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Three Formats For Discussion: A Quick Reminder

For a quick reminder of the differences between a restatement, description, and interpretation [ Three Ways to Read and Discuss Texts ], consider the following nursery rhyme .
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
and everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
A restatement [ Restatement: Reading What A Text Says ] talks about the topic of the original text, Mary and the lamb.
Mary had a lamb that followed here everywhere.
A description [ Description: Describing What A Text Does ] talks about the story.
The nursery rhyme describes a pet that followed its mistress everywhere.
The interpretation [ Interpretation: Analyzing What a Text Means ] talks about meaning within the story, here the idea of innocent devotion.
An image of innocent devotion is conveyed by the story of a lamb's devotion to its mistress. The devotion is emphasized by repetition that emphasizes the constancy of the lamb's actions ("everywhere"…"sure to go.") The notion of innocence is conveyed by the image of a young lamb, "white as snow." By making it seem that this is natural and good, the nursery rhyme asserts innocent devotion as a positive relationship.

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