Textual Analysis

Overview:

The text, Writing on Demand: Best Practices and Strategies for Success is designed specifically for teachers by teachers. With a quote on the cover of the text that is highlighted by a bright orange background and explicitly states that this book is “Ideal for SAT, ACT, AP, and State Assessment Exams”, the text quickly announces that its core audience is going to be teachers within the middle school to high school range. Given the aim of this text, it proves to be a highly beneficial work for aiding teachers in understanding how to adequately prepare their students for the rigors of writing on demand, be it for regular classroom assignments or standardized tests. After a thorough analysis of the text I found many of my own teaching values reflected throughout the work. Also, I discovered that by taking a multi-faceted approach to teaching students how to write—wherein the focus lies on teaching students a wide range of activities that go far beyond the basic foundation of grammar and sentence structure to also include prompt analysis, peer review and understanding how their writing will be graded--they will likely be more fully prepared for whatever writing assignment that is directed towards them.

Audience:

The well-defined contents of this work, the professional background of the authors (all of whom are former high school teachers) and the in-depth works cited provided at the end of the chapters all clearly indicate that this text is designed as a professional resource. This is further revealed by the publishing company, Heinemann, which touts itself as a “publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services for teachers, kindergarten through college” (Heinemann). With the rese...

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...these essays very enticing and thought-provoking as it required both a thorough analysis of the essay as a whole as well as an analysis of the breakdown of essential grammatical components. Given the challenges involved, I believe this was probably my favorite assignment we had to tackle throughout this course.

As I look back at the class as a whole I believe my understanding of many of the critical aspects of teaching has become more focused. Although I had often reflected on a number of these areas previously, such as grading and my personal teaching philosophy, I found that the information and opinions shared by both the professor and other potential and current teachers in the classroom really opened the door for helping me realize how much I still needed to consider throughout the rest of my education as I prepare to become a professional educator myself.