The structure we have analyzed for this reading passage is comparison. Here is a detailed chart to show what we do for the students in class.
Here is Paragraph 7 that you have in the textbook:
Paragraph 7
Apparently, such prejudices can affect classroom achievement as well. In a study conducted by Herbert Harari of San Diego State University, and John McDavid of Georgia State University, teachers gave consistently lower grades on essays supposedly to have been written by boys named Elmer and Hubert than they awarded to the same papers when the author’s names were given as Michael and David. However, teacher prejudice isn’t the only source of classroom difference. Dr. Thomas V. Busse and Louisa Seraydarian of Temple University found those girls with names such as Linda, Diane, Barbara, Carol, and Cindy performed better on objectively graded IQ and achievement tests than did girls with less appealing names. (A companion study showed girls’ popularity with their peers was also related to the popularity of their names -- although the connection was less clear for boys.)
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The main idea of the paragraph: People’s names are related to their achievements or behavior.
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| A point of view: Apparently, such prejudices can affect classroom achievement as well. |
| A comparison being made: In a study conducted by Herbert Harari of San Diego State University, and John McDavid of Georgia State University, teachers gave consistently lower grades on essays supposedly to have been written by boys named Elmer and Hubert than they awarded to the same papers when the author’s names were given as Michael and David. |
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Para.7
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| A point of view: However, teacher prejudice isn’t the only source of classroom difference. |
| A comparison being made: Dr. Thomas V. Busse and Louisa Seraydarian of Temple University found those girls with names such as Linda, Diane, Barbara, Carol, and Cindy performed better on objectively graded IQ and achievement tests than did girls with less appealing names. |
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| A comparison being made: A companion study showed girls’ popularity with their peers was also related to the popularity of their names -- although the connection was less clear for boys. |
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The chart looks confused and difficult but, in fact, it is simple and direct. We find that the main idea of the paragraph is: People’s names are related to their achievements or behavior. The main idea is supported by two viewpoints or opinions: Name can affect classroom achievement and other sources also make classroom differences. Then the first viewpoint or: opinion is supported by a comparison between the grades scored by teachers to the same papers with only different names. The second viewpoint turns out to be a bit more than the first one as it is supported by two comparisons instead of one. The first comparison is that students with “good” names performed better than those with less appealing names. And the second comparison is that girls’ popularity in relation to the popularity of their names is much clearer than that of the boys.
The other point that we wish to add is that from the chart we can find the two viewpoints presented are, on the one hand, supporting the main idea of the paragraph and on the other hand, they are parallel to each other or in a matching relationship to each other. And we can also find that under the second viewpoint there are two comparisons being made. These two comparison also, on the one hand, supporting the viewpoint presented, and on the other hand, are parallel to each other or in a matching relationship to each other.
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