Debrief on You Say Journal, I Say Something Else Entirely
Who wrote that review? Where did it appear? How can you tell?
For this exercise, download the three reviews (A, B, C) linked below. Read them carefully, making notes on how they differ. Look at what each reviewer mentions, likes, dislikes, focuses on. Consider the language they use, choice of words, phrasings. Think about what you can tell about the author of the review and the audience it was written for!
What Did You Decide? Share with the class ...
As a group discuss your answers to the two big questions! Come up with the best argument you can for your group's final decision and post your decision and your argument on the appropriate padlet. Make sure you post in the right place!
Your Turn!
You just looked at descriptions of three authors and three publications that reviewed Just Mercy. You could use those descriptions to write elegant statements about those reviews, the kind of statement you would make if you were writing about the reviews and wanted to introduce a quote from one. For example:
" ..." according to Tim Conover, an NYU journalism professor, writing in the New York Times Book Review, perhaps the most influential and widely read book review publication in the U.S.
"..." according to Chris Byrd, A Washington D.C. based professional writer and regular contributor and reviewer in various Catholic news publications, writing in the National Catholic Reporter, an independent biweekly that reports on national and international news for an American Catholic audience.
"..." according to Alissa Sherry, a former counseling psychology professor and CEO & founder of a company specializing in forensic evaluations for the courts, in a review in the Journal of Black Psychology, a leading international forum on the psychological study of Black populations.
Using those as models, you can try your hand at writing descriptions of the authors and publications for some other reviews of Just Mercy. Let's see who the best detectives are in this class! Be careful, though, to just include relevant information, information that would inform our reading of the review, not just random facts, which the web is full of!
Click on the Padlet below and find the box for the review you have been assigned. With your partner, compose the most elegant & insightful statement your can!