AND LOT"S OF POINTS

Using this text, and this text only, you are going to make a claim about what you THINK the author’s purpose is. Then, once you make that claim, you are going to support it with at least two specific examples from the text.

Write out your paragraphs (about 2) and submit them to your instructor.

Example:

Adam Alter’s primary goal is to get teachers to stop using red pens when they grade assignments. We can see this through his evidence he presents in several ways. One appeal he makes is to the teacher’s desire to inspire or motivate their students. One specific example of how red pen might hurt students is when he explains that “the color red activates the right hemisphere of the frontal cortex, a pattern of brain activity that typically indicates ‘avoidance motivation.’”(172). This quote would appeal to teachers because most teachers are hoping to inspire their students to try new things, not crush them.

Another reason that goes along with the belief that Alter’s purpose is to get teachers to stop using red pens is when he explains how many more errors people find when using a red pen. That by itself isn’t necessarily enough, but he does go on to state, “unfortunately, red ink is a double-edged sword, also causing students to perform more poorly in the first place”(172). This word choice is something that teachers would not want to associate with their grading necessarily, so they might be inclined to put the red pen down.