Step 1: Purpose, Focus, Perspective
For the Bacon text, you must incorporate Gaspar Rivera-Salgado’s “Introduction,” Ana Luisa Anza’s “Preface,” and Bacon’s “In the Fields of the North” introduction. Address how each of them answers all three of the questions below.
In three to four well-organized paragraphs answer the following questions:
Purpose: Why is the book being written?
Focus: What major themes does the author propose to cover? What issues will be dealt with? Who or what is to be examined or studied? What is the time frame? Where will it take place? How is the book organized? Why is the book organized into its chapters? (It is not necessary to have all of these questions answered, nor do you have to follow the order given, but it is important to make sure all relevant information is included).
Perspective: Who is the author arguing for or against?
Step 2: Summation of Content
Summarize the contents of the book in seven concise paragraphs. Pay attention to how the chapters of the book provide important information that supports what you think the author is arguing for or against. Take notes on each chapter’s themes and photographs. Can you find meaningful examples which support the author’s purpose, focus, and perspective above? Avoid re-telling the story. Write short summary statements that identify the themes and topics of each chapter that convey the author’s purpose, focus, and perspective. Always connect the ideas presented in a chapter to the author’s intent. Provide examples from the author’s writing and photographs that help you understand the major arguments being made. A useful summation of content succinctly conveys the author’s organizational structure and presentation of ideas, relaying important thoughts that are central to the author’s argument. After taking extensive notes based on the information above, you are prepared to write a brief summary of the information in seven well-organized paragraphs. Remember: avoid re-telling the story.
Step 3: Coherence of Analysis
Bacon does not offer a concluding chapter. Instead, Laura Velasco Ortiz provides an “Afterword.” Address the conclusions Ortiz reaches from Bacon’s text. In one or two paragraphs state the major assessments of the work. After writing what you judge Ortiz’s conclusions are, in one paragraph, assess Bacon’s work based on how the parts of the story relate to the whole. Connect the seven chapters to the entire textbook, and come to an assessment of the work by answering the following question: Given the purpose, focus, perspective, and understanding of how the subject matter was presented are the conclusions warranted? This is coherence of analysis.
Step 4: Contribution to Knowledge
This step is central to the review: relating the book to the course. In at least three paragraphs, address how the work helped you understand the historical concepts introduced in class. How did the information assist you in appreciating the historical experience of Mexicans and Latin Americans? Assess the work’s value in relation to the content of the course and the concepts used to understand the Mexican and Latin American experience. Look at the instructor’s presentation of the contemporary era in Unit 5. How does Bacon’s text relate to what you learned in Unit 5 and any other previous Unit? How does Bacon’s text relate to what you learned from Goodman’s text The Deportation Machine? How do both books complement each other? Understand how the text under review relays the subject matter via the course presentations and the course readings. Connect the sources of information. Show you have been engaged with the course over the semester and reflect on how the book brings what you have learned together.
Step 5: Personal Assessment
Now you are ready to conclude with your personal opinion. The previous sections dealt with the author on his/her terms, not yours. In a very concise paragraph, address the following questions: What was positive and negative about reading the piece of literature? How valuable was it in your quest to gain knowledge? Would you recommend the work to others?
