With the pre-reading work we did in class in mind, do a fairly quick “First” Read
of Malcolm Gladwell’s “Power of Context” (just getting a general sense of the
text, getting a sense of the text.
2) Reread Gladwell’s Text AND on the document below determine where you think
GLADWELL falls on the continuum in response to the survey questions (which
you took in class) AND briefly explain why you think GLADWELL would place
himself there, referring to specific aspects of the text. This activity begins our
“listening to the text.” (Type this on the document below)
3) Describe / Define Gladwell’s Power of Context Theory (this may involve a
combination of Gladwell’s own statements and your own words). (Type this on
the document below)
4) Informally note at least two or three of what you understand to be major
shifts in Gladwell’s text AND categorize in an informal sentence what
Gladwell is “doing” in each of those major sections (this isn’t charting,
per say, because you aren’t charting every shift, but it involves some of
the same thinking work). (Type this on the document below)
5) Given the work you know we eventually be doing with Gladwell’s text –
an argument and rhetorical analysis, EXPLAIN IN A FEW SENTENCES
WHAT YOU THINK OUR NEXT STEPS – toward that end goal – SHOULD
BE IN WORKING WITH “THE POWER OF CONTEXT.”

To What Extent Does GLADWELL Agree or Disagree with the Following
Statements?
a. Criminals are personality types and, ultimately, crime is the result of moral
failure – of people who are selfishly insensitive to the norms of society, of
communities and schools and parents who no longer raise children with a respect
for right and wrong.
1 2 3 4
5 6
Strongly Disagree Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree
Agree Strongly Agree
Why? What in the text makes you think that is what Gladwell believes?
b. Crime is the result of social injustice, of structural economic inequities, of
unemployment, of racism, of decades of institutional and social neglect.
1 2 3 4
5 6
Strongly Disagree Disagree Somewhat Disagree Somewhat Agree
Agree Strongly Agree
Why? What in the text makes you think that is what Gladwell believes?
c. Convictions of your heart and the contents of your thoughts are less
important in guiding your actions than the immediate situational context.