Making Connections

2 Methods and an Example

Claims (interpretations-analysis) and Evidence (supporting details from close reading)

The story is full of conflicts that show Mrs. Mallard’s mixed feelings for her husband. On the one hand, she is a sad widow who “went away to her room alone” and sinks into a chair feeling exhausted. On the other hand, as she sits there, she looks out the window and sees treetops “all aquiver with the new spring life” (320). The “sparrows twittering in the eaves” and the blue sky are both happy images. The busy, lively view seems out of place in this room where a new widow is supposed to be mourning (320).

Notice how the writer works quotations into the sentences, giving them as evidence for the way Mrs. Mallard feels. You can also quote longer sections, but only if there is something worth quoting. (Dropping in long quotations isn’t acceptable unless they are good for your argument.)

Point, Illustration, Explanation-- PIE

Easier to identify while composing, not after it’s written.

1. Make a Point.2. Illustrate the point with something from the text.3. Explain how the illustration proves the point.

Made-up example:POINT: Arizona is a great place to live.ILLUSTRATION: We can wear shorts in the winter.ILLUSTRATION: We can also go outside almost any day of the year

without being chilled.EXPLANATION: Those are two examples of weather-related reasons

why Arizona is a great place.

PIE-I-EThe homeless person taking shelter in the boxes is

the first symbol of separating the rich from poor. In the picture a person rests within a dirty makeshift cardboard home that is tied to a bench with string and plastic tape. Inside the box lies a new pillow with no pillow case along with a pink towel and a green sheet. The bench is next to a fence that seems to divide the rich and poor. There is garbage on the ground underneath the bench, where it seems to be that the fence represents the separation “trash” from the “wealthy.”

Balance evidence from the story with your own

thinking

My thinking: Kate Chopin crafts her story so that a reader can’t tell for sure how Mrs. Mallard feels. The story is full of conflicts that show Mrs. Mallard’s mixed feelings for her husband. Evidence: On the one hand, she is a sad widow who “went away to her room alone” and sinks into a chair feeling exhausted. On the other hand, as she sits there, she looks out the window and sees treetops “all aquiver with the new spring life” (320). Evidence: The “sparrows twittering in the eaves” and the blue sky my thinking: are both happy images. The busy, lively view seems out of place in this room where a new widow is supposed to be mourning (320). My thinking: Mrs. Mallard must be happy to some degree, or she wouldn’t be noticing the happy images. The contrasts help build suspense for the reader, who asks, does she or doesn’t she love this man?

Quotation Sandwich

Bread—Say where a quotation comes from or who said itFilling—Quotation, summary, or paraphraseBread—Say what this adds to your paper without repeating the

quote

Made-up example:BREAD: Plato was speaking to a group of young students one

day at his school.

FILLING: He said, “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something.”

BREAD: He wanted speakers to think before they spoke.

Quotation SandwichExample from an actual student paper:

BREAD: When they were settling into the mansion, she was made to stay in a room that was obviously designed to house small children.

FILLING: "It was a nursery first, and then a playroom and gymnasium, I should judge, for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls" (256).

BREAD: The nursery was an unusual choice since the couple had a baby who most logically should have stayed there.

(Bread) When children have problems gaining

approval from their parents, they continue to search for

“unconditional positive regard” throughout their lives.

“Unconditional positive regard” is a concept developed by

Carl Rogers to express the idea of being perceived in a

positive way under any conditions. (Filling) Most

perfectionists force themselves to perform in order to be seen

in a positive way because they are unable to accept the idea

that they can be loved and accepted as a flawed person (Basco

xii). (Bread) This behavior can become internalized until the

perfectionist is unable to accept him or her own self

without high performance and perfect results. Claire’s

inability to accept herself even though she received a B+ in

physics reflects this mindset.