From “I Hate Reading” by Danielle Usko, which I was identifying with my new terms.

From “Burdos Lesson” from Alexis Criss, identifying with my terms

From “A Nervous Little Reader” by Emily MacDonald, explaining why it is not a victim narrative.

“In victim narratives, students wrote about negative school-based literary experiences that stigmatized and marked them, including being misread by poor or insensitive teachers, having a “masterpiece ruined by a teacher’s notorious red ink, or being forced to write research papers and read books for critique rather than pleasure” (Alexander 617)- the writer must view their work as perfect, and be insulted by the teacher-blaming other people

 

Alexander and Williams may disagree in some places

“[victims] wrote about being stigmatized through their literary experiences” (Williams 344)

“[victims] often wrote about themselves as being invisible or used metaphors about being unclean or outcast from the world of literacy” (Williams 344)— Alexander split this up into outsider perspective (and I believe it is necessary)

 

Worksheet I – Build a Barclay’s paragraph that puts you in the conversation by establishing a key idea/concept in the scholarship.

 

TLS = The Little Seagull; TSIS = They Say, I Say

 

CLAIM (main idea) – What’s the paragraph going to be focused on?

Victim narratives can be split into more categories to further define the subjects, and these categories can predict the personality of the writer as well as the end of their piece.

 

INTRODUCE QUOTE – Establish a little context for the quote, through a full sentence introduction, a signal phrase, or a clause that works to set up an embedded quote. (Resources: TLS E4; TSIS, CH3)

Alexander has clear definitions for victim narratives, however, there are distinct eccentricities that separate each victim story.

 

QUOTE 1 – This is a quote from one of the scholarly sources we’re putting into conversation. If you use a signal phrase or seek an embedded quote, you’ll need to be sure the quote “flows” smoothly from the INTRODUCE QUOTE material above.

“In victim narratives, students wrote about negative school-based literary experiences that stigmatized and marked them, including being misread by poor or insensitive teachers, having a “masterpiece ruined by a teacher’s notorious red ink, or being forced to write research papers and read books for critique rather than pleasure” (Alexander 617).

 

EXPLAIN QUOTE 1 – Elaborate/explain/rephrase Quote 1 above in a way that helps move the reader along towards the next quote. By doing this well, you’re establishing HOW this existing conversation works. Additionally, you’re positioning yourself in it through your effort to NAME the issue as one that’s important in the field of study.

Alexander mentions some examples, however, I believe it may be necessary to further separate the possibilities into types. The authentic literacy narrative is one that passes the blame to the novels. This perspective is more likely to have not been tampered by bias, as it it towards an inanimate object, and is therefore “authentic.” Authentic narratives tend to be linked to entity narratives (authentic entity narratives), which are narratives that seem to believe that skills are static and that their success or failure could never be changed. To the opposite effect, nonauthentic incremental victim narratives tend to blame other people (often over exaggerated), but are often linked to the viewpoint that skills can be changed over time (often leading to success).

 

TRANSITION TO QUOTE 2 – Establish a little context for the quote through a full sentence introduction, a signal phrase, or a clause that works to set up an embedded quote. (Resources: TLS E4; TSIS, CH3) Try to do this in a way that begins to signal HOW quote 1 and 2 relate. They may be saying very much the same thing; there may be some slight difference; there may be something else.

In the narrative “I Hate Reading,” the writer describes an authentic entity narrative. [quote] . As she believes that books are boring and that her dislike of books is just a part of her character. Usko never believes that this will change, and so she never likes reading. In the narrative “Burdo’s Lesson,” the writer displays a nonauthentic incremental victim narrative. [quote]. Criss blames her teacher for her problems and dislike towards English, and displays a heavy amount of bias. However, Criss also uses this blame to motivate herself to be more successful.

 

QUOTE 2 – This is a quote from a DIFFERENT scholarly source than the one in quote 1, and it helps us build a paragraph that puts those texts into conversation. If you use a signal phrase or seek an embedded quote, you’ll need to be sure the quote “flows” smoothly from the TRANSITION TO QUOTE 2 material above.

“That was the reading that I HATED. I did not like to read books that did not interest me” (Usko 1). “I didn’t want to ask Mrs. Burdo because if she had a vendetta towards me, I didn’t want her to dislike me any more than I thought she already did” (Criss 2)

 

EXPLAIN CONNECTION/RELATIONSHIP – The entire paragraph is about advancing a point you’re making that relates ideas in two scholarly sources. You’re showing HOW a conversation exists between two texts. In this part of the paragraph, you explain what the source material shows us about the specific idea in play.

Alexander describes the basic understanding of victim narratives, however, she misses the distinct separation in types of victim narratives. In the narratives by Criss and Usko, there is clearly a different pathway for the reader. This ignored difference may interfere with Alexander’s assumptions of victim narrators, as her assumptions of prejudice may only apply to the nonauthentic narratives.

Worksheet II – Build a Barclay’s paragraph that relates a concept in the scholarship to the data (evidence in the archive)

 

TLS = The Little Seagull; TSIS = They Say, I Say

 

CLAIM (main idea) – What’s the paragraph going to be focused on? What does the data show us about the concept?

Victim narratives are easily mistaken for any narrative with a negative event, when in reality the narrative may just be focused on the change and perseverance required. Such narratives are not victim narratives.

 

INTRODUCE QUOTE – Establish a little context for the quote, through a full sentence introduction, a signal phrase, or a clause that works to set up an embedded quote. (Resources: TLS E4; TSIS, CH3)

 

Sometimes, it’s good to begin with the concept quote, especially if the application is straightforward: LN a shows us that Alexander’s view on how victim narratives work is a solid one. Other times, the data complicates or challenges the concept, and it might be good to reverse the order: Show the part of the LN that reveals something complicated about the victim idea in Alexander, then in Quote 2 show the part of Alexander that you’re complicating or challenging.

Although such narratives are not victim narratives, for the time being I will refer to them as “deceptive victim narratives,” for their tendency to appear as though the writer is a victim of the story. In reality, the writer may rise from

 

QUOTE 1 – This is a quote from either a scholarly source OR a literacy narrative. If you use a signal phrase or seek an embedded quote, you’ll need to be sure the quote “flows” smoothly from the INTRODUCE QUOTE material above.

“[victims] wrote about being stigmatized through their literary experiences” (Williams 344)

 

EXPLAIN QUOTE 1 – Elaborate/explain/rephrase Quote 1 above in a way that helps move the reader along towards the next quote. By doing this well, you’re establishing a stronger sense of the ways the evidence shows what you’re claiming in the topic sentence. This helps the reader stay focused on YOUR idea.

Although only victims tend to write about stigmatizing experiences, Williams then branches off of this point and talks about outsiders. Outsiders, according to Alexander, are a separate category. So, this quote provides support to the fact that there are more than one category to the narrative that describes a painful literary event. That is, a painful or traumatic literary event does not indicate a victim narrative without the blame centered outside of the self. This is because those without the blame, or with the blame centered inward, do not display the same characteristics within their writing.

TRANSITION TO QUOTE 2 – Establish a little context for the quote through a full sentence introduction, a signal phrase, or a clause that works to set up an embedded quote. (Resources: TLS E4; TSIS, CH3) Try to do this in a way that begins to explain the relationship you’re establishing. Does the relationship involve Agree (AND), Disagree (BUT), Agree with a Difference? (Resources: TSIS CH4; HCM 100-104)

In the narrative, “A Nervous Little Reader,” the author details a painful event, but without any blame towards anyone else. If anything, the author is frustrated with herself, and feels the blame go inwards. This changes her outlook and ending for the narrative, as she ends up appreciating the event even though it is painful.

 

QUOTE 2 – This quote is either the scholarly one OR the data one for you, and it helps you build a paragraph that shows how the ideas do/don’t play out in the data. If you use a signal phrase or seek an embedded quote, you’ll need to be sure the quote “flows” smoothly from the TRANSITION TO QUOTE 2 material above.

“I think, subconsciously, the moment with my father when I was so little influenced me to push myself when I got mad for not understanding” (MacDonald 4)

 

EXPLAIN CONNECTION/RELATIONSHIP – The entire paragraph is about hammering home the point you’re making as you try out the relationship between an idea in the scholarship AND evidence in our archive. You’re showing WHAT the data reveals and HOW it contributes to what is already known about some aspect of literacy acquisition. Explain what the source material shows us about the specific idea in play.

Unlike the victim narratives, which find outside beings to project their blame on to, other literacy narratives with painful events may not take this approach. Williams implies that a writer of a literacy narrative may have different little narratives that result from a painful event-centered narrative. These “deceptive victim” narratives are often misidentified as victim narratives, however they do not share the same blame and lack of appreciation for the events (although painful) In MacDonalds example, she does not blame outward forces (one could say she has an internal locus of control), and ends up appreciating the event.

 

Victim narratives can be split into more categories to further define the subjects, and these categories can predict the personality of the writer as well as the end of their piece. “In victim narratives, students wrote about negative school-based literary experiences that stigmatized and marked them, including being misread by poor or insensitive teachers, having a “masterpiece ruined by a teacher’s notorious red ink, or being forced to write research papers and read books for critique rather than pleasure” (Alexander 617).Alexander mentions some examples, however, I believe it may be necessary to further separate the possibilities into types. The authentic literacy narrative is one that passes the blame to the novels. This perspective is more likely to have not been tampered by bias, as it it towards an inanimate object, and is therefore “authentic.” Authentic narratives tend to be linked to entity narratives (authentic entity narratives), which are narratives that seem to believe that skills are static and that their success or failure could never be changed. To the opposite effect, nonauthentic incremental victim narratives tend to blame other people (often over exaggerated), but are often linked to the viewpoint that skills can be changed over time (often leading to success). In the narrative “I Hate Reading,” the writer describes an authentic entity narrative. “That was the reading that I HATED. I did not like to read books that did not interest me” (Usko 1) . As she believes that books are boring and that her dislike of books is just a part of her character. Usko never believes that this will change, and so she never likes reading. In the narrative “Burdo’s Lesson,” the writer displays a nonauthentic incremental victim narrative. “I didn’t want to ask Mrs. Burdo because if she had a vendetta towards me, I didn’t want her to dislike me any more than I thought she already did” (Criss 2). Criss blames her teacher for her problems and dislike towards English, and displays a heavy amount of bias. However, Criss also uses this blame to motivate herself to be more successful.Alexander describes the basic understanding of victim narratives, however, she misses the distinct separation in types of victim narratives. In the narratives by Criss and Usko, there is clearly a different pathway for the reader. This ignored difference may interfere with Alexander’s assumptions of victim narrators, as her assumptions of prejudice may only apply to the nonauthentic narratives.

Although such narratives are not victim narratives, for the time being I will refer to them as “deceptive victim narratives,” for their tendency to appear as though the writer is a victim of the story. In reality, the writer may rise from. “[Victims] wrote about being stigmatized through their literary experiences” (Williams 344). Although only victims tend to write about stigmatizing experiences, Williams then branches off of this point and talks about outsiders. Outsiders, according to Alexander, are a separate category. So, this quote provides support to the fact that there are more than one category to the narrative that describes a painful literary event. That is, a painful or traumatic literary event does not indicate a victim narrative without the blame centered outside of the self. This is because those without the blame, or with the blame centered inward, do not display the same characteristics within their writing. In the narrative, “A Nervous Little Reader,” the author details a painful event, but without any blame towards anyone else. If anything, the author is frustrated with herself, and feels the blame go inwards. This changes her outlook and ending for the narrative, as she ends up appreciating the event even though it is painful. “I think, subconsciously, the moment with my father when I was so little influenced me to push myself when I got mad for not understanding” (MacDonald 4). Unlike the victim narratives, which find outside beings to project their blame on to, other literacy narratives with painful events may not take this approach. Williams implies that a writer of a literacy narrative may have different little narratives that result from a painful event-centered narrative. These “deceptive victim” narratives are often misidentified as victim narratives, however they do not share the same blame and lack of appreciation for the events (although painful) In MacDonalds example, she does not blame outward forces (one could say she has an internal locus of control), and ends up appreciating the event.