Sunday, December 5, 2010

Class - Monday, 12/6/2010

- Roll
- Final Grade Conferences – Sign up and What to Bring
- Reflection Discussion
Final Writing Review
Reading 12: Textbook Ch. 2 Writing Reviews p. 70-74 (instructors may also want to assign or discuss in class sample drafts from Appendix B)

Objective: To review the work you have completed in the course and to reflect on what you have learned from it.

Description: Description: To complete this assignment, begin by taking the post-semester diagnostic available at the E-Handbook site. You will need to include a discussion of the pre- and post-semester diagnostic in your review. Then look back at your pre- and post-semester grammar diagnostic scores and results, all of your assignments and commentary, and class notes and in-class activities. Based on what you find when you examine these materials, write a 400 - 550 word reflection on what you have learned about academic writing and what you understand about it that wasn’t clear to you before. Develop a thesis that helps your readers understand what you will focus on in the review.

Then, give specific examples that help you illustrate your thesis. For example, you can discuss specifically what you have learned about summarizing and paraphrasing texts, about analyzing texts, as well as what kinds of challenges those tasks posed for you. You should also discuss what you have learned about grammar and mechanics that has helped you become a stronger writer in that respect. In addition, you should also talk about other learning experiences you’ve encountered during the course. Finally, you should discuss how the work you’ve done in 1301 has or has not transferred to the writing you have been asked to do in other courses this semester.

You may use first-person pronouns in this review, but keep in mind that the language and tone of the review should be professional.

- Grammar Jeopardy

Monday, November 29, 2010

Class - Monday, Nov. 27, 2010

Class – Monday, Nov. 29, 2010

1.     Roll
2.     Survey (only for those absent last week):
http://www.quia.com/sv/481791.html
3.     Any Questions on BA9?
4.     Draft 1.2: Revised Rhetorical Analysis

Objective: To complete a final, polished draft of your analysis paper

Purpose: In the first half of the course, you honed your writing skills so as to prepare you for college level writing. You used all of these skills, (summarizing, paraphrasing, critical reading, constructing thesis statements, and using supporting material via quotations) throughout the writing of the initial draft of this assignment. Since completing Draft 1.1, you have written peer critiques and practiced revising various sections of the draft. This assignment asks you to put everything you’ve learned this semester together in writing a final draft of your rhetorical analysis.

Description: To complete this assignment, first evaluate your initial draft (Draft 1.1) by answering the following questions.

·         Did you select a text to analyze? Recall that you may either select an essay from Ch. 10 of your textbook, or another piece of writing from a scholarly journal, reputable newspaper or website. Your classroom instructor may also have suggestions for you as to appropriate texts to analyze.
·         Did you select your text and critically read it to determine the writer’s purpose and intended audience for the text? Do you have a good understanding of those elements?
·         Have you analyzed the text so as to determine the specific strategies the writer uses to achieve his or her purpose and to meet the needs of the audience. For example, you might have chosen to look at such elements as the types of evidence a writer puts forward and how he or she does so. Remember that you should have examined several strategies, including tone, word choice, and sentence structure.
·         After you determined what these strategies were used, you were to have considered how well these strategies actually worked.

If you have not completed any or all of the above, your revisions should start by addressing these concerns. If you did, your revisions might begin with adding additional discussion of the text, or they may begin with a close analysis of your own evidence, sentence structure, word choice, and tone. How could you improve the communication of your own points to your intended readers?

Your revised draft should be no more than 1500 words.

Given that this is a final draft, it should be proofread carefully to ensure that it is grammatically and mechanically correct. Please use MLA format for your works cited and your in-text citations.

5.     Questions?/How to fine tune edit your essay
-         Work Backwards
-         Sentence by Sentence
-         Diagram your essay
-         Writing Center
-         Peer Edits
6.     Grammar Jeopardy
7.     Class Evaluations

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Important Reminders for Class Monday, Nov. 21, 2010

Hi, all,
Two quick reminders for class tomorrow:
1. We are meeting in the front library atrium (where the fountains are, on the side of the library facing the SUB) and will hold the entire class period in the library. I will take attendance there at 9:30. I will then give your instructions for the class period.
2. Please make sure to have a copy of your working Draft 1.1 with you during class tomorrow, whether it's a copy you can access online, on your laptop, on a USB storage drive, or even as a hard copy. Tomorrow's in-class assignment is an opportunity for you to work on your paper revisions -- for in-class credit, BA9, and in preparation for Draft 1.2. Please don't forget to bring along your copy!

Class - Monday, Nov. 22, 2010

Monday, 11/22/2010
1.     Meet in Atrium/Attendance/Announcements
2.     Complete survey (10 minutes):
SURVEY LINK - CLICK HERE

Please make sure to submit your answers!
3.     Revision Assignment:
·        Review E-Handbook Ch. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41
·        Using the BA9 guidelines, Ch 42 of your E-Handbook, and comments from your two Draft 1.1 graders, work on Brief Assignment 9 procedures for paragraph 2 (your first body paragraph -- not part of the introduction) of your Draft 1.1 essay. If you do not finish within class time, email me what you have done (in the text of the email, not as an attachment please) at erin.trauth@ttu.edu OR (if you finish) submit it on Raider Writer by the end of the class period. Also, make sure to save this for yourself somewhere (in your email, on a USB hard drive, etc.) -- this editing can be used as your Draft 1.2 revision!
·    If you finish early -- please begin making revisions to paragraph 3 in your Draft 1.1. Again, please remember to save all of your work!
·        Check out with me before you leave. I’ll be in the atrium. You may check out with me anytime from 20 minutes until the end of class time until the end of actual class time.
·        The final draft of BA9 is due this Friday. Have a wonderful holiday!

Homework/BA9 Procedures:
Brief Assignment 9: Revisions at the Sentence Level
Reading 11: E-Handbook Ch. 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

Objective: To demonstrate your ability to revise paragraphs at the sentence level
Purpose: When you revise papers, you begin by reexamining content and organization of the paper overall before moving to more specific concerns such as the thesis, introduction, and conclusion. Usually, one of the final steps involves revising the body paragraphs to ensure that they reflect your intended purpose and reach your intended audience. This final brief assignment will help you accomplish that. 
Description: For this assignment, use the guidelines from Chapter 42 in the e-handbook to revise a substantial body paragraph (i.e. at least 4 sentences in length) from your Draft 1.1. Use the section “Editing for emphasis and conciseness” to guide your revision. Paste the original paragraph from your 1.1 draft into the assignment so that your instructor will be able to compare the original with your revision.

Finally, write a short summary and evaluation of your revisions. Identify and explain which new strategy you used from the textbook and explain how changing the strategies used in this paragraph will influence your readers’ response to your analysis. Also let readers know here which paragraph, your original or the revision, is the strongest and why you believe that to be so. 
The total length of this assignment should be 500 – 700 words, including the original body paragraph, the revised version, and the evaluation of those revisions.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Class Monday. Nov. 15, 2010

1. Roll
2. Questions on BA7?
3. Discussion: What are the purposes of conclusions? What should a good conclusion do? What are some techniques for concluding an essay?
4. Brief Assignment 8: Revisions of Conclusions
Reading 10: Textbook Ch. 3 Conclusions pp. 92-98

Objective: To develop new strategies for writing effective conclusions for academic papers and to expand your understanding of what makes an effective conclusion.

Purpose: The concluding paragraph of a document plays a key role in how readers respond to the entire text. In this assignment, you will attempt a revision of your conclusion to Draft 1.1. Keep in mind that your original conclusion may remain the better of your two efforts.

Description: To complete this assignment, review the strategies for writing conclusions on pages 92-98. of your textbook. Then, copy and paste your original conclusion from your 1.1 draft and re-read it. In a brief sentence or two, identify and explain which of the strategies from the textbook you used in composing this conclusion. If you cannot identify one of these strategies in your conclusion, then describe the strategy you had in mind.

Next, revise your conclusion. You must incorporate a strategy from the textbook that is different from the structure your conclusion originally used.

Finally, write a short summary and evaluation of your revisions. Identify and explain which new strategy you used from the textbook and explain how changing the strategies used in your conclusion will influence your readers’ response to your analysis. Also let readers know here which conclusion, your original or the revision, is the strongest and why you believe that to be so.


The total length of this assignment should be 500 – 650 words, including the original conclusion, the revised version, and summary and justification.

5. Grammar Games, Continued

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Week 10/11

Monday, Nov. 8, 2010
1.      Roll
2.      Questions about BA6?
3.      Discuss Ch. 3 Introductions – pgs. 77-83
4.      Revision of Sample Introduction – Group Activity and Voting
5.      Discuss BA 7
Brief Assignment 7: Revisions of Introductions
Reading 9: Textbook Ch. 3 Introductions pp. 77-83
Objective: To develop new strategies for writing effective introductions for academic papers and to expand your understanding of what makes an effective introduction.

Purpose: The introductory paragraph of a document plays a key role in how readers respond to the entire text. In this assignment, you will attempt a revision of your introduction to Draft 1.1. Keep in mind that your original introduction may remain the better of your two efforts.

Description: To complete this assignment, review the strategies for writing introductions on pages 77-82 of your textbook. Then, copy and paste your original introduction from Draft 1.1 draft and re-read it. In a brief sentence or two, identify and explain which of the strategies from the textbook you used in composing this introduction. If you cannot identify one of these strategies in your introduction, then describe the strategy you had in mind.

Next, revise your introduction using one of the strategies from the textbook. Make sure that your new introduction is different from the one you wrote for your original introduction. Also make sure that you revise your thesis and focus of your draft, if necessary, in this new introduction.

Finally, write a short summary and evaluation of your revisions. Identify and explain which new strategy you used from the textbook and explain how this new strategy will influence your readers’ response to your analysis. Also let readers know which introduction, your original or the revision, is the strongest and why you believe that to be so.  

Total length of this assignment should be between 500 – 650 words, including the original introduction, the revised version, and summary and justification
6.      Grammar Games

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Week 8/9 - Monday, Nov. 1

1. Roll
2. Critiques - any questions?
3. Your Writing Process - Freewrite
3. Global Revision
4. 
Brief Assignment 6: Global Revision
Reading 8: E-Handbook Ch. 6a; 6c-f; g-j; Ch. 7;  Ch. 17f; Ch. 26, 27 & 29

Objective: To develop the ability to determine what revisions should be made to an early draft of a document.

Purpose: Most inexperienced writers have trouble identifying, prioritizing, and executing appropriate large scale revisions to a draft. In this assignment, you’ll read both an initial draft and a subsequently revised version of this draft, evaluate the changes made, and make suggestions as to what else might be revised.

Description: To complete this assignment, read the initial draft provided and then write an initial paragraph in which you discuss the problems that you see in the current draft. Next, read the revised draft and write another paragraph in which you discuss 1) whether the problems that you saw in the first draft were addressed, 2) whether the revisions fixed other issues that you hadn’t noticed in the draft, and 3) why the revisions are or are not an improvement over the first draft. If you believe other revisions should be made to the draft, conclude your assignment with an explanation of what those are and how the revisions should be made.

HW:
1. BA 6
2. Study E-Handbook Top 20 and E-Handbook Ch. 6a; 6c-f; g-j; Ch. 7;  Ch. 17f; Ch. 26, 27 & 29

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Monday, October 25, 2010

1.       Roll
2.       Draft 1.1 – Any Questions?
3.       Peer Review Commenting Powerpoint
4.       Grammar

·         Peer Critiques
Reading 6: E-Handbook Ch. 3
Objective: To demonstrate your ability to write a critique based on a primary source (a peer's essay).
Purpose: Having others read your writing is a good way to find out if your document is reaching its intended audience. In this assignment, you will read the drafts of two of your peers and write a critique of each.
Description: To complete this assignment, use the guidelines on p. 63 of your textbook and compose a critique of your peers’ drafts. For each critique, you will introduce the draft, summarize its main points, assess and respond to the author's presentation, and offer conclusions about the effectiveness of the analysis. Remember to speak as specifically as possible about the draft, quoting from it when necessary. Your critique will be 400 - 500 words in length.
The elements of the draft you should address include:
•Text for analysis/Thesis: Identify the writer's thesis and then evaluate it for effectiveness. Determine whether the writer has selected a particular text to analyze and whether or not the thesis indicates that the writer will complete a rhetorical analysis of the text. Discuss whether the thesis is specific enough and of appropriate scope for this analysis. Explain why or why not, and provide suggestions for the writer to help improve the thesis, if necessary.
•Quality and Specificity of Analysis: Evaluate the writer’s analysis. Does the writer select specific rhetorical elements of the text to discuss? What are these elements, and what does the writer have to say about them? Does the writer seem to effectively analyze, or does the draft read more as a summary or paraphrasing of parts of the text being analyzed, or does the writer end up arguing about the content, rather than the structure and presentation of the text?
•Overall Essay Structure: Comment on the overall structure of the essay. For example, explain in detail whether or not the paragraphs are presented in a logical and persuasive way. Does the writer provide a clear introduction, body and conclusion? Does each paragraph begin with a clear topic sentence and transition into the next paragraph? Provide examples that are particularly effective or areas that need more improvement.
·         Rubric Application
C1:  Focus

Does the student thoroughly explore the quality and specificity of the draft being examined in the critique?

C3:  Sources and Evidence
Does the student support his or her critique with evidence from the text? In other words, does the student directly refer to specific parts of the text (paragraphs and/or sentences).  This criterion is particularly important because students tend to use vague and generic language that could apply to any draft.
C5: Own Perspective
Does the student show authority in relaying his or her perspective about the effectiveness of the text? Students tend to shy away from making a direct critique of a document, or they default to praising the document in some generic way.
C6: Conclusion
Does the student provide an accurate evaluative statement about the draft's overall effectiveness?  Does the student discuss the significance of the problems he or she identifies in the draft (i.e., how important each of these problems are)?
C7: Communication
Does the student communicate his or her critique effectively?  Is the student's tone professional?  Has the student organized his or her critique effectively?  Is the critique relatively free of grammatical errors?
·         Review Examples of Peer Critiques

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Week 6/7 – Monday, Oct. 18, 2010

Week 6/7 – Monday, Oct. 18, 2010
1.       Roll/Review Office Hours and Location
2.       Discuss HW Assignment Due Friday
3.       Discuss Midterm Grades and Grading Weights for 1301
4.       Grammar: “Like” vs. “As” http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/like-versus-as.aspx and Semi-Colons http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/semicolons.aspx
5.       Go over Draft 1.1 Assignment
Draft 1.1: Rhetorical Analysis
Reading 6: E-Handbook Ch. 3
Objective: To demonstrate your ability to rhetorically analyze texts.
Purpose: In the first half of the course, you have been honing your writing skills so as to prepare you for college level writing. You will use all of these skills, (summarizing, paraphrasing, critical reading, constructing thesis statements, and using supporting material via quotations) throughout your writing of this assignment.
Description:  After critically reading your text, you will determine the writer’s purpose and intended audience.
Once you have determined these elements, you will begin to analyze the text so as to determine the specific strategies the writer uses to achieve his or her purpose and to meet the needs of the audience. For example, you might choose to look at such elements as the types of evidence a writer puts forward and how he or she does so. Ask yourself if the writer uses evidence from sources, or if he or she tells stories from personal experience. Examine the sentence structures and word choice. How do these contribute to the author’s purpose? Evaluate the overall tone of the text, and determine how it does or does not contribute to the way in which it communicates to its audience. After you determine what these strategies are, consider how well these strategies actually work. As a result of this assignment, you should be able to take these skills and transfer them to any reading you are asked to do in college, and you should see an improvement in your ability to read and comprehend any text.
Although this is an initial draft, it should be carefully edited and written in a professional tone. Please use MLA format for both your in-text citations and your works cited in this draft.
Your draft should be 1200 words in length.
6.       Go over rubric  parameters for Draft 1.1
For draft 1.1, six of the criteria listed on the critical thinking rubric: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 will be applied:



Issue Identification and Focus

The student’s understanding of what a rhetorical analysis is should be the basis for this evaluation. The degree to which the student exhibits that understanding will determine what score is assigned.

Context and Assumptions

The student should demonstrate an understanding of the context in which the artifact being analyzed was written. That is, if the student doesn’t understand the purpose of the text in the first place, it will be difficult to write an analysis of it.

Sources and Evidence

Critical criterion here—consider the choice of quotations, balance of quotations used to identify v. quotations to analyze original author’s choices.

 Own Perspective

The thesis will be the primary point of focus for determining this score. Specificity, accuracy, and overall understanding will be primary. Also, does the remainder of the draft indicate that the writer understood what he/she said in the thesis?

 Conclusion

What conclusions does the writer draw about the effectiveness of the writer’s choices and of the resulting text overall? How specific and accurate are these?

Communication

Organization is the first thing I’d look at here—if the organization is poor, even if sentence level matters are adequate to good, the score will reflect that.

7.       Look at Draft 1.1 Examples
8.       Peer Review of Draft 1.1 Ideas and Drafts in Groups of two
9.       Draft 1.1 Question/Answer – 5 minutes
HW: Draft 1.1 Due Friday at 11:59 p.m.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Week 5 - Monday, October 4, 2010

·         Roll
·         Review Thesis Chapter
·         Questions on BA4? Remember, a thesis statement is not just a summary statement.
·         Rhetorical Devices Overview – 13 groups
·         Evaluating and Integrating Quotations (your rhetorical analysis will have several examples of textual evidence).
·         Look at examples of BA5
·         Group work: group by article, choose one quote to integrate –
3 groups – one sub-group finds ethos, one finds logos, one finds pathos, one finds examples of rhetorical devices, one finds organizational devices, one finds repetition.
·         St. Martin's Handbook. Chapter 15 is a great resource for this assignment.
·         Discuss BA 5:
Brief Assignment 5: Integrating and Evaluating Quotations
Reading 5: Textbook Ch. 1 Quotations p. 32-44; E-Handbook Ch. 15
Objective: To identify and evaluate quotations for use in your analysis essay.
Purpose:  Quotations pose several challenges for writers. The purpose of this assignment is for you to select quotations from sources you plan to use in your analysis essay, evaluate their usefulness, and discuss how and where you might use these in your upcoming draft.
Description:  Begin by writing your working thesis at the top of your assignment. Then, select a certain number of quotations (between 5 - 7) from the article that you plan to analyze in your draft. Write a brief assessment of why each quotation would be useful to you in composing your draft.  Your assessment of each quotation should include your answers to the following questions:
·         Where will this quotation fit in your organization?
·         How does it further and/or support your analysis?
·         Will you use it as a quotation or paraphrase the selection, and why?
NOTE: You may find that in identifying and evaluating your quotations, you modify your original thesis statement.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Week 4 - Monday, 9/27/2010

Week 4 – Monday, 9/27/2010
  •      Roll
  •      Review Class Email Policy (it’s an extension of class, so it’s important you read it thoroughly)
  •      Re-Do of class email list
  •      Discuss class web sites – blog, e-handbook/Bedford/Raider Writer
  •      Discuss Class Readings Policy and Quizzes
  •     Chapter 4 Quiz
  •     BA 3 – Any questions?
  •     Review Chapter 4 in Textbook
  •    Thesis Statements Discussion and Activity: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/
  •    Look at Thesis Statement Examples (will be attached in email later, too)
  •    Thesis Statements for a Rhetorical Analysis
  •    Assign BA 4:
Brief Assignment 4: Developing Thesis Statements
Reading 4: Textbook Ch. 3 Thesis p. 83-92; E-Handbook Ch. 12h; 17a;

Objective: To develop new strategies for writing a thesis statement.

Purpose: One key to writing a successful essay is to develop a focused thesis statement. This assignment will enable you to do so.

 Description: For your draft 1.1, you will write a rhetorical analysis.  See the description of Draft 1.1 for a discussion of what a rhetorical analysis is and what you will be expected to do. 

 To create your thesis, you need to have the following: 1) one primary text that will serve as the object of your analysis, and 2) the results of your close reading of this text that you will use to formulate your thesis.

 To complete this assignment, compose three thesis statements that you might use in your draft 1.1.  You may write 3 statements which could be used in three different analytical papers, or try out different thesis statements for a single paper.

HW:
BA 4 and Readings - Due Friday by 11:59 p.m.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Week 3 Follow-Up Email Text

Hello all,
Thank you for your attention and participation in class today. I’m writing (as usual) to review some key points, direct you to some very important supplementary information (which will help you to be successful in completing the homework assignment for this week), review homework assignments, and, of course, start a dialogue for any questions you may have. This information is also posted on our course blog.
Before I get to the key points, let me mention that I have attached the comma rules review I mentioned in class and the “Reading for Meaning” worksheet we used in conjunction with the “helicopter parents” article. The comma review sheet is for you to review independently. The “Reading for Meaning” worksheet -- alongside with your notes from class and Chapter 2 in your text book – will help you to generate evaluative writing in order to successfully complete Brief Assignment 3.
Key Points Review:
·       An evaluation of a text moves beyond summary and provides a critique.
·       A critique should summarize the article, identify rhetorical aspects like purpose, topic, issues, conclusions, tone, etc., and broadly answer questions such as “to what extent does the author succeed in his or her purpose” and “to what extent do you agree with the author?”
·       Sometimes, a text will have multiple purposes, but you can usually identify a main purpose for evaluation purposes.
·       Become a master of critical reading: annotate, underline, and respond critically to points as you read.
·       Ethos, pathos, and logos are often employed in persuasive texts – ask yourself how the author is attempting to persuade you as a reader, and whether or not the correlations being made from the attempt are valid (or not).
·       Sometimes, ethos, pathos, and logos are used in conjunction with one another.
·       Always think about what type of audience an article is being written for – does the author make assumptions about that audience? If so, are they always true?
·       To quote from your textbook: “Your task in writing this evaluation (Brief Assignment 3) is to turn your critical reading of the chosen article into a systematic evaluation in order to deepen you reader’s (and your own) understanding of the article. Among other things (which means any and all items discussed about article evaluation in class today), you’re interested in determining: what and author says, how well the points are made, what assumptions underlie the argument, what issues may have been overlooked, and what implications can be drawn from such an analysis. Remember that you can’t simply say ‘I liked it’ or ‘the article didn’t meet its intended purpose’ – you should be concerned with specifically HOW and WHY each of the strategies/techniques/pieces of evidence employed in your article do or do not work.”
Important Supplementary Information
Before beginning Brief Assignment 3, (and in addition to the readings assigned in “Reading 3” below), please review in detail the following items in your textbook:
·       Chapter 2 as a whole – pay special attention to sections which detail how to answer the questions “to what extent does the author succeed in his or her purpose” and “to what extent do you agree with the author?” Also, once you determine your chosen article’s purpose, make sure to review the keys to evaluating the various purpose and employ the techniques suggested in the text (these can be found toward the beginning of the chapter).
·       Chapter 2, Pg. 63 – guidelines for writing critiques – this page provides a concise overview of possible organization and focus for your Brief Assignment 3. I’d highly advise using this as your guide (in correlation with the attached “Reading for Meaning” worksheet questions we went over in class). The basic model to follow here is: introduce, summarize, assess, respond, conclude. Please make sure you have an understanding of these terms before you begin writing.
·       Pgs. 655-656 – provides two real-life examples of Brief Assignment 3 for your review. Note that these examples not only give an introduction and summary of the article(s), but they also assess the presentation of the article (using the parameters given in Chapter 2, pg. 63 in particular, the topics covered on the “Reading for Meaning” worksheet, and other sources of basis for rhetorical evaluation and critique), respond to the presentation of the article, and conclude in a way which deems the article suitable (or unsuitable for further analysis).
Homework Review:
After reviewing the information above, please complete the following items by Friday, September 24, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.:
Brief Assignment 3: Critical Reading

Reading 3:
·       McWhorter, “Reading and Writing about Text” (available from E-Handbook site)
·       E-Handbook Ch. 2c
·       Ch. 9
·       Textbook Ch. 4 Rhetorical Analysis p. 101-130

Objective: To demonstrate your ability to read critically and to effectively evaluate an article as potential source material for a college-level analysis assignment.

Purpose: To gain practice in evaluating sources, you’ll read and evaluate one article from the list provided below or an article specified by your instructor. Use the Guidelines for Evaluating Sources in Ch. 14c and 14d of The St. Martin’s Handbook to assist you in your evaluation.

Description: This is a two-part assignment. To complete the first part, go to the e-handbook site, enter Prep-U, and take the quiz labeled “First Reading Quiz.”

To complete part two of this assignment, first include your reading quiz score at the beginning of your assignment. Then, write an evaluation of the text you have chosen from the following list:
- MacNeil, Robert. “Do you Speak American?”First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2010. 313-323.

- Bryson, Bill. “Good English and Bad.” First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2010. 330-338.

- Crystal, David. “Why a Global Language?” First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2010. 350-359.

Remember that you are looking at this text as if you were going to use it as your object of evaluation in your Draft 1.1. To that end, you’ll want to read carefully and pay particular attention to the rhetorical features of the text. Your evaluation should be approximately two paragraphs in length, or 400 – 500 words. Your audience for the evaluation is an individual whom you are trying to convince that the article you’re evaluating is a good one for the upcoming Draft 1.1 assignment. This means it would make sense to reference Draft 1.1 directly in your conclusion.
Any Questions?
As always, if you have any questions, I am here to help – please email me, visit my office hours, or schedule a time to discuss any concerns you might have. And, again, as usual, check the blog if you need direct links for anything.
Have a great week,
Erin Trauth

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Week 3/4 - Monday, Sept. 20, 2010

Class Activities:
• Roll

• Review BA 2 – Any Questions?

• Comma Review (in email, will go over next class)

• Introduction to Draft 1.1

Draft 1.1: Rhetorical Analysis
Reading 6: E-Handbook Ch. 3

Objective: To demonstrate your ability to rhetorically analyze texts.

Purpose: In the first half of the course, you have been honing your writing skills so as to prepare you for college level writing. You will use all of these skills, (summarizing, paraphrasing, critical reading, constructing thesis statements, and using supporting material via quotations) throughout your writing of this assignment.

Description: To complete this assignment, you will begin by selecting a text to analyze. You may either select an essay from Ch. 9 of your textbook, or another piece of writing from a scholarly journal, reputable newspaper or website. Your classroom instructor may also have suggestions for you as to appropriate texts to analyze. After selecting your text and critically reading it, you will determine the writer’s purpose and intended audience for the text.

Once you have determined these elements, you will begin to analyze the text so as to determine the specific strategies the writer uses to achieve his or her purpose and to meet the needs of the audience. For example, you might choose to look at such elements as the types of evidence a writer puts forward and how he or she does so. Ask yourself if the writer uses evidence from sources, or if he or she tells stories from personal experience. Examine the sentence structures and word choice. How do these contribute to the author’s purpose? Evaluate the overall tone of the text, and determine how it does or does not contribute to the way in which it communicates to its audience. After you determine what these strategies are, consider how well these strategies actually work. As a result of this assignment, you should be able to take these skills and transfer them to any reading you are asked to do in college, and you should see an improvement in your ability to read and comprehend any text.

Although this is an initial draft, it should be carefully edited and written in a professional tone. Please use MLA format for both your in-text citations and your works cited in this draft.

Your draft should be 1200 words in length.



• Discussion: The Importance of Critical Reading (Discuss Chapter 2 in textbook)
 - What can we evaluate in a rhetorical analysis?

 - Review PTIC
 - Discuss Rhetorical Analysis/PTIC, Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Rhetorical Strategies (using Chapter 2 in Textbook)
Ethos, Pathos, Logos:
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass/web/project1/group4/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5QE7KV6gQY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImAD8BOBOhw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq_EZjhHaDY


• Critical Reading Activity – “Helicopter Parents” Article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37493795
(Annotate as a class)

• Critical Reading – Annotate Rest of Article in Groups/Apply PTIC and Mini-Rhetorical Analysis:
1. Consider how these annotations aid in understanding the piece. If they’re not, what annotations would be helpful?
2. Categorize, as specifically as possible, the annotations.
3. What do the various annotations do?
4. Present findings to class.

• Assign BA 3 (Due Friday at 11:59 p.m.):
Brief Assignment 3: Critical Reading

Reading 3: McWhorter, “Reading and Writing about Text” (available from E-Handbook site); E-Handbook Ch. 2c; Ch. 9; Textbook Ch. 4 Rhetorical Analysis p. 101-130

Objective: To demonstrate your ability to read critically and to effectively evaluate an article as potential source material for a college-level analysis assignment.

Purpose: To gain practice in evaluating sources, you’ll read and evaluate one article from the list provided below or an article specified by your instructor. Use the Guidelines for Evaluating Sources in Ch. 14c and 14d of The St. Martin’s Handbook to assist you in your evaluation.

Description: This is a two-part assignment. To complete the first part, go to the e-handbook site, enter Prep-U, and take the quiz labeled “First Reading Quiz.”

To complete part two of this assignment, first include your reading quiz score at the beginning of your assignment. Then, write an evaluation of the text you have chosen from the following list:
- MacNeil, Robert. “Do you Speak American?”First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2010. 313-323.

- Bryson, Bill. “Good English and Bad.” First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2010. 330-338.

- Crystal, David. “Why a Global Language?” First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines. Boston: Pearson Custom, 2010. 350-359.

Remember that you are looking at this text as if you were going to use it as your object of evaluation in your Draft 1.1. To that end, you’ll want to read carefully and pay particular attention to the rhetorical features of the text. Your evaluation should be approximately two paragraphs in length, or 400 – 500 words. Your audience for the evaluation is an individual whom you are trying to convince that the article you’re evaluating is a good one for the upcoming Draft 1.1 assignment.

• Look at samples of BA 3

Homework:
• BA3 (Reading Quiz 1, Rest of Assignment Listed Above)
• BA3 Readings (Reading 3: McWhorter, “Reading and Writing about Text” (available from E-Handbook site); E-Handbook Ch. 2c; Ch. 9; Textbook Ch. 4 Rhetorical Analysis p. 101-130)
• Review "Top Twenty" and "Comma Rules"