post for 10/18/12

Thanks for your participation in class today. First, some reminders:

• Turn your RAs in by 4:30pm tomorrow (Wednesday) in room 4410 of the JFSB. Same as last time
• We'll meet in the library next time, room 2231. You're spoiled, because it's an iPad room!
• I updated the assignment and reading schedule for this unit, so everything on Learning Suite is now up to date.

Okay, now for your blog post:

• I'm going to combine this week's blog post with your RA reflection. As I mentioned in class today, you don't have to turn in a reflection with your RA portfolio, because you'll post one on your blog. Here's what the reflection will entail:
• What grade do you feel like you deserve on your RA? Look through the rubric carefully and defend that grade according to the rubric. Be honest.
• What would you do differently if you had another chance?
• What was your biggest challenge?
• What is your paper's greatest strength?

Good luck! See you Thursday. 

blog prompt for tuesday

Okay.

I should be able to get feedback to you this weekend for your RA paragraphs, but here's the blog post (which you should post before class on Tuesday): 

I want you to watch at least part of this last week's Presidential debate. You can find it online (on Youtube, even). You will identify 10 different rhetorical strategies (or fallacies, as may be the case). You can identify rhetorical tools, like metaphor, allusion, or parallelism; you can identify fallacies, like strawperson, red herring, or ad hominem; or you can look at the physical presentation of the speakers, like eye contact, hand gestures or verbal cues. Remember, almost anything that contributes or takes away from the effectiveness of an argument can be identified as a rhetorical strategy. 

And that's it! You really shouldn't have to watch all of the debate; there's a lot of meat there.

Good luck! Have a great weekend. 

reading and blog post for thursday

I'm looking forward to getting your papers tomorrow! Good luck finishing up.

Remember to look on Learning Suite for Thursday's reading, because you've got reading in Writing and Rhetoric as well as the Globalization reader.

Okay, here's your post for Thursday:

• Pick one of the three articles from the Globalization reader and analyze it rhetorically based on the following criteria:
• Who is the author? Does he/she have any underlying motivations for writing this article?
• Who is the audience? (Hint: look at where it was published. If it was published on a professional blog, look at who is commenting on the article)
• What is the author's initial purpose?
• What are a few tools and strategies the author is using?
• Overall, do you feel like this article is effective? Why or why not?
• This should be about 3 well-developed paragraphs 

Abby and Sarah Carlile: remember your Globalization show-and-tell for next time. 1-2 minutes.

turning in Op Ed and other details

Okay, so if you've looked ahead at the course schedule, you'll notice that the Op Ed is due this coming Wednesday. I did this because I wanted to give you an extra day to turn it in if you're not ready by Tuesday. If you want to turn it in on Tuesday, you're welcome to do so.

Here is exactly what you need in your paper portfolio (I've made a couple of changes from what it says on the cover sheet in the SG):

1. Cover sheet from the SG, filled out
2. Final draft: I'd like you to highlight the changes that you made from the conference draft to the final draft. Meaning, when you print out your final draft, compare it to the draft that I just looked at and highlight all the major revisions. You don't have to include grammar/editing, but large revisions, definitely. 
3. Conference draft WITH rubric that I gave to you in the conference
4. Peer review drafts
5. Turn everything in with a two-pocket folder, not a binder

That is everything you need with your portfolio––nothing more, nothing less. If you don't have all of these elements, I will have to make deductions. 

Okay, to turn it in on Wednesday, you will take the paper to the JFSB, room 4110. Give the paper to the secretaries and they will put it in my box. Turn it in before 4PM (the office closes at 5PM, but they sometimes close early, so don't cut it close). 

Also, there is reading for Tuesday, so look at Learning Suite to make sure and get your reading done. 

I'm not going to be reachable over email this weekend, so if you have any questions, email one of your classmates or wait until Monday. 

Good luck!

prompt for thursday (and conferences)

Okay, here's the prompt for this week's post (due Thursday before 9:30 am):

Find five grammar/punctuation errors in your paper. Write the original sentence, identify the problem (and the corresponding rule), and correct the sentence.

Example:

• Original sentence: I am poor, I only have twenty dollars. 
• Problem: Comma splice. Rule: Two independent clauses need to be joined together with either a period or a semicolon.
• Solution: I am poor. I only have twenty dollars. OR: I am poor; I only have twenty dollars. 

Also, remember that your punctuation quizzes are due when you come to your conference on Thursday.

Remember your conference time, and don't be late!

reminders and reiterations

There was a lot of information that I threw at you towards the end of class, so I'm going to repeat a lot of what I said in this post in case my announcements lacked clarity and coherence.

Before class on Thursday, I'd like to meet with those of you who haven't already come to my office. For those who don't have a time set up, email me today. I will give you feedback on your first draft (and give you back the copy of your first draft) during the conference, so it's important that you give yourself time to revise before bringing papers to your group members on Thursday.

On Thursday, make sure you have a 7-9 minute presentation prepared. Some of you didn't pick up the quizzes after class, so you'll need to make sure and pick them up on Thursday so you can complete them to turn them in to me.

And on Thursday, bring 3 copies of your second draft to your peers. This should be a complete draft. From this point on, I'd like you to turn in drafts that you would feel comfortable turning in for a grade. You won't give your papers to me on Thursday, but I will see your next draft next week. I will give you further instructions on Thursday about the procedure for the peer review.

And before Thursday, make sure you read your group members' blogs. I know this is a lot of work (with the presentations, the second drafts, and the blog post readings), but it will mean less work for you next week.

ALSO, take your papers to the writing center.

That's all. :)

If you have any questions about any of this, make sure to email me. I look forward to reading your blog posts this week!

blog prompt #2 and other notes

Hello, dear students.

First of all, an important piece of information:

• Bring a draft of your paper on Tuesday. If you came to see me today, you will hopefully have another version for Tuesday, but either way, have something in your hands. Tuesday's lesson won't be successful unless everyone has their papers with them.

Okay, now onto the blog prompt:

• First, you will perform an ethos/pathos/logos analysis (much like we did in class today with the St. Crispin's Day speech). You have a few options here. You can either analyze Mr. Collins' proposal speech from Pride and Prejudice, found here. OR you could analyze one of the two articles from the Globalization reader that we've read so far. So you have three options, and you only need to analyze one. For your analysis, you will do the following:
• Give three examples of ethos 
• Three examples of pathos, and
• Three examples of logos
• Second, you will analyze your own paper and tell us how you will improve your paper incorporating ethical, logical, and emotional appeals:
• Give three examples of how you are/can build your ethos/credability
• Three examples of how you can appeal to your readers' emotions
• Three examples of how you can build a logical argument

• In other words, you will analyze one speech or article, showing three examples of each appeal, and you will also tell us how you can improve the ethos/pathos/logos in your own paper (again, giving three examples of each)

Good luck!

welcome, welcome!

In my experience, the day of class is typically long and rather boring. I hope that wasn't your experience with our first day. I am looking forward to this semester; I can tell we have a great class that will work well together. For today (Thursday), you will have read Chapters 1 and 3 of Writing and Rhetoric, which discuss both the definition of rhetoric and of a rhetorical situation. I hope you found these chapters engaging, and I think our discussion in class today will be lively and help you understand what you have read on your own time.

For next Tuesday, you will notice that your first blog post is due. Before you start posting, there are a couple of things to remember:

1. Follow the class blog––I will review how to do this in class

2. Follow your classmates' blogs––I will send out an email with the blog URLS for each class member. You will follow everyone's blogs in the class, along with the central class blog that I will post on.

I will review these things in class today so we can clear up any questions.

And onto your first blog post. This is the typical procedure: You will have a blog post due every Tuesday (there are some exceptions, which will be noted on the course schedule on Learning Suite). Thursday, right after class, I will post a prompt on the class blog, and you will have the weekend to post on your blog. Before Thursday's class, then, you will be required to read at least three of your classmates' responses to the same blog prompt and comment on their post. This will allow me to see if you are actually reading and responding to each other's blogs. If you have any questions, just email me or ask in class.

One more thing before I give you the prompt. I will also be posting questions for you to think about as you read the assigned readings. For Tuesday, you will read an article in the Globalization reader as well as a chapter in Writing and Rhetoric. I want you to think about the claims, reasons, and assumptions in the Globalization article, and we will talk about them in class.

Okay. This is Tuesday's prompt:

• You will first write a small paragraph introducing yourself to your classmates. Give us your background information and anything you'd like us to know––what makes you interesting? what do you love? etc. 
• Next, you will write a proposal for the Opinion Editorial (Op Ed) assignment. You will propose a certain topic and tell how how the topic is relevant (kairotic). You will briefly analyze the rhetorical situation of your chosen topic, making sure to include your initial stance on the issue. Analyze your claims and reasons, and tell us what assumptions you will have to make about your audience. In short, this will be a pretty detailed proposal, but it will help you get started writing. 

Any questions, just let me know! Good luck.