“Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively” by
Margaret Kantz
Summary
In Margaret Kantz’s article “Helping
Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively,” she attempts to find a theory
explaining why students struggle with writing research papers involving
multiple sources. Kantz uses the example of Shirley, a novice writer, to
exemplify the student who merely quotes her sources and reproduces their ideas
but does not move the conversation forward by adding her own new thoughts.
According to Kantz, the problem with the way students like Shirley approach
research is that they are not reading rhetorically, or as inquiry, and thus
fail to develop an actual argument.
Synthesis
Throughout her article, Kantz claims
that the main reason students struggle with writing successful research papers
is that they are unable to make an original argument. In Kantz’s example,
Shirley researches a conversation about an issue, but she does not read
rhetorically or, as Greene suggested in his article “Argument as Conversation,”
Shirley reads for information, not for a conflict, gap, or question. In other
words, Shirley fails to move the conversation forward because she does not find
that niche that John Swales talks about. Like Michael Kleine observed in his
article “What It Is We Do When We Write Articles Like This One—and How Can We
Get Students to Join Us?,” novice writers tend to merely copy or transcribe
what they consider to be facts or data because, like Shirley, they don’t want
to reproduce incorrect information. Yet they are merely gathering correct
information and still reproducing it. Ultimately, Kantz posits that if students
read sources as arguments, like Greene proposes, they will be more likely to
inquire than to see facts to be reported, and thus, their papers would fill a
niche and include an argument.
Pre-Reading Exercise
Just today, I had an argument with one of
my roommates about what type of documentation was needed in order to travel to
Canada. I maintained that she needed to have a passport, but she said she just
went to Canada this spring without a passport, and still does not have one. I
countered that my parents went to Canada this summer and both of them had to
get a passport for the trip. Eventually, she revealed that she just presented
them her citizenship certificate (she recently officially became a U.S.
citizen). I wasn’t aware that 1.) she only recently became a U.S. citizen and
2.) that you could use another form of documentation to travel to another
country. We did eventually come to an understanding once all the facts were
revealed.
QD 1. Although Shirley spouts what is probably common thinking about the
difference between fact and opinion and what argument really is, Kantz argues that
facts and opinions are actually very similar. They both are fundamentally
claims that a writer makes. The difference between the two comes from the way
they are accepted. Facts are generally taken to be true, while opinions are
taken with a grain of salt and audiences generally have a harder time accepting
as the truth. Kantz also suggests that students read source texts as arguments,
instead of stories or narratives.
QD 2. Kantz claims that students tend to think
that the only stance they can take on their sources is to disagree or agree
with them; for them, there is no gray area or any room for a niche or gap. Her
example of Shirley shows a student who does not read rhetorically i.e. does not
evaluate or interpret her sources, who does not read the text as an argument,
who is concerned more about being correct than adding something to the ongoing
conversation, and who does not know how to (or that she should) find and
explore a niche. They don’t know
how to approach a source that they think only offers straight facts nor do they
think that a “factual” account can have a bias or slant. Kantz also points out
that students read sources as narratives or stories and are very quick to
accept them as the Truth; they do not know that there is not much of a
difference between facts and opinions in rhetorical argument. All of these
observations seem correct. I think when I was the same age as my students, I
tended to read sources as factual and I was deeply concerned that I would
produce work that was “incorrect.” Reading sources rhetorically, as Kantz
suggests, does give me confidence that I am not completely off the mark, even
when I am attempting to add something new to the conversation.
AE 2. Creativity is not something I usually associate with academic
writing. However, now that I think about it, there is a certain amount of
freedom or room to explore when you do finally identify that niche you will
explore. I like Kantz’s idea of developing a “constructive solution.” I often
think of writing as a sort of mathematical text in the sense that you are
trying to solve a problem or question you pose.
MM: Many of the constructs or conceptions
that Kantz addresses have to do with how sources are taken by readers. Kantz
criticizes the propensity students have for blindly accepting what scholars say
as the Truth with a capital T. She also challenges the idea that research
papers need to be correct; this construct goes along with the idea that there
is a right or wrong answer, which is also in conflict with Greene’s idea of
argument as an ongoing (and interminable/unsolvable) conversation. It’s useful
to understand her claims because being a reader who questions, evaluates, and
interprets sources is essential for writing strong, successful papers. That is
how you find your niche and add something to the conversation.
I enjoyed Kantz’s piece, especially the story of Shirley. I empathized with
Shirley because, as a Freshman writing my first college paper on Henry V for both Dr. Giese and Dr. Dutton, I
was terrified of reproducing incorrect information and didn’t know how to
“weave in” sources or add something new to the conversation. I like that Kantz
lays a lot of the blame on instructors for not pointing out that her paper
lacked an argument or providing her with helpful suggestions like her roommate
Alice did. As an instructor, though, I don’t want to lay too much blame on teachers.
