Instructor’s manual For Read, Reason, Write: An Argument Text and Reader Thirteenth Edition By Dorothy U. Seyler Allen Brizee

Instructor’s manual For Read, Reason, Write: An Argument Text and Reader Thirteenth Edition By Dorothy U. Seyler Allen Brizee

Suggested Answers to Questions
Deborah Tannen, “Who Does the Talking Here?”
Prereading Questions: Tannen is responding to all of the articles generated by the report of a
study demonstrating that women and men talk equally—a point to make to students who tend
to see writing as generated by personal interests disconnected from the rest of the world.
Student responses to the next question will vary.
Questions for Reading and Reasoning
1. The conclusion is that men and women talk equally.
2. The results are misleading; what we need to consider is who talks the most in
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given situations, and why they are doing the talking.
3. Tannen labels two kinds of talk as “rapport-talk” and “report-talk.” Women do
more “rapport-talk”; men do more “report-talk.”
4. To understand gender differences in talking, we should not count words but rather
understand who tends to talk when and for what purpose, that is, what the person is
actually doing with the words.
Questions for Reflecting and Writing
5. The opening and concluding paragraphs show a blend of concrete details with
clever twists with language. Students writing on this question would produce a
paragraph of analysis.
6. Student responses will vary, though most will agree with her after having read the
essay. Some young men still like to perceive young women as big talkers!
7. Student responses will vary. Topics on modern culture, on the impact of
language, and on gender relationships are just some of the possible answers.
The more fully students understand the reading process, the more active they become as
readers. The guidelines for active reading and the exercise on annotating a passage are useful in
expanding that understanding. The reading selected for practice should engage students. As
her title suggests, Ruth Whippman challenges one of today’s popular concepts that the key to
living meaningfully is to be fully engaged in every moment.
Suggested Answer to Questions
Ruth Whippman, “Actually, Let’s Not Be in the Moment”
Questions for Reading and Reasoning
1. Mindfulness means being fully present in the moment. We practice it by
controlling our thoughts to focus on what is currently happening.
2. The presumed advantages are greater concentration leading to a more fulfilling
life—and a more productive one.
3. Instead of encouraging mindfulness as a solution to problems, we should seek to
solve problems and to celebrate the human capacity to live outside the moment.
4. Whippman supports her claim in several ways: by reminding readers that our ability
to live in the past or future or an imaginative world is a special human trait to be
cherished; by explaining the flawed thinking behind the concept; and by referring to
studies that show “mindfulness” strategies to be no more helpful than many other
forms of lowering stress and improving concentration