Copy of 4.1 Information Literacy Concept _Authority is Constructed and Contextual_ Template
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School
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities *
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Course
1301
Subject
English
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
Pages
2
Uploaded by KidFishPerson934
1 of 2
Authority is Constructed & Contextual - IL Activity
PART 1
1)
Access and review one of the following class texts:
●
Amy Tan's (1990) essay "Mother Tongue”
●
Sana Amanat’s (2014) TED Talk “The Importance of Diversity in the Comic Book Universe”
2)
Answer the following questions about your chosen text in the box below
(Aim for 100-200
words total)
1.
What authority or expertise does Tan or Amanat have? Where and how does this writer
establish this in her narrative? In other words, what is she an expert on, and how does
she show it?
Tan has the reputation of being a proficient English writer and speaker. She emphasizes this fact throughout the
narrative by stating that she is a writer and further solidifies it by revealing that she used to handle her mother's calls when
she was 15 years old. Tan is a master at conveying her ideas and experiences in a way that is easy for the reader to connect
to and comprehend. She uses clear language and writes in a very unique style, yet the general message of her work has
many applications in the real world. This is evident when she claims that her mother considered her book to be simple to
read despite the fact that her English is often referred to as being poor.
2.
What choices that the writer makes to establish credibility with her readers could you
try in your narrative essay to enhance your own credibility?
Tan's superb use of imagery and thorough descriptions of her mother's English helped her establish credibility with
the readers by evoking their own personal experiences, which improved and facilitated reading. With the use of this
instrument, I can capture the reader's interest and persuasively and easily share my experiences. If the reader can hear and
feel precisely what I felt at a certain time, I think they will be more engaged.
PART 2
1.
Search for the writer “Amy Tan” or “Sana Amanat” that you studied in Part 1 using both of these
search tools
○
Google
○
University of Minnesota Libraries search
2.
Answer the following questions about the results of your search in the box below:
(aim for 200-250
words total)
○
Briefly describe the results you found (e.g. websites, books, articles) in each search
tool.
During the Chinese Civil War, Amy Tan, an Asian-American, immigrated from China. During Tan's early
years, her mother and her had an extremely difficult relationship. In contrast to English, she was naturally
strong in math and science. She was accepted into the institution as a pre-med student but switched to
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English during her first year. It demonstrates her perseverance and natural grasp on writing that she first
resigned her job as a business writer to focus exclusively on fiction writing.
○
Identify one result to review more carefully. What does this text tell you about Tan
or Amanat? What about her authority and expertise?
The result that stood out to me the most was that she worked as a business writer before quitting to write
fiction exclusively. This fact shows that she is extremely versatile when it comes to writing and that the
spectrum of topics and genres she can work on is huge.. The versatility of Tan shows that she has a
natural hold over writing.She has got a very unique style of writing using simple and precise words to
deliver important and significant message that potentially has a huge impact on the real world. She
establishes her authority by narrating the anecdotes from her life to support her argument. She does this
brilliantly using very simple language.Her use of simple language to explain her standpoints helps the
audience to connect to the story with much more ease
○
How does the sense you got of Tan’s or Amanat’s authority in your search compare to
the authority you sensed in the text she produced? Another way to think about this
is, does your search increase or decrease the trust you have in Tan or Amanat? Why?
Throughout my study of Amy Tan, I discovered that she had a wonderful blend of formal writing that was
intricate and difficult and fiction tales that were written in exquisite language. Yet in "mother language,"
this is not the case. She skillfully conveys her own experiences using straightforward language, which
makes it effortless for readers to relate to the work. This fact gives me more faith in Amy since it
demonstrates her abilities as a writer and her versatility.
○
Why do you think it is important to do background research on an author?
Since the majority of an author's writing is based on personal events that have occurred in their lives, it is
crucial to do background research on them. It provides readers with a clearer grasp of the author's
reasoning for selecting a certain writing style that fosters greater clarity and comprehension while
assisting readers in connecting with the concepts that have driven the author to create any particular work.
It is useful to recognize the themes or concepts that have shaped the author's life and that they have
attempted to include into their writing, creating a fresh and improved account of their own experiences.
Background research is necessary to determine an author's degree of competence since stating
information that is not part of their knowledge or that they are unaware of might result in
misunderstandings on the part of readers of their work. By accepting more of the information provided by
an author and, in turn, determining the reasons for them to add a few distinctive characteristics that may
have their roots in their background life, it helps us examine and develop our critical thinking. Last, it
facilitates the reader's perception and comprehension of the author's creative vision.
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