Santa Monica College Qualities of A Typical Introduction Questions

In this discussion, we will focus on certain aspects of Ackerman’s book. Everyone is required to participate in the discussion which runs to Friday 6 November 10 pm PT

We begin with the Introduction (Phase 1 of the discussion).: Tuesday-Wednesday. I will post questions on Chapter 1 (Phase 2) on Thursday, and we will discuss it Thursday-Friday. You will have to post your response first to see others’ comments and respond to them.

1. What are the chief features or qualities of a typical introduction? How is Ackerman’s introduction similar to and different from the typical introduction?

2. What is Ackerman’s purpose in this book?

3. Identify the topic sentence of the first complete paragraph on p.xvii, the one that begins “The senses don’t just . . .” Give reasons to support your answer

4. Explain the differences between a sensuist and a sensualist; between sensuous and sensual. What are the denotation and connotations of each word.

Student respond : ( reply 200 words minimum for student respond )

A Kaleidoscope of the Senses

Question 1

An introduction of any book or essay basically aims to preempt what we will be reading. Depending on the style of the author, this can be approached in different ways. For Ackerman, she used a typical introduction. She creates a scene for the reads to know what she will be talking about in the book. By using descriptive language, we are able to know that she will be talking about it in the book.

Question 2

Ackerman’s purpose in this book is to help us understand the origin of our senses(p.xix). She aims to look at how senses have evolved over the years and how they are perceived in different cultures. In this book, she also hopes to help us understand what the mind is and how it works.

Question 3

The topic sentence of the paragraph on p.xvii is “The senses feed shards of information to the brain like microscopic pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.” The paragraph talks about how the brain works dependent on the little information it gets from the different senses to make out the bigger picture. There are various instances mentioned in the paragraph that support this sentence. As such, it only makes sense that this is the topic sentence.

Question 4

There has been a debate on whether there is, sensualists and sensualist mean the same thing. While all of them are involved with strong feelings, there is a difference in what kind of feelings they relate to. A sensualist is a person who is interested in reveling in their sexual desires or erotic feelings. A sensualist on the other wants to feel all there is around them. In order to be present, it is essential that one is a sensualist.

Natilie ( respond student answer minimum 200 words )

1. What are the chief features or qualities of a typical introduction? How is Ackerman’s introduction similar to and different from the typical introduction?

A typical book introduction usually speaks about what the overall topic of the book is going to be and sometimes includes what inspired the author to write the book. Ackerman does explain in the last chapter what he expects the reader to learn and understand but the end of the book. He starts by introducing the importance of the senses, carefully explaining them and why they are important. His introduction differs from others by including heavy sensory detail, getting us accustomed to his writing style.

2. What is Ackerman’s purpose in this book?

HIs purpose for this book is to “explore…the origin and evolution of the senses” (Ackerman, xix). He wants us to understand just how important the senses are in writing and to paint a picture for the reader.

3. Identify the topic sentence of the first complete paragraph on p.xvii, the one that begins “The senses don’t just . . .” Give reasons to support your answer

The topic sentence for the paragraph is “ The sense don’t just make sense of life in bold or subtle acts of clarity, they tear reality apart into vibrant morsels and reassemble them into a meaningful pattern” (Ackerman, xvvii). This sentence lays out what the paragraph is going to be about. It serves as an outline as to what Ackerman is going to be explaining in his examples. For instance he writes about senses assembling pictures and details into a pattern and he backs it up by explaining how the mind uses vision to assemble a picture of a cow from afar like a jigsaw puzzle. Seeing only small details like a nose, a color, etc, and forming the bigger picture.

4. Explain the differences between a sensuist and a sensualist; between sensuous and sensual. What are the denotation and connotations of each word.

Both words hold some similar meaning, they both relate to overwhelming feeling and senses. Sensual means to arouse strong physical feelings, however its not exclusive to sexual references. The word does hold a connotation of feeling pleasure in a sexual or romantic way. Sensuous is defined by bringing pleasure to the senses, like touch, sight, or hearing. Sensuous holds a less sexual connotation, anything can be described as such, like the smell of freshly brewed coffee or the touch of a warm blanket.