3rd Quarter RJ Conference

Next week when you guys have time to work on your visual argument (Mon-Thurs), you will also need to meet with me for 5-10 minutes for your reading journal conference.  The only RJ you have for this quarter is for Young Men & Fire.


What to talk about:

• Your growth as a critical reader--remember this is always in terms of Nabokov's definition of critical reading and you MUST use evidence from your RJ (earlier ones for where you were and YM&F for your growth)
• The difference between critically reading fiction and non-fiction.  You can discuss your preferences but I also want you to talk about the actual differences in reading them (what you look for differently, which is more challenging or easier and in what ways, etc.).  Again, use evidence from your RJ to back up your claims.

Visual Argument Group Project

Your assignment is to create a visual argument with a partner or group of 3-4.  You’ll draw a product and specific audience; your purpose is to get your particular group of consumers to buy your product.  You may choose the type of ad you’ll create.

Objectives:

• Apply argumentation to a visual
• Work with specific purpose & audience
• Collaborate on a creative project
• Real world application of argumentation

Resources:

• Textbook—all of it, specifically Chap 15
• Commercials, ads, campaign literature, public service announcements, educational/promotional posters, etc.

Graded On Quality of Project:

• Professional
• Creative, neat, demonstrates real effort
• Clear attention to audience
• Effectiveness of argument
• Use of rhetoric (appeals, rhetorical devices INCLUDING figurative language)

Hand In:

• Project
• Written explanation of how you're appealing to your audience, which rhetorical devices and figurative language you're using and WHY you made those specific decisions.  You should also provide a clear explanation of where this ad would appear (Sports Illustrated, commercial during Grey’s Anatomy, Wall Street Journal, etc.)

DUE DATE:
Your project is due Monday, March 5.  You will present the project to the class that day so you must have the project in hand at the beginning of class.  ***NO EMAILING***

Non-Fiction Rhetorical Analysis

Analyze the argument of your non-fiction book.  Write an essay in which you:

• Identify purpose, audience, and the argument your author’s making
• Analyze the rhetorical devices and appeals the author makes
• Pinpoint and argue any fallacies, holes in the argument, or general weaknesses

Basically, use everything we’ve discussed, learned in EAA, and done with the books we’ve read and discussed together—only now you’re doing in on your own with a full-length text.  You should be thorough, convincing, and polished.  Use MLA, cite your quotes, and carefully edit your paper.

Length:  4-5 pages

Non-Fiction Ind Rdg Recommendations

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner

Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Stiff by Mary Roach

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

The Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes

Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft, Miriam Brody

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier

  

No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process by Colin Beavan

 

Original Argument Process Paper

AP Lang

Grissom

ORIGINAL ARGUMENT INCLUDING RESEARCH

The Assignment:

Come up with an argument of your own…the number of potential topics is virtually endless.  Choose something that means something to you, something you don’t mind delving into for the next month or so.  Again, you have some flexibility with the way you structure and organize your essay. 

The Requirements: 

You must include research that stretches the boundaries on your previous experience with the “research paper.”  Use at least one strong primary source in addition to several secondary sources.  In addition to the normal secondary sources (book, website, EBSCO), make sure you also include an alternative secondary source.  Try looking at media, transcripts, pictures etc.  Cite everything according to MLA style and include a works cited page.  The word restrictions stay the same (500-750 words); therefore, be concise!

Objectives:

• Apply knowledge of appeals and fallacies to write a persuasive original argument
• Evaluate the credibility of various sources of information and use them effectively to add merit to an argument
• Expand knowledge and experience with primary and secondary sources
• Correctly use MLA citations (parenthetical and works cited)
• Fit a mass of information into a tightly-written essay

Step One:

Try to pick your topic by tomorrow.  Let me tell you why.  That way, you can use the majority of the week to start conducting some preliminary research.  Make sure you’ve chosen a topic for which you can find information.  You will need to complete this step BEFORE you complete your proposal.  Possible resources to check out include the EBSCO database, other IHS subscriptions, Dunn, credible websites.  You must evaluate these sources—I’m not just grading you on having research, but also on the quality of sources you choose as support for you argument.  Your textbook clearly spells out what to look for in quality sources.

Step Two:

Write your proposal.  A detailed, organized plan of what you intend your argument to look like is due a week from today.

1. What is your topic and thesis?  In other words, tell me first about what you’re going to write about and then what you plan to say about it. 
2. What points do you plan to make in order to support your thesis?  In other words, what are the reasons your thesis is true?
3. What are the warrants for those reasons?
4. Tell me about some of the sources of information you’ve already gathered.
5. What plans do you have for your primary source(s)?  Be specific.  Don’t just tell me the type you plan to use.  I want to know who, how, what, and when you plan to gather that information.  If you’ve already developed interview questions, a survey, or some type of observation/experiment plan, please include a copy with your proposal.  DO NOT BEGIN YOUR PRIMARY RESEARCH UNTIL YOUR PROPOSAL AND ANY OTHER NECESSARY STEPS ARE COMPLETED.  Absolutely DO NOT give out a survey that I have not seen and approved.  I must also approve the WAY and NUMBER you will give out.
6. How do you plan to organize and structure your argument initially? Keep in mind this may change.
7. What questions or concerns do you have at this point?

NYT Presentation Info

AP Lang

NYT Work—2^nd Semester

These questions will be used for each article in second semester.  When it’s your turn to present, go to the New York Times OPINION page, click on COLUMNISTS and choose a column from the last week to read carefully and study for these questions.   Be prepared to read the article to the class and lead them in a discussion of these questions.  You should let them talk and throw out options, but you should be prepared as the expert on your article.  Please steer clear of CONTRIBUTORS.

http://www.nytimes.com/opinion/

  

1.    What is the thesis and where is it?  If it’s implicit, how does the author make it clear?

2.    Identify rhetorical modes and devices.  Get specific about identifying these—in the text, clearly marked—then also look at the effect.

3.    To what does the author appeal?  Again, point it out in the text, clearly stating not just what kind of appeal, but what particular emotion, value, etc. the author is drawing on.  How effective is it?

4.    What is the tone of the overall piece?  Use three good words to pinpoint the tone as exactly as possible.

5.    Are there any fallacies in the argument?  Which ones?  Point them out in the text.

6.    What are the strengths and weaknesses of this argument?  Be specific and objective in your observation.  Don’t be swayed by whether you agree with the author or not!

7.    After studying this piece, what, if anything, would you like to emulate as a writer?

Booktalk Rubric

This is the rubric I'll be using to grade your booktalks.  You might look it over as you prepare your presentation.  I've updated the Google calendar so you can see when you present over the next couple of weeks.