Baldwin’s “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?What is the thesis, what is the overall argument the author presents?
2. What did the author choose to study? Why?
3. What is the writer’s purpose? To inform? To persuade? To criticize?
4. Who is the author’s intended audience?
5. How does the writer arrange his or her ideas? Chronologically?
6. How does the writer use diction? (Word choice, arrangement, accuracy, is it formal, informal? Technical versus slang?)
7. Does the writer use dialogue? Quotations? Why?
8. Are important terms repeated?
9. What is the sentence structure of text? Are there fragments, run-ons? Is it declarative, imperative, exclamatory? What effect does this have?
10. Does the writer use punctuation to create an effect?
