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Teaching Resources: Composing Skills

Tried & True Home  |  Teaching "10 on 1"  |  Generating Analytical Claims.
Linking Evidence to Claims  |  Generating a Comparative Analysis

Generating Analytical Claims


Review Writing Analytically Weak & Strong Thesis Statements, using samples related to the images that students just analyzed. Provide a series of claims that move from general (descriptive) to the specific (analytical) [15 minutes]

**NOTE: Students will NOT have read WA on thesis statements. Therefore, you'll need to review if you plan to do the following small group activity.

The flag has taken on many different identities over the history of our nation. I examined two images containing the American flag, which for the most part give it two completely different meanings.
  • Many companies and businesses today use the image of the flag to assist in projecting positive images to customers and consumers
  • An icon's form does not always suggest its meaning, and in order to an icon to be analyzed, it must be analyzed withinits societal context.
  • Context shapes the meaning of an icon.
  • A comparative analysis of a Tommy Hilfiger ad and Faith Ringold's painting "Flag of the Moon" reveals the extent to which context shapes the meaning ascribed to images of the American flag.
  • Advertisers such as Tommy Hilfiger use the image of the American flag to convey loyalty, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, an analysis of labor conditions under which Hilfiger clothing is produced reveals a profound irony in the company's use of this national icon. In contrast, Faith Ringgold's painting "Flag of the Moon" explicitly highlights those aspects of American culture, such as inequality and racism, rendered invisible.

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