Schedule
Week 1: Essay 1
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Wed, Jan 22
Compare the strategies Luntz and Lakoff explain in these documents. Who are their audiences? What is the central controlling value expressed in their words? What value or values might we infer are there, but left unsaid?
Group assignments.
Access Google Drive. Create a new document.
Begin writing the Inventory of Concerns. Complete and share with assigned group and me by Sunday evening, Jan 26th.
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Week 2
Mon, Jan 27
Come to class having read the syllabus and having become acquainted with the rest of the website.
Also come to class having read your group members' drafts of their inventory of concerns.
Except when noted otherwise, when electronic readings are listed for a given day (in bold script), that means to show up at class having printed, read, and notated them. Be ready to discuss and write about these readings in class. If the reading is from a required book from the course, I expect you to bring the appropriate books.
Also come to class having read "Lesson 1" from the book Style by Joseph Williams. We will be looking at your Inventory of Concerns from the point of view of this lesson.
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Wed, Jan 29
Again, when readings are listed for a given day, that means to show up at class having read them.
Read summary and "Chapter 2" from They Say/ I Say about the art of summary.
Come to class having printed, read and notated McKee's "Structure and Meaning."
In class writing exercise: attempt to identify the values at play in McKee's argument. In your summary, answer these questions using details from the text:
Additionally, I highly recommend that you read this about controlling value. Here you will find further explanation of controlling values and examples. You may also read this blog that summarizes these notes to get another simplified angle. You need not print these.
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Week 3
Mon, Feb 3
Read "Chapter 3" from They Say/ I Say.
Come to class having printed, read, and notated Jane Gallop's "The Ethics of Reading: Close Encounters." In class: attempt to identify the values at play in Gallop's argument. In your summary, answer these questions using details from the text:
In class group writing exercise: Pretend that you have witnessed a conversation between Gallop and McKee. Use the templates for including quotes to share with your audience what each author said to the other. You will also need to paraphrase and even create what they might have said, given what you know about each author from their writing.
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Wed, Feb 5
Read from William Covino's Elements of Persuasion, Chapter 1, "Grammars of Persuasion": pages 1-12.
In class we will rhetorically analyze this video: Read about Toulminian argument from this Wikipedia entry (the section called "Argumentation"). Look at how the video makes claims, what evidence it uses to back up these claims, and why the evidence used makes sense.
Introduction to types of argument. |
Week 4
Mon, Feb 10
Use Wikipedia, do basic web research on nanotechnology, robotics, and genetics before reading the article for today's class. Also prior to reading Joy's essay, watch this trailer for the 1980 documentary The Day After Trinity by Jon Else:
Print, read, and notate Joy's "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us." Summarize the argument and work to distinguish what rhetorical strategies the writer uses (also use Covino to guide you in writing this).
Compose this as a Google Document and be ready to share this in class to work on together in groups. |
Wed, Feb 12
Select a text to rhetorically analyze for draft one of the unit 1 assignment. You will begin writing the draft in class.
Here is the assignment sheet for essay 1. |
Week 5
Mon, Feb 17
Read Williams' "Lesson 3." Use the principles he outlines in this lesson to assist you in workshopping each other's drafts.
Workshop draft one of rhetorical analysis of your chosen text, which you must share with your group and me by 6pm the day prior to class. You will need to come to class having read and commented on your groupmates' work. |
Wed, Feb 19
Read Williams' "Lesson 4." Use the principles he outlines in this lesson to assist you in workshopping each other's drafts.
Continue workshopping your REVISED draft, which you must share with your group and me by 6pm the day prior to class. You will need to come to class having read and commented on your groupmates' REVISED work. |
Week 6: Essay 2
Mon, Feb 24
Read "Chapter 3" from A Little Argument and "Chapter 4" from They Say/ I Say.
As a group, review Bill Joy's essay: distinguish three different argumentative strategies.
Set up for You Tube conversation.
If you haven't already, make sure to sign up for a Prezi educational account.
Use chapter 3 from A Little Argument to help you come up with 3 to 5 topics that interest you. You need to do web research to acquaint yourself with the central arguments surrounding each. For each topic select a corresponding websource that allows web users to comment, such as a blog, or a You Tube video.
In class you will present each of your topics to your group so that your group can help you select one topic. Even if you think you already know the topic you want to work with, you must share at least three possible topics with your group.
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Wed, Feb 26
Researching databases.
Once each group member picks a topic, the next stage is to strategize how to practice arguing on the message board of the blog or video of your choice (though it must in some way correspond to your topic). The traffic on the message board ought to be frequent, but not so frequent that your comments will get lost in an endless stream of postings. You want to have the space to work through a conversation between your group members while also leaving some opening for others outside the class to engage with you. It also must be a video that permits comments.
You will need to develop lines of argumentation using "Chapter 3" from A Little Argument and "Chapter 4" fromThey Say/ I Say. Assign members of your group (including yourself) roles to perform these arguments. These roles include the "advocate," the "antagonist," and the "interrogator."
Regardless of your role, you cannot simply agree or disagree in your posts to the message board. You need to supply good reasons as well as evidence. Use arguments from definition, from comparison/contrast, and from consequence. At the same time you can use the different kinds of fallicies to help you analyze and then attack another's argument as in need of further development, etc.
While you are engaged in this process, you will need to continue to advance in your research of the topic, beginning to identify and document different websites and texts. You will likely include these texts in your growing annotated bibliography.
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Week 7
Mon, March 3
Continue to post to each other's Youtube video message boards.
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Wed, March 5
Read A Little Argument, "Chapter 4": pay close attention to the section on writing proposal arguments.
Each group will present one sample from each online conversation to present to the class. Use screen shots (for PC; for Mac) and them put together into Prezi presentation, indicating which argumentative strategies were used by whom and how well they argued. Include suggestions for alternative ways arguments could have been written.
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Week 8
Mon, March 10
Read A Little Argument, "Chapter 5."
Continue presentations.
We will discuss essay 2: the proposal.
Review A Little Argument, "Chapter 4," the section on writing proposal arguments. The key element to the process at this stage is that you have begun collecting academic sources, summarizing them and speculating about how you might be using them. So, come to class with several academic sources (academic journal articles and books), summaries and speculative thoughts. |
Wed, March 12
Continue drafting essay 2
You will have to begin researching academic sources for your controversy, which will be included in your annotated bibliography.
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Spring Break
Mon, March 17
No class
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Wed, March 19
No class
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Week 9
Mon, March 24
Your first attempt of essay 2 is due to your group and me. In order to workshop, you must share the draft to your group and me by 6pm the day prior to class.
The workshop will focus on how each writer employed the basic maneuvers of making a proposal work, which may include several different kinds of argumentative strategies as well as 2-4 outside sources. |
Wed, March 26
Continue to workshop essay 2.
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Week 10: Essay 3
Mon, March 31
Begin discussion of essay 3: Definition, Rebuttal, Causal, and Ethical arguments.
Researching for essay 3.
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Wed, April 2
Read Williams' "Lesson 4," which you will need to use to aid in your workshopping.
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Week 11
Mon, April 7
Begin to draft essay 3.
Read Williams' "Lesson 5," which you will need to use to aid in your workshopping. Read and bring to class They Say/I Say, "Chapter 5." Read and bring to class A Little Argument, "Chapter 6." |
Wed, April 9
Continue drafting essay 3.
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Week 12
Mon, April 14
Your essay three is due to your group and me the day prior to class in order to workshop in your groups.
Read Williams' "Lesson 6," which you will need to use to aid in your workshopping. |
Wed, April 16
Last workshop for essay 3.
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Week 13: The Portfolio
Mon, April 21 (Easter is April 20)
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Wed, April 23
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Week 14
Mon, April 28
Workshop revisions.
Read Williams' Style. Lessons 6-8. |
Wed, April 30
Final Workshop.
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Week 15
Mon, May 5
Portfolio due (to my office, Hawthorn 213). Included in the portfolio should be:
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Wed, May 7
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