Says Means Matters An Approach to Analysis Says

Says, Means, Matters An Approach to Analysis

Says, Means, Matters! What is it? When you write about a topic or claim, you need to use supporting evidence/details. To demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about your topic or claim, you will need to be analytical. Says, Means, Matters! is a strategy to help you create analysis of the evidence.

Start By Making A Three Column Chart Says Means Matters!

Pick A Quote To Work With • The paragraph closes with the narrator’s memory of her mother walking away: “And even the teacher turns me toward the classrooms and I hear what must be the singing and talking of all the children in the world, I can still hear my mother’s footsteps above it all” (Jones 24).

Tell What It Means Through Paraphrase • Jones articulates the complex emotions of the narrator with the contrasting auditory imagery of school children together, singing and laughing, and the sound of departing footsteps.

Connect to theme and humanity As the story draws to a close, the reader is able to see the delicate balance between the a mother’s love and a child’s loyalty. Throughout the story, the narrator is conflicted in her feelings: it is clear she loves her mother, but she is also beginning to see her mother for who she really is. Many children experience the shift in a parent child relationship as they gain more experience in the world. It is natural to desire the comfort and security of a parent and still to wish for independence. In the final paragraph of the text, the narrator is simultaneously experiencing feelings of separation from her mother, as her mother vanishes down the hallway and becomes nothing more than the sound of footsteps, as she also encounters feelings of the burgeoning independence of a young woman at the start of her educational journey, a journey she knows her mother has not and cannot share.

A Model for You

How to Use Say Mean Matter to Write a Paragraph: Use the following steps to help outline a body paragraph.

Step 1: Topic sentence Summarize the mean and matter in one sentence. This should be the main idea that you are trying to prove in your paragraph. Step 1: Topic sentence Ex. In the essay “Why Gladwell’s 10, 000 -hour Rule is Wrong, ” David Bradley argues that excellence is only attainable through a longterm commitment to practicing a skill.

Step 2: Signal phrase/context + “say” Start with a signal phrase. This is usually the word he/she followed by a present tense verb like says, states, suggests, writes, explains, shows, etc. Then, write your quote from the say column. You might need a sentence of context before the quote. This can usually be found in your mean column. Ex. He writes, “Perhaps the two work together, one boosting the other, so that those remarkable genes give rise to remarkable talent only if those skills are suitably nurtured” (Bradley 1).

Step 3: “Mean” Write this directly from the mean column. Be sure that it thoroughly explains what the quote means, referring to specific ways that meaning is created. You may quote specific words or phrases as well. **If you want to additional evidence, simply repeat steps 2 and 3 before writing step 4**

Step 4: “Matters!” Write this directly from the matter column. Be sure you have returned to the ideas in your topic sentence.

Sample Paragraph In the essay “Why Gladwell’s 10, 000 -hour Rule is Wrong, ” David Bradley argues that excellence is only attainable through a long-term commitment to practicing a skill. David Bradley describes why some people are more successful than others. Some argue that genes are responsible for excellence; others argue it is an individual’s environment that leads to success. He writes, “Perhaps the two work together, one boosting the other, so that those remarkable genes give rise to remarkable talent only if those skills are suitably nurtured” (Bradley 1). Here, Bradley suggests that inherited skills only lead to success if they are practiced regularly. Bradley’s argument is important because it implies that being excellent at anything requires dedication and effort. His conclusion suggests that only those individuals who are willing to dedicate themselves to hours of practice will become truly great.