On the Edge of Poverty—At the Center of a Debate on Food Stamps: Sheryl Stolberg

1.      What is the author’s purpose in beginning this article with the descriptions of Dustin Rigsby and Darnisha Adams?

2.      Looking at the sentence and any context clues you can find, what would you infer the meaning of the word “revamp” means?

3.      What irony does the author give the audience in her portrayal of Rep. Stephen Fincher?

4.      What does Rep. Fincher mean when he says, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat”?

5.      According to the article, what is “food insecurity”?

6.      Looking at the sentence and any context clues you can find, what would you infer the meaning of the word “acute” means?

7.      Describe what Maura Daly means when she states, “hunger is often invisible?”

8.      Describe what SNAP is and what it does.

9.      Describe some of the negative experiences the people in this article that use food stamps deal with.

10.  What are the potential effects if House Republicans succeed in cutting $40 billion more in food stamps over the next 10 years?

11.  Describe the two opposing positions in this passage: Who is on each side and why do they hold that position?

12.  Which side do you believe the author is on (if any side at all)? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

13.  Which side do you believe is right? Support your answer with any real-life experiences or prior knowledge of the subject you may have, as well as the information you just read in this article.

14.  What do you think the author’s purpose in writing this article was? What did she want to do? Inform, persuade, etc. Support your answer with details from the text.

15.  What elements of argument persuasion can you identify in this article? Support your claims with textual examples and explain.