Thursday, February 23: Thesis Statements

Hello all!

Thank you for your patience again this week with the substitute--I really appreciate everyone's work effort and good attitudes! I should be back in class next week, so I look forward to seeing you all again.

Here's a link to today's lesson: Lesson 6.

Today in class, you discussed thesis statements. I know this is an apprehensive subject for plenty of you, because thesis statements look different for different kind of papers, so it's hard to nail down exactly what it looks like. However, one thing you can always hold onto when writing a thesis is that a thesis, regardless of the subject you are writing about, always defines your purpose in writing your paper.

I listed several examples of what a thesis looks like for a rhetorical analysis on today's presentation in the link above. In a rhetorical analysis, you are going to be taking a position on whether or not the author's rhetorical choices are effective for the author's specific intended audience. A working thesis will typically have these elements:

• Author's name
• Title of article (in quotes)
• Who the intended audience is
• What the intended purpose is
• BRIEF listing of rhetorical choices

Please know that your thesis will most likely change over time (which is why we call it a "working thesis"). You may decide to shift positions, list a more specific audience or purpose, relabel rhetorical choices, etc. Also, as you begin actually writing your introduction for your analysis, you will be able to amend some of necessary elements of a working thesis (for instance, if you've already introduced the article's title in the introduction, you won't necessarily need to re-state the article title in your thesis). For now, though, your working thesis should really have all of these elements.

Some of you have mentioned that you struggle identifying a specific audience for texts. I suggest looking for purpose first; figure out the author's main message... what change does the author want to bring about? Why are they writing in the first place? (Also, keep in mind that many of us tend to fall back on the claim that the author hopes "to inform" his/her audience of something... Far more likely, though, in each of these articles the author is aiming "to persuade" or "to convince" someone. If you detect any sort of bias--any action the author is trying to get the audience to take--the author is aiming to persuade). From there, you should ask yourself, who can make the change that the author wants? Who is in a position to fix the problem? The answer to that question is most likely the audience. Also, be sure to look at where the article was published. Do a little background research on the context--this can also point you toward audience.

As for rhetorical choices, some of you have been picking out really interesting choices that an author makes, but struggling to label it. This is common. Again, don't try to force a label that doesn't truly fit. If you recognize that Dillon uses pieces of badly written emails, you might call this an "illustration." If you struggle with these labels, you're welcome to email me about it, or I also highly recommend visiting the University Writing Center. 

Homework:

• Readings:
• St. Martin's Handbook: Chapter 3f-g, "Planning," "Drafting"  (pgs. 54-63)
• First-Year Writing: Ch. 18  and Ch. 22 (pgs. 343-353, 407-414)
• BA4

Brief Assignment #4:

In this assignment, you will continue your preparation for writing your rhetorical analysis by writing thesis statements suitable for it. Using three texts specified by your classroom instructor (Dillon, Cangialosi, and Pipher):

1) Identify the audience and purpose of each text and explain what those are in about 75-100 words 

2) Create a thesis statement for a rhetorical analysis of each text.

Remember that to successfully create your thesis statements, you will need to read these texts carefully (and, usually, several times) so that you thoroughly understand the audience, purpose, and content of the texts.

Texts for your thesis statements:

Sam Dillon, "What Corporate America Can’t Build:  A Sentence"

Karen Cangialosi, "Healing Through the Written Word"

Mary Pipher, "Writing to Connect"

That should be it for now! Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Thursday, February 16: Critical Reading cont.

Hello class!

I hope today went well; I heard good things from my substitute, and I want to thank you all for your patience and hard work while I am recovering! You may have a substitute again next week, as I am told that I need surgery to realign my broken bone.

Here is a link to today's lesson: Lesson 5.

Today, you discussed what it means to analyze: the practice of taking apart and parsing the meaning/effectiveness of an argument (or any piece of writing, really).  You also talked about how WHAT someone is arguing may not be nearly as important as HOW that person is choosing to argue their point. As you talked about, analysis is not simply summarizing the argument, nor is it a chance for you to refer briefly to the writing and then rant about your own opinions on the topic; it is a chance for you to pick apart the author's methodology. Again, you should be asking, Was this really the best choice to make to convince the audience? Why or why not?

The group work activity today was intended to make you get more familiar with the text you are going to be writing your analysis over. Hang onto your answers and begin thinking about ways to incorporate them into your paper.

Homework:

• Reading
• St. Martin's:  Chs. 8 and 13
• FYW:  Ch. 6 (pgs. 119-152)
• For this week, you do not have a BA, BUT you do have a Writing Reflection assignment that is due TO ME (not through RaiderWriter) via email by Tuesday, 11:59pm.

Writing Reflection

Write a brief reflection--Two paragraphs, 300-400 words. Discuss:

(1) Which concepts in the course do you have a strong

understanding of?

(2) Which concepts are you struggling with?

• Look back through previous lectures on the blog or previous assignments on RaiderWriter
• Email this to your instructor (Emma.Sutton@ttu.edu) by Tuesday, 11:59pm.

Please let me know if you have any more questions! Though I am not available in office hours currently, I am more than happy to answer questions via email. Have a good week!

Thursday, February 9: Critical Reading and Rhetorical Devices

Hi class,

Here's the link to this morning's presentation: Lesson 4.

Also, here's a link to the list of rhetorical devices that we discussed in class: Common Rhetorical Choices. BUT--keep in mind that these are BY NO MEANS the ONLY rhetorical choices you can make in your writing. As we've said several times, there are literally millions of choices you can make in your writing. Therefore, if you're noticing a pattern in an author's work, but you aren't sure what to call that choice, you can make your own label for it. Don't try to force a piece of writing into a label that doesn't fit. We'll work throughout the semester on tightening up some of these labels as well.

As you move forward, concentrate on reading critically, questioning the author/content/overall message of the text that you are analyzing. Your goal is to look deeper at a text. Come at the text with a certain amount of skepticism, and don't take it at face value. More so, always be thinking of an author's specific audience when looking at the choices s/he makes. What change is the author trying to impact? Who can make these changes? Is the author making smart choices in order to reach these people?

We also discussed ethos/pathos/logos more in depth. Should you have missed class, catch up by looking through this morning's presentation. Remember, ethos/pathos/logos are not rhetorical choices; instead, they are pathways rhetorical choices take.

Also, please note that your first (optional) Open Tutoring sessions are coming up:

• BA3: Monday, Feb. 13, 5-7pm (in ENGL/PHIL 352 or 353)
• BA4: Monday, Feb. 27, 5-7pm

Homework:

• Reading:
• St. Martin's:
• Chapter 3a-3c, "Exploring a Topic," "Narrowing a Topic," "Drafting a Working Thesis"
• Chapter 10h, "Moving from Hypothesis to Working Thesis"
• Chapter 15a, "Refining Your Plans" (pgs. 40-49, 198, 250-252)
• First-Year Writing: Ch 2 (pgs. 30-36)
• BA3
• (Open Tutoring session--Monday Feb. 13, 5-7pm)

Basic Assignment #3:

For this brief assignment, using the text you will analyze for your Draft 1.1 (either Dillon's, Cangialosi's, or Pipher's articles), please do the following:

·        Identify the audience and purpose of the piece. Be as specific as possible and support your identification with a brief explanation (100-200 words).

·        Identify and briefly explain, in your own words, at least five significant and evident rhetorical choices the writer employs to reach this audience and achieve his or her purpose. Give at least two examples of each, and be sure to cite where you find each example (Author's-last-name page-number).

That's all for now! Let me know if you have any questions.

Thursday, February 2: Summary and Paraphrase

Good afternoon, all!

Here's the link to today's presentation: Lesson 3.

I hope that those of you who have come down with the flu begin feeling better soon! Please email me if you have any further questions not answered in today's post.

We covered the basics of summary and paraphrase in class today, meaning we discussed (1) the differences between the two and (2) how each are used in academic writing. We looked at what makes a good summary/paraphrase and what makes a bad summary/paraphrase. If you missed class, make sure to review the presentation posted above, as well as your readings that were due today (these include guidelines/checklists that you should look over before and after composing a summary or paraphrase).

Remember:

• A summary is when you condense a text. Summaries can be different lengths depending on what you're using them for, but they generally should encompass the entirety of the original author's message. Make sure that you understand the text so that you can present it accurately.
• A paraphrase is when you restate an author's words to put them in your own words. Remember that a paraphrase will be as long or longer than the original text, and you should make sure that you are accurately representing the original's message.

Homework:

• Readings:
• FYW: Ch. 4 (pgs. 69-100)
• St. Martin's Handbook (pgs. 124-139)
• BA2

Brief Assignment #2: Please do both parts and clearly label each.

Part One, Article Summaries

Your instructor will tell you which article from your First-Year Writing textbook you will use for your summaries. 

(Pick one of the three articles: Dillon's "What Corporate America Can't Build," Cangialosi's "Healing through the Written Word," or Pipher's "Writing to Connect." (All are in Ch. 23 of your FYW textbook). Start thinking of which article you would like to write your rhetorical analysis over and work with that article). 

You will write two different summaries of the assigned article. The first summary will be a single sentence in length. The next summary will be five sentences in length. Strategies for completing both will be discussed in class. Before turning in your summaries, please make sure you label them as either "One Sentence Summary" or "Five Sentence Summary."

Part Two, Paraphrase

After you’ve completed your summaries, you will paraphrase a brief passage selected by your instructor. 

(Paraphrase paragraph six of Atul Gawande's "A Lifesaving Checklist"--pgs. 99-100 in FYW.)

Your goal in this portion of the assignment is to restate the ideas of the passage in your own words and do so in a way that is readable and understandable. Label this final portion of the assignment as "Paraphrase." If your instructor gives you more than one passage to choose from, make sure you add the author's name and page number of the passage to your label.

As always, BA2 is due on Tuesday night, before 11:59pm.

That should be it for now! Should you have any questions, email me or come by office hours.