noun.Mention d'une date précise
Dire : This speech was delivered by Jefferson on December 20, 1806.
Ne plus dire : This speech was delviered by JeffersoninDecember 20, 1806.
Introduction
Date, nature, author, historical background.
The document to be commented upon is an article entitled "Reconstruction." It was written by Frederick Douglass (1817-1895), the best-known black abolitionist, and published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1866, at a time when the reconstruction of the South was the central issue on the American political scene.A short account of the text
Here, the author tackles the difficult issues of + main concepts from the text. He also deals with + concepts from the text.Problematic
We may therefore ask ourselves if ...
It follows then that we may wonder to what extent ...
The obvious issue raised by this document is therefore to know whether ...Sketching the outline
In order to address this question, we shall first focus on ... because .... We shall then deal with ... because …. Consequently, we shall discuss … to see how it may lead to a tentative assessment of all these points.In what follows, we will focus our attention first upon ... then ... then ...
Finally we will suggest that ....As we shall see in what follows, ....
Paragraph
Heading sentence
It can safely be said that …
The author tries to call attention to the fact that …Explaining the heading sentence
In other words, ....Introducing a quotation
In the text, the author aptly points out that "........." (lines 23-25).
The author insists that "........." (lines 23-25) .
The writer observes that "........." (lines 23-25) .
Jefferson writes: "........." (lines 23-25) .Explaining the meaning of a quotation.
The writer here clearly points out that ...Transition
The above leads into a related issue: ...
As we have already seen, ... but ...Conclusion
Summary of the paragraphs
We have seen that ...
In summary, …
All things considered then, …
To round things off …The controlling thesis
What interests us about this text is the way it clearly investigates the issue of …
One is bound to conclude that...
We might then say that..
We arrive at the conclusion that …CONNECTORS/ Link words
in contrast to
because of
neither ... nor ...
if ... then ...
for exAmple
in other words
yet - nevertheless - in spite of - although - though - even if - even though
moreover - furthermore -
therefore - consequently - thus