11/25/2014

4 Reviews

1) the great, transformative, etc.
2) the opposite of great (i.e. bad, rotten, awful)
3) holiday text // animated text // 
4) "double review" -- multiple texts (e.g. by the same director/artist/writer, in the same genre, the same text as done by different people, etc.)

All due by Tuesday December 9

9/14/2014

UPDATED: Week 4–5 schedule

T 09/16            
Analysis I
READ: “Hidden Intellectualism” [handout]

TR 09/18          
Craft & Style I
READ: Craft & Style #1 [links at website]


* * * * *

M 09/22
WRITE: ESSAY ARGUMENT 2 draft due to Google Drive OR my email by 2pm

T 09/23            
SMALL CLASS SESSION [square]


TR 09/25          
SMALL CLASS SESSION [circle]



* ESSAY ARGUMENT 2 draft: In order to give us the proper amount of time to complete a first draft, the due date has been moved from Thursday 9/18 (a class day) to Monday 9/22 (a non-class day). 

8/26/2014

Fall '14 schedule + assignments


Readings & Assignments Schedule                                                                                   (weeks 1–5)
*all readings & assignments to be read by and/or turned in on date they are listed under



T 08/26             Course overview + introduction + a tiny bit of teaching

TR 08/28            Rhetoric I + in-class writing
READ: course documents (i.e. this syllabus)


* * * * *


T 09/02             Rhetoric II + in-class writing
READ: “The Case for Reparations” parts I–II [link at website]

TR 09/04            Summary & Evaluation I
READ: “The Case for Reparations” parts III–V [link at website]
WRITE: Mini-essay 1


* * * * *


T 09/09             Rhetoric III
READ: “The Case for Reparations” parts VI–X [link at website]

TR 09/11            Analysis I
READ: “Hidden Intellectualism” [link at website]
WRITE: ESSAY ARGUMENT 1


* * * * *


T 09/16             Craft & Style I
READ: Craft & Style #1 [links at website]

TR 09/18            Analysis II
WRITE: ESSAY ARGUMENT 2 draft


* * * * *


T 09/23             SMALL CLASS SESSION            <

TR 09/25            SMALL CLASS SESSION            =


Readings & Assignments Schedule                                                                                  (weeks 6–10)
*all readings & assignments to be read by and/or turned in on date they are listed under



T 09/30             Rhetoric IV
WRITE: ESSAY ARGUMENT 2 final draft

TR 10/02            Craft & Style II
READ: selections on writing [handout]


* * * * *


T 10/07             Summary & Evaluation II
WRITE: Mini-essay 2

TR 10/09             NO CLASS — FALL BREAK


* * * * *


T 10/14             Film Session

TR 10/16            Film Session
WRITE: ESSAY ARGUMENT 1 revised draft


* * * * *


T 10/21             Critical Inquiry I
READ: film selections (handout)
WRITE: Mini-essay 3

TR 10/23            Critical Inquiry II
READ: film selections (links at website)


* * * * *


T 10/28             Analysis III

TR 10/30            Analysis IV
WRITE: ESSAY LITERARY ANALYSIS draft



Readings & Assignments Schedule                                                                                 (weeks 11–15)
*all readings & assignments to be read by and/or turned in on date they are listed under



T 11/04             SMALL CLASS SESSION            =

TR 11/6            SMALL CLASS SESSION            <


* * * * *


T 11/11             Rhetoric V
WRITE: ESSAY LITERARY ANALYSIS final draft

TR 11/13            Craft & Style III
READ: selections on feminism (handout + links at website)


* * * * *


T 11/18             Analysis V

TR 11/20            Analysis VII
READ: selections on sports (handout + links at website)


* * * * *


T 11/25             Craft & Style VI
WRITE: ESSAY RHETORICAL ANALYSIS draft

TR 11/27            NO CLASS — THANKSGIVING


* * * * *


T 12/02             Critical Inquiry VI
WRITE: Mini-essay 4

TR 12/04            Final Class Meeting



A Contemporary American Rhetoric: Culture , Ethics, & The Narrative of Argument

Assignments, Mini-essays, & Essays


Mini-essays

The Mini-essays are topic + reading-driven assignments in which students implement their close reading skills and expand their rhetorical writing. Response will focus on the specific rhetorical genres we are exploring: analysis, evaluation, inquiry, style, structure, and synthesis.

Through reading-related prompts, you will be asked to (re-)investigate texts more fully and accomplish specific tasks. Typically there is not one precise response to the prompts (there may be a number of acceptable ways to respond, and you are free to respond in any way you see fit, so long as your response is focused and thoughtful), though there can be misdirected or poorly investigated tasks. 

As the syllabus states, there are four (4) mini-essays, each accounting for 25 points. The level of writing/responding should conform to academic course standards. Incomplete, poorly-composed, or off-topic responses will not receive full credit. Think of these responses as essays (1 ½ – 2 pages each) and NOT as exercises or journal free-write responses as they will be graded on their mini-essay-ness.

As always, you should follow MLA guidelines. Mini-essays must be turned in by the start of class.


Topics

#1  Annotate and summarize an article from the “Technology” or “Science” section of Google News. Turn-in 1) the printed article with your annotations and 2) your mini-essay summary.
due Thursday 9/4


#2  Perform a close reading on one of the selections on writing and analyze the argument and supporting details.
due Tuesday 10/7


#3  Write a review of the film. Use elements of summary, analysis, and critique to support your judgment.
due Tuesday 10/21


#4 Perform a close reading on one of the pieces from the selections on feminism or the selections on sports. Identify where the writer’s views are most distinguishable. Does the writer use voice markers, signal phrases, or other “clues”? *Hint: you are analyzing voice in concert with style.
due Tuesday 12/2




Argument  1 (Entering the Conversation + Revision)

Schedule/Due dates:            Thursday, September 11

Rhetoric (from the Greek rhetor, meaning “speaker in the assembly”)
            The art of using language for persuasion.

Context

To write is to enter an existing conversation, to “put your oar in,” so to speak. Typically, the most engaging pieces of writing respond to an existing argument or discussion in an attempt to persuade the reader about a specific topic. The use of direct-response rhetoric to persuade demands close reading, thoughtful writing, and attention to detail(s). The appropriate discourse for your conversation is one that engages the existing discourse on its terms and concepts and builds outward from there. As always, attention to craft is essential, but your “textbook” is the whole of persuasive writing. Your most relevant “textbook” models are what you already know and what you’ve read so far.

This assignment should provide you the opportunity to strengthen your investigation, evaluation, critical thinking, and rhetoric skills. You will write a 2–3 page persuasive essay.

Primary Writing Task

The goal of this rhetorical essay is to arrive at an interpretation that is based on a single claim or small constellation of claims. This means you must have an argument, and it’s important to fashion your argument around a succinct premise/thesis, usually a sentence or two. A premise/thesis must be of appropriate scope, debatable, and not obvious. You support your premise and overarching argument by investigating details in the text, in this case, the topic of your rhetorical appeal (which you’re an “expert” on). Investigate something that interests you and try to figure out why it does—and why it is important to your argument about the topic. Hopefully, your interest will lead to questions that will help you develop your own interpretation of what the topic is, what the arguments might be, and how you can best use rhetoric/persuasion. Your interpretation must include discussion of parts, elements, and characteristics of your topic (your viewpoint is confident and balanced). It is then your task to combine what you’ve discovered into an essay. You are entering into a conversation and adding your interpretation to build upon an existing conversation.

Requirements/Guidelines For Writing

Your 2–3 page essay should include:
            • A premise/thesis (What is a meaning of your persuasive appeal?)
            • A set of claims that lead to and support your thesis (Why is this a meaning for your topic?)
            • Evidence that supports your claims (How is this meaning exposed?)

Topic: Enter the conversation of Ta-Nehisi Coates and build upon it/add to it
Purpose: To persuade your audience about why your understanding, investigation, and interpretation of the conversation is important to them
Audience: fellow students, professors, university administrators and staff
Format: Follow proper MLA guidelines. You must have a title. Your essay length is 2–3 pages.



You receive 25 pts for completing the essay and another 25 pts for completing the revision/letter.


Criteria For Evaluation

The best essays will:
– have a PURPOSE and address an AUDIENCE
– have a clear and consistent argument
– have a persuasive position supported by a premise/thesis
– offer sufficient support of the position
– investigate the position through close reading and/or critical inquiry
– investigate individual elements of the argument
– authentically persuades the audience
– effectively organize ideas and paragraphs
– use appropriate and consistent language
– avoid ambiguity and confusion
– follow the rules of grammar and punctuation
– adhere to MLA formatting
– recognize the importance of readings and class discussions
– enter the conversation creatively
– frame and blend quotations


Important Texts
– “The Case for Reparations”
– OWL







ESSAY REVISION           

The revision portion of this essay is comprised of two components: 1) a fully-revised essay and 2) a one-page narrative about your revision process. The revised essay is a straight-forward style/content/structure/craft overall revision. The one-page narrative will take the form of a letter—addressed to me, your instructor—about how the revision process improved your original essay, what tools you implemented, how you view the new vs. old essay, and whatever else you might like to say about revision and its processes.


REVISED ESSAY & LETTER ARE DUE BY OR BEFORE Thursday 10/16.

(50 pts)

Argument  2 (The Persuasive Narrative)

Schedule/Due dates:            Thursday, September 18 — draft (2 copies)
Tuesday, September 30 — Final draft

Rhetoric (from the Greek rhetor, meaning “speaker in the assembly”)
            The art of using language for persuasion.
Narrative (Gerard Genette, “Boundaries of Narrative”)
“...may be defined simply as the representation of an event or series of events by language, and more specifically by written language.”

Context

The persuasive narrative. What is it? A piece of writing using knowledge, experience, and craft to persuade the reader about a specific topic. Why this form? The use of narrative-based rhetoric to persuade opens up a range of possibilities, both contextually and stylistically. How so? Rather than writing in a specific, rigid style (e.g. the robotic and systematic “academic argumentative essay”), you determine the appropriate discourse for your essay. As always, attention to craft is essential, but your “textbook” is the whole of persuasive writing. Your most relevant “textbook” model is the essay “Hidden Intellectualism.” And remember: observe the elements of narrative.

This assignment should provide you the opportunity to strengthen your investigation, evaluation, critical thinking, and rhetoric skills. You will write a 3+ page persuasive essay.

Primary Writing Task

The goal of this rhetorical essay is to arrive at an interpretation that is based on a single claim or small constellation of claims. This means you must have an argument, and it’s important to fashion your argument around a succinct premise/thesis, usually a sentence or two. A premise/thesis must be of appropriate scope, debatable, and not obvious. You support your premise and overarching argument by investigating details in the text, in this case, the topic of your rhetorical appeal (which you’re an “expert” on). Investigate something that interests you and try to figure out why it does—and why it is important to your argument about the topic. Hopefully, your interest will lead to questions that will help you develop your own interpretation of what the topic is, what the arguments might be, and how you can best use rhetoric/persuasion. Your interpretation must include discussion of parts, elements, and characteristics of your topic (your viewpoint is confident and balanced). It is then your task to combine what you’ve discovered into an essay. You are entering into a conversation and adding your interpretation to build upon an existing conversation.

Requirements/Guidelines For Writing

Your 3+ page essay should include:
            • A premise/thesis (What is a meaning of your persuasive appeal?)
            • A set of claims that lead to and support your thesis (Why is this a meaning for your topic?)
            • Evidence that supports your claims (How is this meaning exposed?)

Topic: The “unexpected” becomes astonishing/captivating/affirming/artful/commonplace/etc., i.e. an important yet arguable realization conceived from experience
Purpose: To persuade your audience about why your topic, investigation, and interpretation are important to the conversation
Audience: specific place/title of publication
Format: Follow proper MLA guidelines. You must have a title. Your essay length is 3+ pages.

Criteria For Evaluation

The best essays will:
– have a PURPOSE and address an AUDIENCE
– mix elements of rhetoric and narrative throughout
– have a clear and consistent argument
– have a persuasive position supported by a premise/thesis
– offer sufficient support of the position
– investigate the position through close reading and/or critical inquiry
– investigate individual elements of the argument
– authentically persuades the audience
– effectively organize ideas and paragraphs
– use appropriate and consistent language
– avoid ambiguity and confusion
– follow the rules of grammar and punctuation
– adhere to MLA formatting
– use “Hidden Intellectualism” as a model
– recognize the importance of readings and class discussions
– enter the conversation creatively
– frame and blend quotations


Important Texts
– “Hidden Intellectualism”
– “Touching the Earth”
– course documents
– OWL

(75 pts)


Literary Analysis (Textual Analysis)

Schedule/Due dates:            Thursday, October 30 — draft (2 copies)
Tuesday, November 11 — Final draft

Rhetoric (from the Greek rhetor, meaning “speaker in the assembly”)
            The art of using language for persuasion.
Analysis (from the Greek analysis, meaning “taking apart, decomposition)
The process of separating the constituents of a whole and discerning the matter in which they are interrelated

Context

The literary analysis is a cornerstone of the humanities, the social sciences, and scholarly writing in general. This specific type of analysis calls on a writer to offer a rhetorical interpretation of a text (or specific aspects of a text). The interpretation is displayed, foremost, through two “writerly” tasks: 1) a comprehensive understanding of the text being analyzed and 2) a demonstration of significant rhetorical skill. The literary analysis also requires an adept mixing of genres. The focus of this literary analysis should be a specific aspect, element, and/or characteristic of a text, not the text as a whole. A literary analysis is not a summary of a text, nor is it a book report-like critique. Literary analyses require an appropriate balance in their investigation, i.e. the rhetoric should be both subjective and objective. There are an infinite number of ways to construct a literary analysis, but your most relevant models are the selections on film.

This assignment should provide you the opportunity to strengthen your interpretation, analysis, close reading, critical thinking, and rhetoric skills. You will write a 4+ page analytical essay.

Primary Writing Task

The goal of this rhetorical analysis essay is to arrive at an interpretation that is based on a single claim or small constellation of claims. This means you must have an argument, and it’s important to fashion your argument around a succinct premise/thesis, usually a sentence or two. A premise/thesis must be of appropriate scope, debatable, and not obvious. You support your premise and overarching argument by investigating details surrounding the topic of your rhetorical appeal. Investigate something that interests you and try to figure out why it does—and why it is important to your argument about the topic. Hopefully, your interest will lead to questions that will help you develop your own definitive interpretation of what the topic is, what the relevant arguments are, and how you can best use rhetoric/persuasion. Your interpretation must include discussion of parts, elements, or characteristics of your topic (your viewpoint is subjective and objective). It is then your task to combine what you’ve discovered into an essay. You are entering into a conversation and adding your interpretation to build upon an existing conversation.

Requirements/Guidelines For Writing

Your 4+ page essay should include:
            • A premise/thesis (What is a meaning of your persuasive appeal?)
            • A set of claims that lead to and support your thesis (Why is this a meaning for your focus?)
            • Evidence that supports your claims (How is this meaning exposed?)

Text & Topic: You will propose a text and topic for literary analysis
Purpose: To analyze a text and to persuade your audience about why your interpretation, focus, and investigation are important to the conversation
Audience: specific place/title of publication
Format: Follow proper MLA guidelines. You must have a title. Your essay length is 4+ pages.


Criteria For Evaluation

The best essays will:
– have a PURPOSE and address an AUDIENCE
– have a clear and consistent argument
– have a persuasive position supported by a premise/thesis
– offer sufficient support of the position
– investigate the position through close reading and/or critical inquiry
– investigate individual elements of the argument
– mix and blend rhetorical genres throughout
– authentically persuade the audience
– effectively organize ideas and paragraphs
– use appropriate and consistent language
– avoid ambiguity and confusion
– follow the rules of grammar and punctuation
– adhere to MLA formatting
– recognize the importance of class readings and discussions
– enter the conversation creatively
– frame and blend quotations


Important Texts

– selections on film
– course documents
– OWL

(100 pts)


Rhetorical Analysis (Cultural Critique)

Schedule/Due dates:            see detailed schedule on following page

Rhetoric (from the Greek rhetor, meaning “speaker in the assembly”)
            The art of using language for persuasion.
Analysis (from the Greek analysis, meaning “taking apart, decomposition)
The process of separating the constituents of a whole and discerning the matter in which they are interrelated
Critique (from the French, based on Greek kritike tekhne meaning “critical art”)

Context

A cultural critique calls on a writer to address issues of substantiation, evaluation, and/or policy. One trait most cultural critiques have in common is that they are, at their core, arguments. Many times these critiques—though not all—take the form of a proposal (1. Here is a problem. 2. Here are ideas concerning that problem. 3. Here is a solution to that problem). A cultural critique analyzes and comments on a specific feature of modern culture. The focus of this rhetorical analysis should be on a concrete, recognizable phenomenon or circumstance or object, not on some vast historical or political trend. Cultural critiques require an appropriate balance in their investigation, i.e. the rhetoric must be both subjective and objective. There are numerous ways to construct a cultural critique, but your most relevant models are many of the class reading and handouts.

This assignment should provide you the opportunity to strengthen your investigation, analysis, critical thinking, and rhetoric skills. You will write a 5+ page analytical essay.

Primary Writing Task

The goal of this rhetorical analysis essay is to arrive at an interpretation that is based on a single claim or small constellation of claims. This means you must have an argument, and it’s important to fashion your argument around a succinct premise/thesis, usually a sentence or two. A premise/thesis must be of appropriate scope, debatable, and not obvious. You support your premise and overarching argument by investigating details surrounding the topic of your rhetorical appeal. Investigate something that interests you and try to figure out why it does—and why it is important to your argument about the topic. Hopefully, your interest will lead to questions that will help you develop your own definitive interpretation of what the topic is, what the relevant arguments are, and how you can best use rhetoric/persuasion. Your interpretation must include discussion of parts, elements, or characteristics of your topic (your viewpoint is subjective and objective). It is then your task to combine what you’ve discovered into an essay. You are entering into a conversation and adding your interpretation to build upon an existing conversation.

Requirements/Guidelines For Writing

Your 5+ page essay should include:
            • A premise/thesis (What is a meaning of your persuasive appeal?)
            • A set of claims that lead to and support your thesis (Why is this a meaning for your topic?)
            • Evidence that supports your claims (How is this meaning exposed?)

Topic: You will propose a topic for cultural critique
Purpose: To analyze and critique a specific aspect of culture and to persuade your audience about why your topic, investigation, and interpretation are important to the conversation
Audience: specific place/title of publication
Format: Follow proper MLA guidelines. You must have a title. Your essay length is 5+ pages.


Criteria For Evaluation

The best essays will:
– have a PURPOSE and address an AUDIENCE
– have a clear and consistent argument
– have a persuasive position supported by a premise/thesis
– offer sufficient support of the position
– investigate the position through close reading and/or critical inquiry
– investigate individual elements of the argument
– mix and blend rhetorical genres throughout
– authentically persuade the audience
– effectively organize ideas and paragraphs
– use appropriate and consistent language
– avoid ambiguity and confusion
– follow the rules of grammar and punctuation
– adhere to MLA formatting
– recognize the importance of class readings and discussions
– enter the conversation creatively
– frame and blend quotations


Important Texts

– class readings
– course documents
– MLA style guide


Detailed Schedule/Due dates:

TR 11/13            topic ID and explanation (in-class writing activity)
T 11/18             criteria of evaluation (in-class writing activity)
TR 11/20            in-class writing/drafting
T 11/25             ESSAY draft
T 12/9            ESSAY Final draft due by NOON (12 p.m.)


(125 pts)