282 CHAPTER 9 | FRom InTRoduCTIons To ConClusIons: dRAFTIng An EssAyanalYzing strategies for Writing: froM
introDuctions to conclusions
Now that you have studied the various strategies for writing introduc-
tions, developing your ideas in subsequent paragraphs, and drafting
conclusions, read Barbara Ehrenreich’s essay, “Cultural Baggage,” and
analyze the strategies she uses for developing her argument about diver-
sity. It may help to refer to the practice sequences for drafting introduc-
tions (p. 263) and conclusions (p. 281), as well as Steps to Developing
Paragraphs (p. 275). Ideally, you should work with your classmates, in
groups of three or four, assigning one person to record your ideas and
share with the whole class.
Alternatively, you could put the essays by Ehrenreich and Elizabeth
Martínez “in conversation” with one another. How do Martínez and
Ehrenreich define the issues around diversity? What is at stake for them
in the arguments they develop? What things need to change? How would
you compare the way each uses stories and personal anecdote to develop
her ideas? Would you say that either writer is a more effective “conversa-
tionalist” or more successful in fulfilling her purpose?Cultural Baggage
Barbara Ehrenreich is a social critic, activist, and political essayist. Her
book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (2001) describes
her attempt to live on low-wage jobs; it became a national best seller in
the United States. Her book, Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the
American Dream (2005), explores the shadowy world of the white-collar
unemployed. Recent books of cultural analysis by Ehrenreich include
Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Under-
mined America and This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided NationBARBARA EHRENREICH
-^ Are the implications I want readers to draw from the essay
clear?
After listening to the responses, try a second strategy, and then
ask your classmate which conclusion is more effective.
■^2 If you do not have a conclusion of your own, analyze each ex-
ample conclusion above to see how well each appears to (1)
pull together the main claim of the essay, (2) answer “So what?”
(3) place the argument in a larger context, and (4) show readers
what is new.09_GRE_5344_Ch9_257_285.indd 282 11/19/14 11:04 AM