The Bedford Reader
CHAPTER 9 DIVISION OR ANALYSIS
Open to Pages 330-331
 Read and view the cartoon
 Questions: What does it say about the boy’s parents?
What contradictions do you spot about their values
or politics? What might the cartoonist be saying
more generally about food choices?
Cartoon
The Method
 A chemist working for a soft drink company is asked
to improve on a competitors product: duck sauce
 First, she has to figure out what’s in the sauce


She smells it and tastes it
She tests it chemically
This is Division and Analysis!
 Division and Analysis is a skill in learning and life
 It allows you to slice large and complicated subjects
into smaller parts


You did this in Chapter 8 with Process Analysis
You did this in Chapter 7 with Compare and Contract
Kinds of Division and Analysis
 Although it always works the same: separating a
whole subject into its parts….
 It can be more or less difficult depending upon how
unfamiliar or complex the subject is
Kinds of Division and Analysis
 There are as many ways to divide and analyze as to
slice a pie
 For example: a psychologist may look at a person as
a bundle of drives and needs
 A sociologist may emphasize the person’s role in
society
 Different factions analyze differently
The Process
 Subjects and Theses
 Keep an eye out for writing assignments requiring division and
analysis
 They will include the word “analyze” or a word implying
analysis such as “evaluate”, “examine” “explore”, “interpret”
 Ex: Say you have an assignment to write about a sculpture at a
nearby park
Why do you like it? Why don’t you?
 What elements make it art?
 What is the point of public art?

Evidence
 For a valid analysis it is important to refer to the
concrete world
 Provide EVIDENCE!
 Don’t get too carried away with the analysis…the
details
 Keep the subject right in front of you and make it
recognizable to the reader
Let’s Read
 Pages 337-339 together
Assignment
 Read pages 340-342 “I Want a Wife”
 Answer Questions on Meaning, Writing Strategy,
Language”
 Look at “Journal Writing” on p. 342, then write
“Suggestions for Writing” #1
 Be ready to share!