Question

Questions Your Response What kind of article is this: narrative (telling a story), expository (giving information or explaining a thesis), or persuasion (convincing readers to change an idea or behavior as a result of his argument)? Explain why. What is the main idea or central thesis of this article? What reasons does Hutson offer for why the Puritans still influence American culture today? What specific evidence does Hutson offer for why the Puritans still influence American culture today? To what extent do you agree/disagree with Hutson's central idea? Explain why. What new evidence can you offer to support Hutson's thesis? What evidence can you offer to challenge Hutson's thesis?

Answer 1

Answer:

The article is an Expository article.

Explanation:

Note how the author, Matthew Hutson began the article, he said "Consider a series of experiments conducted by researchers led by...,"  that is to say, he was giving information about the subject matter to his readers.

The main idea or central thesis of this article is to portray how Puritan believes are still present in American society today.

One reason was that "the so-called Protestant work ethic" of respected men like Martin Luther and John Calvin likely influenced the work habits of American culture.

One specific evidence that Hutson offer for why the Puritans still influence American culture today was a study that shows how the view of Martin Luther and John Calvin, in which "they believed in predestination and viewed success as a sign of salvation". I quote Hutson,

"American and Canadian college students were asked to solve word puzzles involving anagrams. But first, some were subtly exposed to (or “primed” with) salvation-related words like “heaven” and “redeem,” while others were exposed to neutral words. The researchers found that the Americans — but not the Canadians — solved more anagrams with salvation on the mind."

To some extent, because the study didn't claim all of American society were still been influenced by the Puritans but makes a balanced conclusion.