On vous donne un texte.

On vous demande d’en montrer l’intérêt pour une meilleure connaissance de la civilisation nord-américaine.

Le cours magistral vous en aura donné quelques éléments essentiels, histoire, géographie, et grands traits de civilisation — les American cultural features.

Vous avez donc les moyens de dire en quoi le texte à commenter illustre bien ce que l’on a pu vous dire de la civilisation nord-américaine, ou peut-être montrer qu’en cette période troublée qui est la notre, cette culture nord-américaine évolue, et dans quel sens.

Ce qui suit vous propose une méthode. Comme pour apprendre à jouer d’un instrument, comme pour la pratique d’un sport, cette méthodologie demande de la pratique et du temps. En bref, il faut tout au long de l’année s’entraîner. Le travail régulier paie. Il n’y a pas de recette miracle.

avec LA PLUS GRANDE ATTENTION le texte de civilisation nord-américaine proposé.

une colonne pour les grands traits de civilisation nord-américaine — American cultural features — qui apparaissent dans le texte,

une colonne avec, pour chaque trait de civilisation, une ou des citations tirées du texte avec indication des lignes où se trouve chaque citation.

Cette phrase doit inclue le nom de ce grand trait de civilisation et expliquant son lien avec la civilisation nord-américaine.

c’est le moment le plus important.

Essayer de voir comment réorganiser toutes les phrases que vous venez de rédiger en un tout logique, en les regroupant idéalement en trois grandes parties. Ces phrases vont former les paragraphes de votre commentaire

Trouver en même temps une question (la problématique pour faire simple) dont les éléments de réponses seront les paragraphes du commentaire.

Trouver les titres de vos grandes parties, en général au nombre de trois.

Faire un bref résumé de ce que vous avez dit dans le commentaire,

Qui amène la réponse à la problématique, autrement dit la controlling thesis (C.T.), l’idée centrale, la thèse que vous voulez démontrer et qui structure, contrôle votre commentaire.

Cette problématique sera la question au cœur de l’introduction que vous pouvez maintenant rédiger au brouillon.

débute par une remarque générale en lien avec le texte dont on donne la source, l’auteur, la date. On en dit succinctement l’intérêt — par exemple dire qu’il illustre plusieurs grands traits de la civilisation nord-américaine.

Pose une question sur le texte

Annonce le plan.

À ce stade, vous devez donc avoir une introduction rédigée, un plan, en deux ou trois grandes parties comprenant deux ou trois paragraphes axés sur les idées que vous avez trouvées pour chaque citation.

Avec l’entraînement acquis au cours de l’année grâce à un travail effectif et régulier, vous pouvez rédiger votre commentaire directement sur la copie. L’introduction recopiée, vous sautez une ligne et rédigez un phrase qui est le titre de votre première grande partie.

Vous allez à la ligne. Et vous rédigez votre premier paragraphe de la première grande partie.

Commencer par recopier la phrase/l’idée que vous avez déjà rédigée pour le grand trait de civilisation dont vous allez parler.

Annoncer la citation et la recopier en indiquant les lignes où elle se trouve dans le texte.

Essayer de commenter la citation pour en dire tout l’intérêt et la pertinence.

Faire une transition vers le paragraphe suivant : pour cela, essayer d’écrire une phrase contenant le grand trait de civilisation dont vous venez de parler et le grand trait de civilisation du paragraphe qui suit.

Rédiger les paragraphes suivants.

Rédiger les autres grandes parties sur le même modèle.

Pour terminer, cecopier la conclusion, déjà rédigée.

to be commented on in its historical context, about its main themes, about its interest. What is your overall impression and interpretation of the text? What central issue does the text address? What question does it raise? What is your answer to that question?

It is useless and impossible to start working on the outline without that preliminary investigation.

that seem to be especially meaningful to you after your first analysis of the document.

For each quotation decide what the underlying American cultural feature = concept is. Write a table with concepts and quotations.

Find one possible problematic underlying the document.

Find a suitable final controlling thesis (C.T.) for your interpretation of the document.

The controlling thesis is your interpretation fo the text summarized in one sentence in your conclusion. All the paragraphs in your commentaire must point to this controlling thesis.

... using problematic + concepts-quotations + controlling thesis.

This is the tricky part of it all. Think fast!

For each concept = American cultural feature, write an idea in connection with the problematic and the controlling thesis.

You may start from the C.T. and move upward to the introduction, always finding links from one paragraph to the previous one.

Read your outline again and again to convince yourself that from one step to the next it logically leads your reader to the necessary controlling thesis.

Using a computer is especially helpful to organize your ideas.

Do take some time to check that there are logical links throughout between each section and sub-section of your outline.

At this stage you may want to tell yourself the final commentaire mentally, or at least, a condensed version of it, to make sure that indeed there are logical links from one paragraph to the next, and that the whole outline can work.

Begin your introduction with a general statement in connection with the text.

State the nature of the document

Mention the author’s name and what role he or she played in his or her time if he or she is famous and how all this links with the text)

Gthe date of the document

State the main theme or issue dealt with in the document and the link between the historical background and this theme (2/3 lines) and how it relates to American culture and civilization.

A short rendering of the document (4/5 lines) using the main underlying concepts of the text should follow.

Then state the ensuing problematic (write one question to guide your whole interpretation of the text until the conclusion). (1/2 lines).

Sketch the outline of your commentaire (give the headings of main parts showing how they are elements of the answer to the problematic).

The comments will be a series of paragraphs.

4.1.1. Begin the paragraph with a heading sentence inserting the concept of the quotation given later in same paragraph (1 sentence). The heading sentence should make the link with the heading of the main section to which it belongs clear. Do not start a new paragraph after that.

Explain what you mean in the heading sentence. (2/3 sentences). Do not start a new paragraph after that.

4.1.3. Introduce and give the quotation. Do not start a new paragraph after that.

4.1.4. Show how the quotation illustrates the heading sentence, and, whenever possible, how the paragraph is linked with and points to your controlling thesis. (1/2sentences). Do not start a new paragraph after that.

4.1.5. Write a transition to proceed to next paragraph. (1 sentence).

Example: (C.T.: The text—a description of the area around Jamestown as discovered in 1607—is a distorted rendering of reality to meet the high expectations of the London Virginia Company).

B- The so-called land of plenty

Another myth associated with America which has somehow survived to this day is that of America as the land of plenty. It is worth mentioning here that the author of this report on the early days of Jamestown is trying to make the mythical image of America as a land of abundance and the reality of the American soil coincide. He mentions "three fertile iles, about it many of their cornfields," most probably to comply with the views of America from Europe, and perhaps to reassure the share-holders of the Virginia Company. But here the myth of America as a land of plenty was sustained only because the earth was made fertile by the work of the Indians.

C- The kind "savages": suspicion, violence

An ambiguous image of the Indian prevailed among Europeans at the time. He was seen either ...

In the first part of the conclusion, summarize your points briefly. ("Thus, we have seen that...").

In the second paragraph clearly state your controlling thesis. You may use (a) (new) concept(s) that expresses the outcome of your argumentation, especially the last large section of your comments. Develop your controlling thesis (3 or more sentences).

Do not paraphrase, do not repeat the text.

Always make sure that there is a logical link from one idea to the next, from one remark to the following quotation, from one paragraph to the next, from the introduction down to the controlling thesis.

EACH PARAGRAPH should focus on ONE CONCEPT only.

Do quote the text at least once in each paragraph. When you quote, use quotation marks and give the quotation entirely, do not drop words!

6.4. Do not write whole paragraphs about the historical background of the text. It is only repeating a lesson, not casting light on the text.

Do not pass value judgments.

Always check the tenses of the verbs in your commentary. Use past tenses whenever possible.

Do not use present tense as freely as in French. Mind your tenses.

Do not end a paragraph with a quotation.

The United States est singulier en anglo-américain.

The United States is a utopia in the making.

"A" majuscule à American, qu'il soit nom ou adjectif.

Americans believe in the American Dream.

Cas possessif : le "s" du pluriel régulier sert de "s" au cas possessif.

The Americans' main concern is the state of the economy.

La principale préoccupation des Américains est l'état de l'économie.

The American's main concern is the state of the economy.

La principale préoccupation de cet Américain est l'état de l'économie.

To what extent (et non to what extend)

To succeed - I succeed (present) - I succeedED (past) - succeeded (past participle)

He said he wanted to succeed and he succeeded.

- Ø success

Le succès, la réussite (sens général, par d’article)

Ø Success was his reward for his hard work and ingenuity.

Mention d'une date précise

Dire : This speech was delivered by Jefferson on December 20, 1806.

Ne plus dire : This speech was delviered by Jefferson in December 20, 1806.

The document to be commented upon is an article entitled "Reconstruction." It was written by Frederick Douglass (1817-1895), the best-known black abolitionist, and published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1866, at a time when the reconstruction of the South was the central issue on the American political scene.

Here, the author tackles the difficult issues of + main concepts from the text. He also deals with + concepts from the text.

We may therefore ask ourselves if ...

It follows then that we may wonder to what extent ...

The obvious issue raised by this document is therefore to know whether ...

In order to address this question, we shall first focus on ... because .... We shall then deal with ... because …. Consequently, we shall discuss … to see how it may lead to a tentative assessment of all these points.

In what follows, we will focus our attention first upon ... then ... then ...

Finally we will suggest that ....

As we shall see in what follows, ....

It can safely be said that …

In other words, ....

Use "According to the author, ..." or similar phrases ("The writer insists that..., " "the author claims that...", "the writer suggests that ...," "If we are to believe the author, ..." in order to make it clear that you do not share the writer’s views, that you are not gullible, that you keep a critical mind.

The author tries to call attention to the fact that …

In the text, the author aptly points out that "........." (lines 23-25).

The author insists that "........." (lines 23-25) .

The writer observes that "........." (lines 23-25) .

Jefferson writes: "........." (lines 23-25) .

The writer here clearly points out that ...

The above leads into a related issue: ...

As we have already seen, ... but ...

We have seen that ...

In summary, …

All things considered then, …

To round things off …

What interests us about this text is the way it clearly investigates the issue of …

One is bound to conclude that...

We might then say that..

We arrive at the conclusion that …

in contrast to

because of

neither ... nor ...

if ... then ...

for exAmple

in other words

yet - nevertheless - in spite of - although - though - even if - even though

moreover - furthermore -

therefore - consequently - thus

On commence en France à voir des publicités à la télévision sur cette marque… Le texte date de… 1989.

 

INTRODUCTION[1]

This passage is an excerpt from Jerry Jakubovic's "Domino's Pizza Founder Really Delivers." It was published in Management Review, in July 1989. At that time, after the turmoil and doubts that followed the sixties and defeat in Vietnam, the Reagan years had brought back confidence in basic American values, especially those associated with the American Dream. This passage actually reflects this mood of confidence and pride. It is a perfect illustration of the American Dream come true for a an orphan who made it to the top thanks to hard work and ingenuity. This document is therefore an opportunity to wonder how the American Dream is still possible in today's America. In order to address this question, we shall first concentrate on the basic skills required to achieve the American Dream, such as resiliency and enterprise. We will then deal with the harsh but rewarding business environment that makes the achievement of the dream possible in American society. Finally, we will focus on the American Dream come true for Tom Monaghan, the protagonist,[2] and what this means in American society.

One essential skill to achieve the American Dream is enterprise, which is the capacity to embark on a new business, to take risks in order to succeed. Tom Monaghan showed enterprise when "[a]n oil promoter convinced the young Monaghan that putting most of his life savings into an oil drilling venture was a rare opportunity." Obviously, the young entrepreneur could combine a sense of opportunity and enterprise. But enterprise can lead to failure, which in turn demands resiliency in the pursuit of the dream.

The American Dream actually demands perseverance and resiliency. Nobody is expected to be able to succeed offhandedly, and everyone has to endure failure at some time. What counts then is resiliency, and resiliency is one of Tom's main qualities as shown in this quotation: "his hope to attend the University of Michigan was dashed—he could not even afford to purchase textbooks. Instead, he was forced to settle for a real-life introductory business education by running a small newsstand." Even though Tom's hope to have a higher education failed, he was resilient enough to find a job and start it all over again, so that he worked hard to make his dream come true.

Hard work is another basic component of the American Dream. The Dream demands efforts and perseverance. This is suggested by author Jakubovic when he states that "[r]unning the business required full-time commitment," or, in other words, long hours at the office. The workload is part of the deal to achieve success. However, even if hard work is necessary, it is not enough as a new idea or a new product demands ingenuity.

The American Dream is usually associated with ingenuity. This capacity to find new ways to solve concrete problems is typical of a pragmatic society. The author reminds us that "[Monaghan] claims credit for pioneering the 30-minute free delivery concept (customers get a pizza for free if it's not delivered in 30 minutes)." Monaghan showed that ingenuity is still an asset in the twentieth century by inventing the speedy pizza delivery in a hot box, which was the decisive step to success in a highly competitive business environment.

Competition is another component that one has to accept when one aims at achieving the American Dream. Competition may mean fierce struggle against honest competitors, and sometimes a fight with swindlers. Tom Monaghan was nearly ruined after "deals with unscrupulous individuals." But he somehow again proved how resilient he was in a competitive environment and he waited for the right opportunity to turn up.

The American Dream cannot work without the belief in equality of opportunity. Everyone supposedly is given a chance at some time in their lives. And everyone, even the most unlikely candidates, can succeed. Jakubovic insists that "Monaghan [was] an unlikely candidate for such success." If Tom Monaghan succeeded, even as an orphan and a poor young man, it means anyone can succeed, anyone has a chance, a synonym for equality of opportunity. So Tom Monaghan successfully made it to the top.

Individual success is the ultimate achievement of the American Dream. It usually is the reward after many ordeals have been overcome. The author aptly remarks that "Tom Monaghan's road to success was covered with potholes." But Tom has eventually  achieved the dream and made a fortune and now rules over an empire. He is one of the newest versions of the famous Horatio Alger's success stories of the nineteenth century.

What is remarkable about Monaghan's success story is that he was an orphan, a poor boy who literally made it "from rags to riches", as the saying goes. The author insists that "Tom Monaghan's road to success was covered with potholes. [He was][r]aised in orphanages and foster homes." Such a story of a poor boy making it to the top by hard work and ingenuity could have been written by Horatio Alger. The fact that such stories still happen in contemporary America, and are dutifully reported by the media, only means that the American Dream is still alive and well and fosters optimism.

The fact that success stories still happen these days and are given publicity may account for the ongoing optimism that still pervades American society. Perhaps such a belief inspired Monaghan all his life since "even during the toughest times he remained the eternal optimist, always believing that the future held promise." Optimism was still a prevailing feature of American society in the 1990s.

All things considered, Monaghan's success story is evidence that the American Dream, however improbable, is still achieved by a few in today's America, as they know how to use their own skills in a competitive environment that leads them to success. Optimism is an enduring major American cultural feature.

 

[1]  In your introduction you should state: the nature of the document, the author, the date of the document, the link between the historical background and the document. Then give a short rendering of the document using the main underlying concepts of the text. Clearly mention the prevailing American theme in the passage that you are going to discuss. Sketch the outline of your commentaire.

[2] Protagonist: syn. character