"The Method"

My initial reaction to "The method" was one of slight uninterest. I am used to doing these steps naturally and instinctively, and that is why I thought, at first, that this reading would not really help me. As I read and saw how in depth and how accurately these steps were being described and portrayed, I began to see the significance of this reading and also ways that I could improve my own method by taking advice from these steps, and applying it to my own analytical strategies.

These "methods" are very useful in analyzing movies, literature, essays, and even art. An example of this would be analyzing an argumentative essay, for example "Diversities False Solace". The first move suspending judgement is very key in order to analyze properly what Michaels is saying. In order to keep an objective point of view it is important to not let your own feelings, say on social equality, get in the way and make you judge Michaels and his views subjectively. In this way you lead yourself into step two by defining the specific parts of Michael's argument objectively, and from this you are able to connect their relationships with one another. Since Michael's paper tends to travel from subject to subject part three would not be applicable here as it would be difficult to find repetitions. Also since Michaels tells you at the end what he is saying step four of converting indirect statements into direct is pretty much unnecessary. Finally by reformulating questions and explanations you are able to look at the different ways in which Michaels portrays his ideas and what evidence he uses. In all this method is very useful in analyzing, as you accomplish it in a way that is both concise and objective.