Tuesday August 30th 2016

What is a “FATt” statement when using in-text citation? A “FATt” statement is a way in which students are able to attribute author/title reference by including the source of their reading as well as a one sentence explanation or interpretation of the author’s main idea. When responding to an English Placement Test (EPT) topic, a “FATt” statement also provides context for a discussion of the extent to which students agree or disagree with an author’s argument.

Purpose of “FATt” statements A way to respond to another person’s ideas by consciously entering a conversation Improve reading comprehension by identifying the reading source and articulating main idea when summarizing, interpreting, or analyzing text. Help students more carefully focus their essays. Create opportunities for students to manipulate language for rhetorical impact and to employ verbs that specify author’s intent.

How “FATt” is your CITATION? F= Focus (paraphrase/summary of author’s main idea) A= Author’s Name T= Title t= text type

Examples of “FATt” statements:

F- Focus (Paraphrase/summarize author’s main idea) Example (Perez, Passage 1) A prospective college student discusses how they are looking forward to failing by Angel B. Perez in his commentary entitled “Want to Get into College? Learn to Fail”. FOCUS AUTHOR text type TITLE

A- AUTHOR’S NAME Example (Perez, Passage 1) V.P of Admissions to Pitzer College Angel B. Perez discusses how a prospective student is looking forward to failure in his commentary entitled “Want to Get into College? Learn to Fail”. AUTHOR FOCUS text type TITLE

T-Title Example (Perez, Passage 1) “Want to Get into College? Learn to Fail,” a commentary written by Angel B. Perez, portrays a prospective college student looking forward to failing. TITLE text type FOCUS AUTHOR

t-Text type Example (Perez, Passage 1) In his commentary entitled “Want to Get into College? Learn to Fail,” writer Angel B. Perez, portrays a prospective college student looking forward to failing. text type TITLE AUTHOR FOCUS

Opening: Perez- “Learn to Fail” (5 minutes) Directions: On a separate piece of paper, find 3 passages that you can convert into “FATt” statements.