Writing Homework Help

1. Select a “theoretical framing” quotation from any one text, and copy it into a new document.
   1. Your quotation should be no more than four lines, maximum, when correctly formatted – though it may be much shorter!
   2. It should come from an “idea-rich” passage. To identify such promising passages, look for moments in which the author seeks to explain, to argue, to rationalize, etc. some problem or question inherent to their project.
   3. Remember, there is no single “right” moment to select in any given reading; a “frame” can originate just as easily in a single word or phrase (e.g., Andreou’s concept of being “designed against” [3], Davis’s concern over “predatory monoculture” [9], or Wiener’s questioning of the idea of “utopian” public spaces [9]) as it can in a more complicated theoretical apparatus (e.g., Myambo’s “cultural time zones” [76], Zerofsky’s definition of “new-economy citadels” [8], or Davis’s “privatizing local public space” [246]). The key is merely that you think the idea might help you explore and explain examples in a new way!

1. Close-read your “frame” quotation, aiming to explain, in detail, the meaning(s) you find in it.
   1. This may take the form of complete sentences, bullet points, or whatever other format you find useful.
   2. Be careful to address all of the key terms and ideas, uncovering and reporting on the author’s point(s).

1. Select a “case” quotation from a second reading, which you believe will be interesting looked at in relation to the ideas in your “frame” quotation.
   1. Your quotation should be no more than four lines, maximum, when correctly formatted – though it may be somewhat shorter!
   2. Ideally, you want your “case” to either provide a useful, complete instance or example – a moment you can explore and explain through applying your frame….
   3. …or to offer another idea, another concept that now works differently, needs to be reevaluated, etc. in light of your frame.

1. Close-read your “case” quotation, aiming to explain, in detail, the meaning(s) you find in it.
   1. This may take the form of complete sentences, bullet points, or whatever other format you find useful.
   2. Be careful to address all of the key terms and ideas, uncovering and reporting on the author’s point(s).

1. Referencing specific words, phrases, and meanings you’ve identified, bring your ideas into conversation through explaining the relationship between the two quotations. Consider answering the following questions, but any and all observations are valuable. This may take whatever form you prefer (e.g., sentences, bullet points, etc.).
   1. Does the case help to support and develop the framing idea(s)? How so?
   2. Does the case complicate, challenge, or otherwise require you to revise the framing idea(s)? How so?
   3. Does the examination of this case through this frame help you ask any new questions? Are there new problems that arise? How might you begin to name and explain these new avenues of inquiry?

6. Read back over your answers to the previous questions, and then make a claim one or two sentences that might become the topic sentence for a paragraph.

1. 1. If you’re feeling lost, begin by asking yourself what you have discovered in this process that you can use to advance, support, or complicate an original claim.
   2. Remember, the task of a topic sentence isn’t to convey everything about a topic. The best topic sentences make promises about the material to be covered by the paragraph to follow, and pose a problem or question worth exploring as they do so.

1. Finally, compose a HOW or WHY research question that your topic sentence might play a role in exploring and explaining.
   1. If you’re uncertain where to begin, try completing the phrase “An investigation of…” in a way that captures the relationship between your frame and your case.
   2. As you do so, think about how the particular reading you’ve done might be part of rather than the whole of a larger problem question, etc. Imagine what it would take to open up space for more cases – and, perhaps, more frames!
   3. Try to avoid focusing on questions that could be answered with a quick google search – e.g., WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN. The less clear and obvious the means by which you might answer your question are, the better a starting point it represents!