Professor Ahn
English 114A
Fall 2012
PROGRESSION I: READING AND RESPONDING TO TEXTS
Readings:
“Se Habla Español” by Tanya Barrientos
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan
“The Secondhand Bookseller” by Marina Nemat
“Literacy Behind Bars” by Malcolm X
“How to Tame A Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua
For this progression you will be reading and responding to literacy narratives by various writers. While
reading, consider the impact and interactions of literacy, language, identity, power, and resistance in these
narratives.
Here are just a few questions you may consider during this progression:
How does language impact literacy?
How does literacy interact with negotiations of power?
How does language and literacy shape identity – the way we are perceived and the way we conceive of
ourselves? How do these writers accept or resist various identities and power structures through literacy
and language?
How do your own experiences coincide or diverge from those of these writers?
You will be expected to annotate and/or take notes on your readings as part of this class. As you are
reading, pay close attention to the way that you respond to the text as you read and study it. Mark phrases
or images that strike you as interesting, provocative, or important in some way. Think about the way the
essayist uses language to convey ideas, but most importantly, record your thoughts about what you are
reading. Make marginal notes or take notes in your journal.
We will also be introducing several key writing and rhetorical concepts during this progression. By the end
of this progression, you should understand the following key terms: summary, purpose, audience, tone,
and literacy. You should also understand the basic concepts of connecting and larger implications. You
will be expected to follow MLA documentation and to perform basic surface editing.
Exercise 1: Summary and Response
Due: Monday, September 10, 2012
From the essays listed above, select the essay that most interested or resonated with you. You will be
working with that essay during the rest of this progression.
Summarize the essay you’ve chosen, and then respond to it with your personal thoughts and feelings.
Your summary should be 1 page. Your response may be 1-2 pages. You must use MLA format and
provide a Works Cited.
Exercise 2: Letter
Due: Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Consider the essays we have read and how the various writers reference other people who have influenced
them as writers. Write a letter to a person who influenced your own literacy narrative. It may be someone
who has a positive and/or a negative impact on your literacy narrative. Whether that person has helped or
hindered you, consider how you might convey that impact to them in a productive and thoughtful way.
Your tone should move beyond mere praise or angry ranting, but should be written as if it would be an
open, public letter to that person. The tone and content of the letter will reflect on not only its recipient, but
also yourself.
Your letter should be 2 pages. You should not follow MLA format, but should instead write in letter
format.
Professor Ahn
English 114A
Fall 2012
Exercise 3: Comic Strip with Dialogue
Due: September 17, 2012
Re-read the literacy narratives we have read for this progression, paying special attention to the images the
writers create and the dialogue that is inserted into the narratives. Now consider your own literacy narrative
and pick one particular incident that could be represented using images and dialogue. For this exercise you
will create a comic style representation of a scene from your own literacy narrative. Feel free to be creative
with this assignment. For this assignment, there will be no prescribed “right” or “wrong” way, but instead
keep in mind that you will be evaluated based on how effectively you convey your ideas.
ESSAY 1
Draft & Peer Review: September 24, 2012
Polished Draft Due: October 3, 2012
This essay will involve critically reading literacy narratives and using them as models to write your own.
Re-read the assigned essays and consider how each writer frames their narrative. Pay close attention to how
they enter the conversation about literacy. Also, re-read the questions I asked you to consider at the
beginning of this progression and consider whether those questions have any relevance to your own literacy
narrative? Finally, consider the questions and issues you and your classmates have brought up during the
course of this progression. How do those questions fit into your own literacy narrative?
Write your own literacy narrative. Consider your literacy background, any transformative experiences that
pertain to the idea of literacy, and your feelings and attitudes toward speaking, reading, and writing. Be
creative and honest; I will not grade you on whether or not you love or hate reading or writing, but rather
on how effectively you convey your ideas.
Your literacy narrative should be 3-4 pages. You must use MLA format. Although it is not required, if you
include outside sources, you must include a Works Cited.