From Writing Analytically 5 Analytical Moves From Writing Analytically

The Five Analytical moves MOVE 1: Suspend Judgment MOVE 2: Define significant parts and how they are related: Notice & Focus + ranking MOVE 3: Make the implicit explicit. Push observations to implications by asking “So What?” MOVE 4: Apply the Method MOVE 5: Keep asking questions. Reformulate questions and explanations.

The Five Analytical moves MOVE 1: Suspend Judgment MOVE 2: Define significant parts and how they are related: Notice & Focus + ranking MOVE 3: Make the implicit explicit. Push observations to implications by asking “So What?” MOVE 4: Apply the Method MOVE 5: Keep asking questions. Reformulate questions and explanations.

Suspend Judgment Think rather than react: don’t judge by labeling the text right/wrong, good/bad, love it/hate, entertaining/boring, disagree/agree, etc. Always work to FULLY understand before you judge. Nick Carraway, in the opening pages of The Great Gatsby advises that “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.”

The Five Analytical moves MOVE 1: Suspend Judgment MOVE 2: Define significant parts and how they are related: Notice & Focus + ranking MOVE 3: Make the implicit explicit. Push observations to implications by asking “So What?” MOVE 4: Apply the Method MOVE 5: Keep asking questions. Reformulate questions and explanations.

Notice & Focus +Ranking In the first stage you must only list the data you observe. What do you notice? What do you notice? Stay in this mode until I ask you to move on. Now you should move on to identifying the Interesting, Strange, Revealing? Pick the three most I, S or R details that you observe? Explain why they are the most important three that stand out to you to your teammates.

The Five Analytical moves MOVE 1: Suspend Judgment MOVE 2: Define significant parts and how they are related: Notice & Focus + ranking MOVE 3: Make the implicit explicit. Push observations to implications by asking “So What?” MOVE 4: Apply the Method MOVE 5: Keep asking questions. Reformulate questions and explanations.

Asking “So What?” This question is our universal prompt for spurring the leap to interpretation. It is shorthand for such questions as these: • Why does this observation matter? • Where does it get us? • What ideas are implicit in it? • How can we begin to generalize from the observation to the larger subject? This question presses us to think beyond the patterns and emphases we observe in the data to make some kind of claim. It should be posed constantly, not just at the end of the thinking process, and not just once about an observation. We should ask so what about a piece of evidence over and over again.

So What? Write about all three of the details you chose as the most I, R or S. Ask “So What?” repeatedly of each detail. That is, ask “So What?”, write, and then ask “So What?” of that answer, and keep going. The goal is to move beyond your initial thoughts. Go deeper.

The Five Analytical moves MOVE 1: Suspend Judgment MOVE 2: Define significant parts and how they are related: Notice & Focus + ranking MOVE 3: Make the implicit explicit. Push observations to implications by asking “So What?” MOVE 4: Apply the Method MOVE 5: Keep asking questions. Reformulate questions and explanations.

Apply the Method The method pushes you to pay closer attention. Remember to focus on the most INTERESTING repetitions, strands and binaries. Remember to consistently ask “So What?” as you examine repetitions, strands and binaries. Please see your notes in your journal to review the very specific steps of the method.

The Five Analytical moves MOVE 1: Suspend Judgment MOVE 2: Define significant parts and how they are related: Notice & Focus + ranking MOVE 3: Make the implicit explicit. Push observations to implications by asking “So What?” MOVE 4: Apply the Method MOVE 5: Keep asking questions. Reformulate questions and explanations.

Keep asking questions How do the details fit together? How do the separate details, patterns, parts fit together as a whole? What details don’t fit? How might they be connected to other details?