English Linguistics 1 Gender Equality Discourse
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English Linguistics 1 A.A. 2019 – 2020 Esercitazioni (James) Gender Equality Discourse (051-2097241; [email protected]) 1 Contents page 1 Guidelines on essay assessment, writing and style 3 2 Feminism: Overview 8 3 The Struggle for Identity. A Doll’s House: Henrik Ibsen. Woman Work: Maya Angelou 9 4 United Nations Population Fund. Frequently asked questions about gender equality 12 5 Gender Equality is a Myth! Essay by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter 15 6 The Gender Wage Gap: A Civil Rights Issue for Our Time, essay by Maya L. Harris 16 7 Equal Rights for Women, speech by Shirley Chisholm (1969) 19 8 Marriage, Motherhood and Men, essay by Anna O’Leary 21 9 Gender Equality is Your Issue Too, 2014 UN address by Emma Watson 25 10 TED Talk ‘Why we have too few women leaders’, by Sheryl Sandberg 28 11 Ursula Le Guin. Background information and comment on Address 33 12 A Left-Handed Commencement Address. Speech (1983) by Ursula Le Guin 35 13 Gloria Steinem. Women’s Conference article on Gloria Steinem. 37 14 Gloria Steinem’s Commencement Speech to Vassar 38 15 Let Girls Learn. Information booklet 44 16 Let Girls Learn speech by Michelle Obama 49 17 TED Talk ‘For these women, reading is a daring act’, by Laura Boushnak 53 18 Malala Yousafzai, informational articles 55 19 Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Lecture 2014 58 20 Are Women Devalued By Religions, essay by Sister Joan Chittister 63 21 Are Women Devalued By Religions, comment 66 22 Feminism is over, the battle is won. Time to move on. Article by Emily Hill 69 All the copyrighted materials included in this ‘dispensa’ belong to the respective owners and, following fair use guidelines, are hereby used for educational purposes only. 2 1 Assessing writing: criteria Exam: 500-word essay. Time: 90 minutes. Use of an English-English dictionary allowed 1 Appropriacy (9 points) Has the student focused on the question and respected the length? Fully answers the question in depth. Answers the question in sufficient depth to cover the main points. There are some unnecessary or irrelevant ideas. There are too many minor issues or irrelevant ideas dealt with. Shorter than the required length. Does not answer the question e/o much shorter than the required length. 2 Structure and organization (9 points) Does the essay have a structure? Is there an introduction and conclusion? Is the body divided into paragraphs which are linked? There is a suitable introduction and conclusion. Paragraphs and sentences link up and make the essay easy to read and the text easy to understand. Paragraphs follow a general to specific structure. There is an introduction and conclusion. Paragraphs and sentences generally link up and make the essay quite easy to read and the text quite easy to understand. Paragraphs generally follow a general to specific structure. There is an introduction and conclusion although they may be rather brief. The sequence of paragraphs may show some weaknesses. There is sometimes a lack of cohesion. Information structuring may not always be adequate. There may not be a suitable introduction or conclusion. Sequencing of the paragraphs is insufficient. There is a general lack of structure in paragraphs. Cohesion generally not up to the task. It is difficult for the reader to follow the ideas or understand the text in parts. The essay is unstructured, or structured in a way that prevents understanding. Very few sentence-linking devices appear, and these are usually used incorrectly. 3 3 Language (9 points) This relates to the use of the functional language and accuracy in grammar. Mistakes are not significant. A wide range of functional language is used which is appropriate for the essay question. Vocabulary is appropriate throughout. Appropriate academic style is used. Occasional mistakes occur, which do not prevent understanding. A good range of functional language is used which is appropriate for the question. Vocabulary is mostly appropriate throughout. Academic style is used for most of the essay. Repeated mistakes occur which sometimes prevent understanding. Some functional language is used. Vocabulary is not always appropriate, and the style is sometimes not academic. There are a large number of very serious mistakes. Meaning is often unclear. There is only limited use of functional language. Vocabulary and style are frequently inappropriate. The student has very little control over grammar and vocabulary, and is unable to make the meaning clear to a reader; or the language is clearly not the student’s own. 4 Presentation (3 points) This concerns the overall appearance of the essay: layout, spacing, spelling and punctuation. The essay is extremely well presented and easy to read with no mistakes in spelling or punctuation. The essay is well presented and easy to read with only a few mistakes in spelling or punctuation. This essay is readable, but mistakes in spelling and punctuation interfere with the smooth flow of reading. Teacher resource – photocopiable (adapted). EAP Essentials © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd. 4 Writing in an academic style 1 Use formal rather than informal language. i) Avoid contracted forms ii) Avoid colloquial language iii) Avoid punctuation indicating your attitude 2 Be concise and precise i) Try to use one-word verbs instead of phrasal verbs ii) Avoid vague words common in speech iii) Avoid etc., and so on. iv) Use nominal groups to express ideas efficiently 3 Use impersonal language i) Avoid using I to express your opinion ii) Avoid addressing the reader as you 4 Be cautious in what you say i) Avoid generalizations ii) Avoid words that express your emotions rather than evidence iii) Use hedges to qualify your statements Exercise Below are twelve sentences. Improve them by using an appropriate academic style. Follow the order of criteria on the previous page. 1 Use formal rather than informal language. i) Ursula Le Guin told her audience that women weren’t ‘dumb’. ii) The speech contains loads of examples of sexual discrimination. iii) Her speech is said to have made a MASSIVE impact!!!!!!! 2 Be concise and precise i) She brought up the issue during a debate in the U.S. House of Representatives. ii) Government policy can have a big impact. iii) Mrs. Obama addressed numerous issues, ‘education’, ‘work’ etc. iv) The pay gap is widening and this is causing particular concern among women politicians. 3 Use impersonal language i) I think that this speech will be remembered for many years to come. ii) You can see the results in the workplace. 4 Be cautious in what you say i) No girls have access to education in Nigeria. ii) It is ridiculous to think that such problems can be solved by government intervention. iii) The problem is widespread in the Middle East. 5 Writing an Argumentative Essay The three stages of essay writing: 1 Tell the reader what you are going to tell them (introduction: paragraph one) 2 Tell them (body: paragraphs two, three and four) 3 Tell them what you have told them (conclusion: paragraph five) Introductory paragraph Introduces the topic. Provides thesis statement The first sentence(s) introduce(s) the topic of the essay in an interesting way. The thesis statement is the most important sentence in the entire essay. It presents the essay topic and your position on the topic and indicates the main ideas that will be discussed in the body paragraphs. Body paragraphs The body of an essay consists of three paragraphs. Each body paragraph explains in detail one of the main ideas expressed in the thesis statement. There are three parts to a body paragraph: 1 a topic sentence 2 supporting sentences 3 a concluding sentence (optional) The topic sentence The first sentence – the topic sentence – expresses the topic of the paragraph It provides a controlling idea about the topic. All information in the paragraph supports the controlling idea. Supporting sentences Supporting sentences explain and develop the topic sentence. They present logical thoughts, evidence, and explanations in support of the controlling idea. Concluding sentence The paragraph may end with a concluding thought on the paragraph topic. It may also show a transition to the next paragraph. The concluding paragraph The conclusion consists of three elements: a restated thesis, a summary of main ideas, (and a final thought). The thesis is restated in words different from those in the introduction. The main ideas from each of the body paragraphs are summarized as a reminder to the reader. NB The introduction and conclusion (together) should account for approximately 20% of the word count (100-110 words). 6 FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY STRUCTURE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH INTRODUCTION OF GENERAL TOPIC SPECIFIC TOPIC THESIS STATEMENT BODY PARAGRAPH ONE TOPIC SENTENCE SUPPORTING SENTENCES (CONCLUDING SENTENCE) BODY PARAGRAPH TWO TOPIC SENTENCE SUPPORTING SENTENCES (CONCLUDING SENTENCE) BODY PARAGRAPH THREE TOPIC SENTENCE↓ SUPPORTING SENTENCES (CONCLUDING SENTENCE) CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH RESTATED THESIS SUMMARY/REITERATION OF MAIN IDEAS 7 2 Feminism: overview The feminist movement is often thought to have included three waves: The first wave in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries The second wave chiefly in the 1960s-1970s The third wave from the 1990s to the present day. First-wave feminism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries included the ideas of the New Woman. This concept was a reaction to the cult of domesticity that characterized the Victorian era. The New Woman was educated, capable of earning her own living and politically aware. She was able to decide for herself who her partner might be and whether to have children. She was often depicted wearing more comfortable clothes and defying social norms to create a better world for women. The women’s suffrage movement focused on gaining votes for women and equal property rights.