Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Let's Brainstorm
We are about to begin paper 2, the researched argument. One of the most important parts of the assignment is choosing an original and complex topic to write an argument about. For this blog, I'd like you to write about some of your ideas. If you don't have any specific ideas yet, then a good way to approach this blog is to write about some of the things in your life that you are really interested in (your hobbies, your religious community, your clubs, the things you read, etc.). Many of your interests can be turned into really good research questions.
I recommend reviewing the prompt before you start writing as there are a number of topics that you cannot do and all topics do have to be approved, but that's not something you need to worry about right now. Right now, I want you thinking about original ideas (that means something new that no one has said before) that are deep enough to do research on and write a 8-10 paper on.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Journal 3
Watch the clip from To Kill a Mockingbird and analyze Atticus Finch's speech for either logos or ethos. You may need to read a summary of the movie if you are unfamiliar with the book and the film. You can find the entire transcript of this speech in American Rhetoric (the link is in the course library). Unfortunately, this isn't a clip from the movie (more of a slideshow), but it is the best version I could find.
In your peer response indicate something that would make your peer's argument stronger.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Blog Guidelines
Here are some guidelines to ensure that you get full credit on your blog posts:
1. Your response to the question should be approximately 250-300 words. You are welcome to write more, but writing less is not sufficient.
2. Make sure you reference the reading(s).
3. If you are going to comment on a peer's post in the same entry, please organize your post this way: paragraph one should be your response and paragraph two should be your comments towards a peer.
4. Make sure your blog is done on time. Any post submit after the beginning of class will not receive any credit. Likewise, you cannot make up blog posts (unless you have already spoken to me about it).
Have fun with the blog and feel free to use it more than we are in class. This is a good way to demonstrate class participation.
Journal 2
How do arguments based on emotion work in different media? Are such arguments more or less effective in books, articles, television (news and entertainment), films, brochures, magazines, email, websites, etc? You might explore how a single medium handles emotional appeals or compare different media. For example, does a commercial for a product effect you more than a magazine advertisements of the same product? Why do think that is? Similarly, why do you think Internet newsgroups or bloggers seem to encourage angry outbursts versus our newspapers and television news programs? These are just examples so don't feel compelled to answer to those questions but your answer should address how you think appeals to pathos work different (or not) in different media.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Journal 1
This class is about arguments, and your reading for this week examined the different elements of many kinds of arguments. Now, it's time to make an argument of your own. Challenge or support the title of this chapter: is everything really an argument? If you are challenging the title, then you may want to consider situations where no argument is being made or reframe one of the kinds of arguments the chapter identifies as something other than argument. If you are supporting the title, you may want to consider other experiences you've had where you now realize you were hearing/speaking an argument. Either way, support your response with examples from the text and from your life experiences.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)