Chapter 3 Connecting the General to the Specific

Chapter 3: Connecting the General to the Specific in Reading and Writing From this chapter, you’ll learn • how general and specific words differ and relate to one another. • how general and specific sentences need each other to create meaning. • how writers rely on readers to make connections between general and specific sentences in paragraphs. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 1 Defining Terms General Words and Phrases • are broad in scope or coverage, e. g. , sound, movement, object. • refer to a wide variety of different things, e. g. , laws, technology, nature. • can be understood in different ways, e. g. , crime, happiness, success. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 1 Defining Terms Specific words and phrases • are narrower in scope or coverage, e. g. , The words scream, jump, and vase are all more specific than sound, movement, and object. • refer to fewer and more similar things, e. g. , The phrase cell phones is more specific than phones. • can’t be interpreted or understood in many different ways, e. g. , homicide, for instance, is a more specific word than crime and refers only to the crime that involves the taking of a life. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

A Word to the Wise Words cannot be considered general or specific in isolation. The two terms only make sense when words are used in context, or in relation to one another. The word flower, for instance, seems general but that changes when it’s placed next to the word vegetation. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 1 Recognizing the More Specific Word For each of the following word pairs, identify the more specific word. • • gymnast/athlete official/judge poodle/dog country/Guatemala Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 1 What Being “More Specific” Means The words poodle, judge, gymnast, and Guatemala are more specific because • they place limits on the number of things a writer or speaker might be referring to, e. g. , poodles not labs, judges not lawyers. • the things suggested by these words are more similar than different, and the words can’t be understood in many different ways. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 1 Recognizing the More General Word For each pair of words, identify the more general word. • • products/bleach communication/Twitter Rihanna/entertainer sports/baseball Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 1 What Being “More General” Means The words products, communication, entertainer, and sports are all more general because • they increase the number of things that can be referred to, e. g. , The word products can refer to bleach, laptops, and Oreos among numerous other things. • the things referred to by these words are more different than similar, e. g. , cookies, cleansers, and computers are all “products. ” Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Making General Words More Specific General Words • Sounds • Movement • Feeling • Object • Creature • Location • Product More Specific Words • Whistle • Sprint • Passion • Guitar • Dragon • Chile • Sneakers Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 2 Defining Terms Like General Words, General Sentences • combine, summarize, or comment on a number of different but related events, experiences, ideas, people, e. g. , Many animals are capable of heroism. • are broad in meaning and, therefore, provoke questions, e. g. , What kinds of animals? What kinds of heroism? • cover a lot of territory and therefore can be misunderstood, e. g. , Think about the statement, “War is hell. ” Would a Marine and an anti-war protestor interpret it in the same way? Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 2 Defining Terms Like Specific Words, Specific Sentences • cover less ground than general ones. • focus on fewer events, ideas, experiences, and people. • help explain or clarify general ones. • answer questions readers might raise about general sentences. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 2 Examples of General Sentences • Abstract expressionist painters changed the way Americans defined art. • Television journalism is powered more by ratings than news. • The Internet has revolutionized education. • Cell phones have had a dramatic effect on the plots of romance novels. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 2 Examples of More Specific Sentences • The American abstract expressionist Willem De. Kooning created a series of paintings about women, but the women looked like no female ever seen on planet Earth. • Television anchors are no longer seasoned reporters; what counts is their audience appeal, not their experience. • Each year more courses are partially or fully taught online. • Lovers can no longer miss each other at the airport and fail to discover that the beloved was actually waiting on another floor; in a novel set in the present, readers would wonder why the idiots didn’t use their cell phones. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Just So You Know The abstract expressionists were a group of American artists, who, in the fifties, put the United States in the forefront of the art world. They rejected traditional realism and focused instead on line, color, and shape. Probably the most famous members of the group were Willem De. Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. See abstract expressionism. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

A Word to the Wise Like words, sentences can’t be judged general or specific on their own. How general or specific they are depends on the context. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 2 Understanding General and Specific Sentences in Context Of the two sentences that follow, which is more specific? • Love is blind. • People in the grip of love usually find it extremely difficult to accurately evaluate those they love. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 2 Understanding General and Specific Sentences in Context What happens, though, when you put that same sentence in a different context? 1. People in the grip of love usually find it extremely difficult to accurately evaluate those they love. 2. Because they love their children, parents are often blind to their children’s flaws. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 3 General and Specific Sentences in Writing Particularly in textbooks, writers frequently • describe how a number of different events or experiences turned out, e. g. “During World War II, propaganda became a powerful tool. ” • summarize a prevailing point of view, for instance, “President Lyndon Johnson’s supporters turned against him over the Vietnam War. ” Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 3 General and Specific Sentences in Writing Then, to make sure readers understand the general statements in the text, writers offer more specific statements that • explain. • illustrate. • convince. • define. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

3. 3 General and Specific Sentences in Reading Readers have to make connections between the general and specific statements. Among other things, they need to recognize how • • • illustrations clarify generalizations. reasons support claims. events lead up to outcomes. causes produce consequences. similarities and differences create comparisons. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Finishing Up: Connecting the General to Specific in Reading and Writing You’ve previewed the major concepts and skills introduced in Chapter 3. Take this quick quiz to test your mastery of those skills and concepts, and you are ready to read the chapter. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Finishing Up: Connecting the General to Specific in Reading and Writing 1. True or False. The more general a word is, the more likely it will focus on a single experience or event. 2. True or False. Words can only be labeled general or specific in relation to one another. 3. True or False. General sentences need specific ones for clarification, but specific ones can stand alone. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Answers 1 -3 • Answer 1: False The more general a word is, the likely it is to embrace numerous and very different individuals, events, and experiences. • Answer 2: True A word that is specific in one context might be general in another. • Answer 3: False To communicate their ideas, writers have to use general sentences that sum up specific experiences and events. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Finishing Up: Connecting the General to the Specific in Reading Writing 4. True or False. General sentences are more open to being misunderstood than specific ones are. 5. True or False. Writers need to think about the relationship between general and specific sentences, but readers don’t. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Answers 4 -5 Answer 4: True The more general a sentence is, the more it refers to a greater number of events, individuals, and experiences, making it more open to misinterpretation. Answer 5: False Readers need to think about general and specific sentences as much as writers do. They need to recognize general sentences to get the author’s point and specific sentences to make sure they understand it. Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Brain Teaser Challenge Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009

Brain Teaser Challenge Based on your understanding of what you’ve learned from the slides, how would you explain this quotation from the novelist Iris Murdoch? “We Tame the World by Generalizing. ” Copyright Laraine Flemming 2009