American Oratories (Obama’s speech)

Topic: Obama’s definition of the problem/his explanation of the occasion (Rev. Wright’s comments)

(1) Introduce passages from an exhibit (“A More Perfect Union”) and analyze them
(2) Summarize an argument source that comments on an exhibit
(3) Put two argument sources (David Axelrod & Glenn Loury) into the conversation by comparing their respective points of view and/or arguments

The task involves analyzing Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech (an exhibit source) and putting into
conversation two critics (or argument sources) that make arguments about this exhibit. In a cohesive paragraph (or two paragraphs, maximum) introduce and analyze two key passages from Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech in order to make a claim related to the topic. In the next paragraph, introduce an argument source and summarize
its key claim; use one of its passages to illustrate the critic’s point about the topic; finally, in the last paragraph, compare this source’s argument about the topic to a second argument source’s claim.

NOTES: Revise and build on the work of your reading responses. Introduce the authors of each source you use and the tiles of the texts. Your paragraph(s) explicating Obama’s words should develop a claim. The best work will
anticipate counterarguments. For the argument sources, limit the summary to a few sentences, and be sure to summarize the claim of the text. Identifying the perspective or background of the author of the argument source can
help readers see the source more clearly. Your summary of the argument source will make selective choices about the text, but it should offer a fair account of the writer’s claim without adding interpretation. Your readers will want
to see how the summary and the examples you chose relate to one another. How does the comparison to another
argument source build on the point made in your summary? Be sure to quote and/or paraphrase passages before
you explain their significance. The goal in the final paragraph is to bring two sources into conversation with one
other about a topic that is important in Obama’s speech. In this last paragraph, the best work will draw a conclusion about that comparison.

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