English

"I’m Part of the 0.1 Percent and I Want a Wealth Tax” by Meghan Bell

CRITICAL ANALYSIS: ARTICLE REVIEW

This is an exercise you may wish to try, as it will help you to begin generating ideas for your Critical Analysis (20%).

Step 1: Choose and read your source:

· “Gillette Ad: Why it's Good for Men and Women that We're having this Conversation” by Finian Murphy

· "I’m Part of the 0.1 Percent and I Want a Wealth Tax” by Meghan Bell

· “Naming Ourselves” by Melanie Lefebvre

Step 2: Paraphrase the main argument of the source:

SADE - This 2021 article by Meghan Bell entitled “I’m Part of the 0.1 Percent and I Want a Wealth Tax” argues that families/individuals that fall into the ‘1 percent’ income bracket should be responsible for paying a wealth tax as well as contributing to the improvement and impartiality of the economic wage gap in Canada.

Step 3: Paraphrase the supporting arguments/reasons the author provides:

SADE -

● Bell (2021) states that the consequences of the marginalized wage gap, global warming and the potential loss of employment due to forecasted “automation" are only a few reasons why taxing the rich and levelling out the playing field would be beneficial to younger generations.

● Bell (2021) uses statistics referring to the growth in wealth in Canadian billionaires and bankers in comparison to how many Canadians are still struggling to make ends meet.

● Bell (2021) expresses that wealthy people hold these pretentious notions about how they can accomplish almost anything by barely even trying, and in return lack a sense of real empathy for those who may be struggling i.e. poor people.

● The article also supports study findings that rich people in Canada give/donate less money towards charities in comparison to those with less annual income, and also that they are more inclined to pick a charity with self-serving undertones rather than those for the greater good.

● Findings in Bell’s (2021) article show that the immense amount of pressure well-off parents put on their children to be successful is causing higher cases of mental health problems, and life-long emotional and physical issues.

● Bell (2021) provides examples of how the rich are often given more opportunities and breaks compared to people with less income ex. Tax breaks, subsidies, awards at private schools

Step 4: Identify any language or references you would like to define or clarify:

Words // References for Defining Definitions

meritocracy

Oxfam

an elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class, privilege or wealth.

Oxfam is a British founded confederation of 20 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It is a major nonprofit group with an extensive collection of operations.

Step 5: Do you agree or disagree? Why? (Explain in a couple of sentences)

SADE - I agree with the article written by Bell. She exemplifies that it would greatly benefit people of younger generations to have government imposed wealth taxes on those who meet the criteria of the 0.1%. Bell examines the negative outcomes of what happens when individuals and children of wealthy families are led to lead a life that is consistently about “winning” and that it can become a dangerous cycle of addictions whether to money, coping substances or just general abuse of others.

We’re left with the idea, or hope, that if the rich are taxed appropriately and their money is focused on more altruistic and charitable that perhaps over time they may begin …..

Step 6: Identify strengths and weaknesses of HOW the argument is presented (try to focus on language, evidence, and rhetoric). Note examples from the source.

Strengths Weaknesses

Step 7: Construct your thesis statement. This is the statement that your whole analysis will try to prove. It should make an argument about the quality of the argument in your chosen source. It should be one clear sentence.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS: INTRODUCTION MAP

The introduction introduces the article, summarizes the main argument and main claims of the article, and provides your thesis statement about the article.

Step 1: First sentence includes:

● Author’s name (full name or just the last name) ● Year of publication (in parentheses) ● Article title (capitalized and in quotation marks) ● Reporting verb (in present or simple past tense) ● Thesis of the article (written in own words)

Step 2: Accurately summarize the thesis and main arguments of the article:

Step 3: Present a clear thesis statement about the quality of the author’s argument:

Evaluating Rhetoric Paragraph Map

Answer the questions below in order to build your rhetoric analysis paragraph. 1. Start your paragraph with a topic sentence that restates the author, the publication date (APA citation), and a reporting verb. Identify which of the author’s claims you are going to look at and try to briefly explain how this claim relates to the author’s thesis.

2. Pick a direct quote or paraphrase from the essay that you are analyzing. Remember to include a paragraph reference.

“They believe that, because they are millionaires and not billionaires,

because they are new money (my mother’s father was the son of an

Italian immigrant who worked as a produce driver; my father is the

son of upper-middle-class Republicans), because they are generous

with their many friends, and because they pay their taxes, they are

not the problem.” (Bell, 2021. para, 4.).

3. Explain what the quote is saying in your own words (If you used a paraphrase in step 2 this is already done).

4. Explain one or more of the rhetorical strategies that you see the author using in the quotation or paraphrase from steps 2 & 3, and explain how you think that strategy is meant to work to convince readers.

5. Explain how the claim and piece of support or passage that you have been discussing in this paragraph is meant to support the author’s thesis (the significance of this claim and piece of support for the thesis). How do the claim and support that you have looked at in your paragraph so far fit into the article as a whole?

6. Has the author provided strong or weak support in the section that you have been analyzing? Does the overall claim that the appeal is part of help to prove the author’s thesis?

Critical Analysis Evaluating Evidence Paragraph STAR Map

Answer the questions below in order to build your evidence analysis paragraph. 1. Start your paragraph with a sentence that restates the author, the publication date (APA citation), a reporting verb, and the author’s claim.

2. Include the evidence the author uses to support their claim, followed by your evaluation of it. You will justify your evaluation later by explaining why the claim is or is not valid by using your STAR evaluation.

3. If you think the claim is valid, use terms such as valid, effective, reasonable, correct, rational, logical. If you think the claim is invalid, use terms such as invalid, ineffective, unreasonable, faulty, incorrect, irrational, illogical.

4. Sufficiency: is there enough evidence to support the claim?

5. Typicality: is the support representative and typical?

6. Accuracy: is the support up to date and accurate?

7. Relevance: is the support relevant to the claim?

Critical Analysis Evaluating Language & Tone Paragraph Map

Answer the questions below in order to build your language & tone analysis paragraph. 1. Open the paragraph with a topic sentence which restates the author, the publication date

(APA citation), and a reporting verb.

2. Include a paragraph reference indicating the specific example you will be analyzing for tone. Make sure to quote the example directly; the quotation you provide becomes the

evidence you are going to analyze.

3. In your own words, explain the quotation after you make reference to it.

4. Target the specific words or phrases that demonstrate the author’s tone. Explain why these words or phrases are indicative of the author's tone.

5. At the end of your tone analysis paragraph, provide your assessment. Explain whether or not the tone is effective in persuading the audience. In detail, explain whether or not it

provokes any emotional responses that could manipulate the readers to side with the author’s point of view.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS: CONCLUSION MAP

A conclusion paragraph should sum it all up for the reader.

Step 1: Conclude with an overall assessment of the quality of the author’s argument.

Step 2: Reinforce whether the argument was effective or ineffective, and explain why.

Step 3: Rephrase your thesis statement to reinforce your argument.

Step 4: Leave your reader with a strong final thought.