Advanced Strategies in Rhetoric and Research English 190

Dr. Paul Lynch [email protected] Office: Adorjan Hall 327 Office Hours:

Spring 2014

Course Description and Objectives Welcome! English 190 is designed to introduce and cultivate the rhetorical strategies necessary for producing texts in academic and public settings. This course focuses on writing and composing for particular purposes, audiences, and contexts. Throughout this semester, you will pursue one topic of your choosing to explore different kinds of texts (written, oral, visual) as well as the choices inherent in the composition process. We will practice skills like researching, designing, and advocating that will be helpful in this class and outside of it. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to demonstrate: The ability to analyze a rhetorical situation (audience, context, goal, etc.) and respond productively. The ability to explain and defend the decisions made while composing. A familiarity with a number of different composition methods including oral presentations, video production, andof coursewritten papers. An understanding of a basic library research methods. Required Course Texts and Materials Wysocki, Anne Frances and Dennis A. Lynch. Compose Design Advocate. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2013. Bullock, Richard, and Francine Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook. New York: Norton, 2011. Advocacy Project and Its Stages This course will ask you to imagine, design, and execute an advocacy project. This project, which you will pursue throughout the semester, will focus on a problem, or issue, of your choosing. Your job throughout the course will be to complete the various stages of this project that will allow you to intervene productively into the problem or issue youve identified. So, for example, let us say that campus safety is of particular concern to you. Perhaps youre a criminal justice major or a pre-legal studies major with an academic interest in the law. Or perhaps youre simply a concerned student who wants to promote campus safety here at SLU. If you were to pursue that idea, you would complete five major rhetorical stages of developing the project: 1. An analysis of two texts that are arguing over the position you care about. This is the rhetorical analysis. 2. A video presentation designed for an audience within that rhetorical situation. This is the video argument. 3. An evaluation of the video assignment. This is the written evaluation. 4. An oral presentation of the project designed for an audience within the situation. This is the oral presentation. 5. A research-based proposal of how to address the problem, also written for a particular audience in that situation. This is the research proposal. So, to sum up: you will be working on your own project throughout the semester, and all of your assignments will be geared toward that project. By the end of the course, you will be an expert in the particular situation that concerns you, and youll be able to craft persuasive messages that will allow you to intervene in that situation.

Before each assignment, I will provide you with a handout with the requirements of the assignment. Class discussion will also ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of what is expected. Please read the assignment sheets carefully and ask for clarification if you are unsure about anything. Course Requirements and Grading Your work will be graded on a 200-point scale. At the end of the course, you will have earned a certain number of points, I will add those points and divide the total by 200 to produce your percentage grade (which will translate into a letter according to the CAS scale). So, if you earn 184 points, your grade is 176/200, or 88%, which translates into a B+. Heres the breakdown: Reading Quizzes Short Writing Assignments Stage 1, Part 1: Rhetorical Analysis Stage 1, Part 2: Statement of Purpose Stage 2: A Multimedia Argument Stage 3: Evaluating Arguments Stage 4: Proposing Solutions Orally Stage 5: Proposing Solutions Textually Final: Assessing the Outcomes Annotated Bibliography 15 points 15 points 20 points 15 points 25 points 20 points 20 points 35 points 10 points 25 points

I will grade the stagesthe major assignmentson the College of Arts and Sciences scale: A AB+ B B100-84 93-90 89-87 86-83 82-80 C+ C CD F 79-77 76-73 72-70 69-60 59 and below

I will give you a rubric for each of the major stages. If you earn, say, a B on stage 2, youll earn 86% of 25 points, which comes to 21.5. The quizzes and short writing assignments will be graded on a 10-point scale, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. On these short assignments, if you put forth a serious effort (do the reading, answer the question, follow the directions), youre more likely than not to get full marks. At the end of the semester, Ill average those, and that percentage will be multiplied by 15 to produce a total. So, if you average an 8.8 on the quizzes, youll get a percentage .88, which comes out to 13.2 points. Although many of you will go above and beyond minimum expectations, make sure to at least meet the basic criteria of a successful essay to receive a passing grade. I will spend plenty of time making sure that you understand and know how to incorporate the elements necessary for a successful essay. The work for this course is carefully sequenced and will grow out of ongoing class work as well as your homework assignments. Staying on top of your assignments, doing them diligently, and turning them in on time are all crucial for your success in this class. If you have questions about a grade you received, or if you would like help improving your writing, please speak with me. We can meet during my office hours, which I have posted above, or schedule a different time to meet. Make sure to speak with me as your concerns arise, not during the final weeks of class. Attendance Regular attendance is expected, and is fundamental to your success in this class. Class attendance is especially important because you will be participating in lots of peer review, small group discussions on

yours and your classmates writing, and collaborative workshops. In fact, we will be working constantly and almost exclusively with your writing, so your presence is quite important. You may three absences over the course of the semester, but your final grade will drop 5 points from your total. (i.e., if you earn an 85 for your final grade but have four absences, your grade becomes an 80. I reserve the right to contact your academic advisor(s) if your absences exceed three. Nine unexcused absences will result in an absence through failure (AF). Be aware that I will not check with you when you have reached your three allowed absencesit is your responsibility to keep track of these absences. Excused absences (which wont count against your total) include religious holidays, participation in SLUsponsored activities, civic responsibilities, and true emergencies. If you miss class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed. Talk to classmates, send emails, etc., but please do not email me to ask what you missed. This is a university, and you are responsible for yourself and your performance. Lateness Do not arrive late to class. If you cannot arrive on time, please consider taking a different section. Consistent tardiness (3 or more) will be counted as one unexcused absence, and will therefore have an impact on your participation grade. Participation I am not looking for a magic number of comments per class period to achieve a certain participation grade. Rather, I am looking for your genuine engagement in topics of discussion and a sincere effort in all activities. Obviously, you should not spend class time texting, pulling up Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites on the lab computers or on your personal laptop. Any of these activities will result in a lowered participation score. Your participation grade is earned. Some criteria for your participation grade are below: A Prepare readings thoroughly; find and be prepared to discuss connections among them and among your writing projects. Take a leadership role in class discussions, going out of your way to involve others. Enthusiastically engage group activities, bringing something innovative to the group from your own interests and abilities. Offer detailed peer review feedback that comments on strengths and weaknesses, asks questions, and suggests revisions. For an A, you must strictly limit your absences and definitely not exceed your three excused absences. An A indicates the very best grade a student can earnthus, you must truly engage in the class and contribute in a way that far exceeds the minimum passing requirement to receive this grade. B Prepare assigned readings and initiate discussions about them by asking good questions or suggesting ways to interpret and incorporate readings into the writing process. Make interesting and meaningful contributions to our group activities. Participate regularly in class discussion. Offer thorough responses and comments in peer review sessions. Do not exceed your three unexcused absences. C Read and prepare assigned readings so you are never at a loss if you are asked a question, but volunteer infrequently. Do sufficient but ordinary work on in-class writings, quizzes, and small group activities. Provide peer review comments that show a basic understanding of the units goals and criteria. Do not exceed your three unexcused absences. D

Do the minimum: speak only when called upon. Pay attention, but without taking an active role in discussions, group work, and writing workshops. Provide scanty or superficial peer review feedback. Do not exceed your three unexcused absences. This is the minimum passing participation grade. Concerns? If you feel you may not be able to meet these requirements, please come see me at the beginning of the semester to discuss your concerns. I recognize that many people are naturally reserved and less comfortable speaking in class. While every student is still expected to participate in class discussions, remember that since this is a writing class, your written in-class assignments, comments on peer reviewed papers, etc., also play a major role in your participation grade. Please come meet with me any time if you have questions about your participation grade. Prepare Doing the assigned work for each day in a thoughtful way whether that assignment is reading, writing short responses, or composing an essay is essential. If you have concerns or questions about a homework assignment: 1) Before you contact me, see the syllabus or class website for possible answers; 2) If neither the syllabus nor the class website answer your questions, contact me. If you email me, please give me 24 hours to respond (48 hours on the weekends). Assignments are due when they are due. For each day that an assignment is late, it receives a letter grade penalty. That means that an A assignment turned in one day late becomes a B. A C assignment turned in two days late becomes an F. Disability In recognition that people learn in a variety of ways and that learning is influenced by multiple factors (e.g., prior experience, study skills, learning disability), resources to support student success are available on campus. Students who think they might benefit from these resources can find out more about:

Course-level support (e.g., faculty member, departmental resources, etc.) by asking your course instructor. University-level support (e.g., tutoring/writing services, Disability Services) by visiting the Student Success Center (BSC 331) or by going to www.slu.edu/success.

Students who believe that, due to a disability, they could benefit from academic accommodations are encouraged to contact Disability Services at 314-977-3484 or email [email protected] or visit the Student Success Center. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries. Course instructors support student accommodation requests when an approved letter from Disability Services has been received and when students discuss these accommodations with the instructor after receipt of the approved letter. N.B. Telling me informally or over email about a disability does not constitute formal notification. You must present documentation from the ODS. Academic Integrity and Honesty The University is a community of learning, whose effectiveness requires an environment of mutual trust and integrity. Academic integrity is violated by any dishonesty such as soliciting, receiving, or providing any unauthorized assistance in the completion of work submitted toward academic credit. While not all forms of academic dishonesty can be listed here, examples include copying from another student, copying from a book or class notes during a closed book exam, submitting materials authored by or revised by another person as the students own work, copying a passage or text directly from a published source without appropriately citing or recognizing that source, taking a test or doing an assignment or other academic work for another student, securing or supplying in advance a copy of an examination without the knowledge or

consent of the instructor, and colluding with another student or students to engage in academic dishonesty. Any clear violation of academic integrity will be met with appropriate sanctions. Possible sanctions for violation of academic integrity may include, but are not limited to, assignment of a failing grade in a course, disciplinary probation, suspension, and dismissal from the University. Students should review the College of Arts and Sciences policy on Academic Honesty, which can be accessed on-line at http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/ under Quicklinks for Students or in hard copy form in the Arts and Sciences Policy Binder in each departmental or College office. Conferences I encourage you to arrange an appointment with me to discuss your essays or any aspects of course work. My office hours are Mondays, XXX-XXXX. University Writing Services I also urge you to make use of University Writing Services, where you can receive one-on-one peer writing consultations. A consultant will sit with you, go over your paper, and help you to revise and reformulate. Writing Services is not a grammar service; they will not simply proofread your paper. But if you have questions about particular kinds of problems, they will help you identify and correct those problems. You can make an online appointment (http://www.slu.edu/x34507.xml) or call at 977.3484. Course Content Disclaimer In this course, students may be required to read text or view materials that they may consider offensive. The ideas expressed in any given text do not necessarily reflect the views of the instructor, the English Department, or Saint Louis University. Course materials are selected for their historical and/or cultural relevance, or as an example of stylistic and/or rhetorical strategies and techniques. They are meant to be examined in the context of intellectual inquiry of the sort encountered at the university level.

Monday 1/13: Course Intro

Wednesday 1/15: Setting up Project Folders Reading: CDA, 1-14 and 283-287 LSH, 2-5 1/22 CDA, 90-99 SWA #1: Compose a Timeline 1/29: Introducing Rhetorical Analysis LSH, 54-58 Introducing Online Research 2/5: Introducing Library Research CDA, 97-132; LSH, 68-77 Introducing Using Google Scholar 2/12: Intro to video assignment 1/17 CDA, 15-52

Friday

1/20 MLK Holiday: No Class

1/24 CDA, 100-123 SWA #2: Writing Reflectively 1/31 CDA, 377-402 LSH, 42-45 2/7: Introducing Statement of Purpose CDA, 53-69; LSH, 77-9 Rhetorical Analysis Due Today 2/14: Starting Work on Videos CDA, 283-312 Statement of Purpose Due Today 2/21: Workshopping Videos CDA, 333-45

1/27 SWA #3: Finding an Artifact CDA, 313-332, LSH, 38-41, 63-65 2/3: Introducing Research

2/10 CDA, 70-88; LSH, 91-92 Introducing Researching Scholarly Books 2/17: Workshopping Videos CDA, 238-51 Introducing Researching Scholarly Databases 2/24: Workshopping Videos CDA, 347-76 3/3: Viewing Videos Video Projects/Process Papers Due 3/10: Spring Break 3/17: Welcome Back Continuing Evaluation 3/24 CDA, 283-289 LSH, 14-22 3/31: Workshop Proposals Review CDA, 298-305 4/7: Workshop Proposals LSH, 27-31 4/14: Workshop Oral Presentations 4/21: No class: Easter Monday 4/28: Oral Presentations 5/5: Workshop Assessing Outcomes

2/19: Workshopping Videos CDA, 251-66

2/26: Workshopping Videos 3/5: Viewing Videos 3/12: Spring Break 3/19 Evaluations Due 3/26 CDA, 290-97 LSH, 22-26, 42-45 4/2: Workshop Proposals CDA, 162-184 4/9: Introducing Oral Presentations CDA, 185-211 4/16: Oral Presentations 4/23: Oral Presentations 4/30: Workshop Proposal Final Proposal Due Date TBD

2/28: Workshopping Videos 3/7: Introducing Evaluation 3/14: Spring Break 3/21: Intro to Stage 5: Proposal Review CDA, 133-161 LSH, 6-13 3/28: Workshop Proposals SWA #4: Draft of Proposal LSH, 32-37 4/4: Workshop Proposals SWA #5: 2nd Draft of Proposal 4/11: Workshop Oral Presentations CDA, 212-236 4/18: No class: Good Friday 4/25: Oral Presentations 5/2: Introduce Assessing Outcomes

Stage 1, Part 1: Analyzing Arguments

The first challenge of this project is figuring out just what you want to write about. Instead of my giving you an assignment or a topic, you have to articulate your own. Thats why were going to spend the first few weeks of the course spending time discerning your projects. To start this work, Im going to ask you to do a couple of short writing assignments, both of which Ive adapted from the book (p. 285). The purpose of these short assignments is to give you, the rhetor, some space to reflect on what you care about and what you want to write about. These are short writing assignments #1 and #2, and youll find the prompts for these short assignments in the classs Google Drive folder. Short Writing Assignment #1 (adapted from p. 285 of the textbook) Using any media available to you, compose a timeline in which you first sketch your life and its major events. (I dont care how you do this: paper & pen, MS Word, Bamboo paper on an iPad, some other app on your phone, etc.) Then, create a comparison timeline that includes major cultural, political, technological or environmental events. Finally, create one more timeline that includes local major events: changes/upheavals in your city/town, school(s), church(es), or other institutions/organizations to which you belong. Your audience for this sketching is you, so your descriptions of these events can be short. (N.B. Well do a version of this in class, so you can see what Im talking about.) Once you have your timelines sketched, Id like you to look over them for a moment, quietly at your desk, in your chair, on your couch, whatever. Just take a few moments to take it all in. After a few minutes, Id like you start writing your response to seeing all these events in front of you. Be sure to block out some time for this, b/c Id like you to do at least 500 words. (Dont worry about introductions, paragraphs, spelling, etc. Just write. Just write.) Some questions you might think about: What events have been most important to you? How have those events shaped who you are and what you value? When you come back to class with these, well spend some time discussing them. Date Assigned: 1/17 Date Due: 1/22 (before class begins) Short Writing Assignment #2 (adapted from p. 285 of CDA) First, make a list of every argumentative paper you can remember writing in high school. Just list them by title/subject; year, and course. So, your list may look like this: 1. 2. 3. 4. Capital punishment, Senior English A defense of Woodrow Wilson, Junior History An analysis of Great Gatsby, Junior English An argument about ethics, Senior Theology

Something like that. One you have a list composed, I want you to write another 500 words answering questions similar to the ones you responded to in the previous assignment. What values, actions, or changes have you tended to argue for? How would you like to affect or change the actions others? What would you like to talk about that people arent talking about?

Date Assigned: 1/22 Date Due: 1/24 (before class begins) Short Writing Assignment #3 Now, Id like you to find some artifact (a news article; a magazine article; a flier; a speech; a proposal; an op-ed, or something else). I want you to find something that speaks to something you care about, something that interests you, something that attracts your attention, excitement, or even anger. Again, Id like you to write 500 words, answering these questions: Why does this artifact attract your interest? What is the problem you see it describing, occasioning, or developing? What might you like to do about it? Date Assigned: 1/24 Date Due: 1/26 (before class begins) Having done those assignments, you should have at least rough sense of your subject. At this point, youre ready to start doing some research into the arguments surrounding your topic. What were talking about is what CDA articulates as part 2 of the rhetorical research process Narrow[ing] your topic through initial research (p. 100). Your directions are these: Find two written arguments regarding your topic. Now, these arguments may not be directly tied to the topic youre interested. For example, perhaps you want to write about the proposed campus-wide smoking ban here at SLU. You could find arguments in, say, the UNews, but you might also find arguments about smoking bans at other campuses, and you can analyze those as examples of those arguments. Two other things: 1) you must find two arguments that do not agree. In other words, you must find conflicting sources; 2) in your analysis, you must not reveal your own opinion. At the end of your analysis, the reader should not be able to tell what you yourself think. Youre analyzing, not evaluating or judging. So dont tip your hand. The first step in thinking rhetorically is to try to see every side of an issue. (Ideally, youre research a project about which youre not sure of your opinion.) Ancient rhetoricians insisted that there are always at least two sides to every issueand probably more. In ancient Greece, students of rhetoric were required to argue both sides of case. Modern-day law students are often asked to do the same thing. The idea is that youll be able to understand an issue more fully if you can see it from every angle. That is why this assignment asks you not to take a position...yet. Instead, simply analyze some of the arguments about the issue that are already in play. The audience for this assignment is two people: 1) you, so that you can reference this information later as you continue to develop the advocacy project; 2) and, frankly, me, so that I can see how youre starting to think about your subject. (My job, in the end, is simply to help you articulate a project that you yourself define.) The purpose is to develop an understanding of the arguments within the problemor, what Aristotle called, the available means of persuasion.

To perform this analysis, youll read Chapter 9 of Compose, Design, Advocate for ideas on how to do a rhetorical analysis. I suggest you follow the process outlined on pages 316-17, but its just a suggestion. You should also look at the examples of student analyses in that chapter. Ultimately, your task is to compose a rhetorical analysis of two sources. Each of these analyses should run 2-3 double-spaced pages. Each of the two sections should start with the sources title. At the end of the analysis, you should include an annotated bibliography (more on this below). So, to sum up, the document should include the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. A heading and title, both formatted in MLA Two analyses of two conflicting two sources, each of which runs 2-3 double-spaced pages. Each section should start with the sources title. Finally, you should include an annotated bibliography.

Annotated Bibliography Draft 1 Throughout your advocacy project, you will consult a range of materials for sources. For instance, you will look at scholarlyalso sometimes called peer-reviewedarticles and books, which you can find in the Pius Library. You will also use newspaper articles, as well as letters and statements released by parties involved in the issue that you are researching. Letters, statements and data are all considered legitimate and useful sources. (In fact, nearly anything can be considered legitimateit depends on how you use it.) Most importantly, you will continue to add to this bibliography throughout the semester. Instead of cramming all the research in the end of the project, well do it piece by piece throughout the semester. With every phrase of the project, you will add a few sources to your annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography is just what it sounds like: its a a bibliography that includes annotations, which are brief explanations of 1) what the source says, 2) why its credible or reliable, and 3) why and how its useful for your project. For ideas on how to do this, you might consult pages 118-119, which offers a sample of a student bibliography. In the meantime, here are the basic parameters of the annotated bib: It should include the bibliographic entry in MLA. It should include an annotation of at least 300 words. Again, each annotation should discuss three things: 1) a summary of the source; 2) a discussion of the sources credibility, and 3) a discussion of the sources relevance and use for your project.

For this first assignment, you will write three annotations for your bibliography: one each for the arguments youre examining (repetitive, perhaps, but were practicing) and one for an article you find on Google scholar. To mange this part of the project, youll create a document in your personal folder, and youll call it LastName_AnnotatedBibliography. With every stage of the project, youll add to this document (and revise it when necessary).

Stage 1, Part 2: Discerning a Project and a Purpose

At this point, you should be ready to articulate, at least in a rough sense, a plan for your work this semester. You should have some sense of what you want to advocate. Perhaps you havent worked out all the details yet; perhaps youre not sure what solutions you want to offer; perhaps youll change your mind about those details a bit as you move forward. (In fact, it will be a good sign if you do your change your mind a bit. A mind that changes occasionally is a mind that is thinking.) Your assignment is to create a Statement of Purpose (which well be reading about in Chapter 2 in CDA). Well be adapting the assignment slightly. To do this, you need to start outlining the local context of your project. By local context, I dont necessarily mean that it has to be local to SLU. What I mean is that your project needs to be local somewhere. For example, lets say you interesting in writing/composing about some issue youd like your local church to get involved in. Lets say, for example, youd like your church to get involved in advocacy for homeless members of your community. Now, your hometown may be St. Louis, or it might be Chicago or Milwaukee, or it might lie outside the US altogether. But its local somewhere. And part of getting involved in a local issue is understanding the context of the issue. Whats its history? Whos involved? Has something like what youre suggesting been tried before? If it failed, how will you succeed? For the purposes of this assignment, your statement of purpose should address each of the following points. 1. Purpose: what is it you want to accomplish? What would you like to see changed? What do you want people to be aware of? What decision would you like people to take? What habits would you like people to develop? 2. Audience: who is the audience youd like to address? Who are the stakeholders in the issue youre looking at? Who are the decision-makers? What are their needs, values, and attitudes? What is their experience? Who is invested in this issue? 3. Context: What is the situation? Whats happened before in this situation? Whats the history? Are there already opinions on this issue? What are those opinions? What are the arguments? Why is now a good time for your intervention? Or a bad time? Or, how can you make it a good time? How have the arguments and situations changed? How are they still changing? 4. Potential Appeals: What arguments are likely to persuade your audience? What arguments are unlikely to persuade them? What would be good reasons? Bad reasons? How might you appeal to your audiences emotions? How might you demonstrate to your audience that youre credible? Your Statement of Purpose should answer all four of these questions with answers of at least 500 words each. Reuse and Recycle Every stage of this project will ask you to reuse and recycle different portions of previous stages. In this assignment (Part 2 of Stage 1), you should incorporate some of what you wrote about in Part 1. Youve already written rhetorical analyses and annotationssome of that should end up this assignment. Remember, youre building something larger.

Annotated Bibliography Draft 2 Youll also be adding to your annotated bibliography. In this case, youll be adding two more sources. 1. The first should be something you find on Google Scholar, just as you did with the last assignment. 2. For the second, you should find what were going to call a local source. By local source, I dont mean a source that comes from the library (that comes later). Instead, I mean a source that is somehow directly related to the context in which youre intervening. For example, lets say youre doing something on the proposed campus-wide smoking ban here at SLU. A local source might include the draft proposal of the ban. It might include an interview you do of the authors of the proposal. It might include comments at an official meeting at which comments about the proposal were made.

Stage #2: Attracting an Audience

In the previous stage, you analyzed arguments and sketched a rhetorical statement of purpose for this project. For this assignment, however, youre going to be doing some actual rhetorical work. In this case, youll be creating a short film whose purpose is to persuade your audience that a) you have an issue and b) that its worth paying attention to. For example, Student A is interested in the question of whether SLUs recycling program should be expanded. In this project, he will now argue to his targeted audience that they should take an interest in the campuss recycling program. He may not have a recommendation or solution yet; but his only job now is get his audiences attention. In other words, his main purpose is get the targeted audience of stakeholders to take an interest in his interest and to be convinced that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Project Parts This assignment will be completed in two parts: A 4-5 minute film created by you using iMovie. You will also write a Process Paper. And of course, you will also continue to develop your annotated bibliography. Here is how you might think about the rhetorical situation for the film:

Purpose: Persuade your audience that your position on the problem is valid, and attempt to make your audience your stakeholders. That is, youre trying communicate that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. In some ways, you might say that youre trying to create an audience for your issue. Audience: As you can see by what weve said about the purpose, part of your job here is to create an audiencethat is, you should be trying to get people interested in your issue and involved in your problem. Not until the research paper and oral presentation will you be addressing policy-makers or administrators and proposing specific actions. Here, your job is simply to persuade the audience that there is a problem that should concern them. Context: The context is that which you have determined in the previous stage. The context is the problem as you have developed an understanding of it, including recent developments in the ongoing conversation. Now you are affecting the context, because you, the rhetor, are intervening.

Obviously, one of the challenges of doing this project is making a film. Dont worry; its a lot easier than it first may seem. Ill show you how to gather clips and to make them using the flipcams offered in the CAI Lab. You can also use your own cameras, of course. Or your smartphones or iPads. As we work in class, you will probably need two other things: 1) headphones, so that you can work in class w/o disturbing your classmates; 2) a flash drive, which can be purchased at the library or bookstore for a few dollars. Film: You may use iMovie, a video camera, or other movie-creating software to create a 4-5 minute film in which you, through sound and images, do the following: present your position, support your position using relevant research from your past assignments and developing bibliography, and persuade your audience that they should care about the problem and find your position valid. We will view all of the films in 1-2 class periods, Dates: 10/16-10/18. Process Paper: While you are creating your film, you will record your rhetorical decisions, which will comprise the process paper. This process papers purpose is to explain why you made the rhetorical decisions that you made. This document, which should run at least 1,500, should more or less display how you made rhetorical decisions as you composed your film. You should answer questions like these: Who was my imagined audience? What was my purpose?

How did I use music in the film? Why? Did I make original video clips to use in the film? If so, why? If not, why not? What did I hope those clips would achieve? What was their rhetorical purpose? Why am I sequencing this film the way I am? Why did I use this image/source here? What rhetorical appeals am I using in each section? (Review pages 244-266 of the textbook. You are not limited to discussing these, but they should give you a start.)

The purpose of this process paper is to explain to me (your instructor) your rhetorical process. Since the audience for this assignment is your instructor, it is a somewhat more traditional paper. However, its not an academic paper per se; that means you can write in a more informal tone. You can and should use I, for example, as in I decided to start the music here because I wanted to create the effect of having... or I thought it would make sense not to have text in the beginning of the film so that the images might do the talking for me. Here is how you might think about the rhetorical situation for the process paper: 1) purpose: persuade your audience (your instructor) that you understand the rhetorical terminology of the textbook and course and that you can apply that terminology to analyzing and defending your own work; 2) audience: as I say, the audience is me. What Im looking for is a sense that youve assimilated the rhetorical terminology weve been using all semester long and that you can actually apply that terminology. I want to see sentences like, I wanted to establish my ethos early in the film, so I decided to go with a short clip of an expert speaking about my topic; 3) context: the context is really our course. Again, your job here is to demonstrate that youre starting to understand rhetoric and how it works. In short, the best process papers will a) make a lot of direct reference to the video project youve produced; b) Make a lot of direct reference to rhetorical terminology in the textbook. Reuse and Recycle You might ask, Should I use sources that Ive already found and included in my annotated bibliography? Of course! Thats the idea. Remember, the entire semester is dedicated to one project, of which each major assignment is a stage. Anything you find at one stage is fair game for use at another stage. Soif theres a good source you found in stage 1, you should continue to use that source in the other stages. If you find a really appropriate image in stage 2, then you should use that image in stage 4 and 5. If you write a really good sentence that you think really captures the point youre making, reuse and recycle it. Annotated Bibliography Draft 3 As part of developing the video project, you might find many sources: photos, video clips, and of course more prose genres. You might also do your own original filming or recording. The original stuff does not need to end up in the bibliography. Everything else, however, does. If you find a youtube clip, then you have to cite it. If you find a photo, you have to cite it. Everything you include in the project that comes from somewhere else needs to end up on your annotated bib. What that means, of course, is that youre going to be putting together bibliographic entries for a wide variety of items. If you refer to pages 123-130 of the Little Seagull Handbook, youll find how to handle all that in MLA. Pages 144-162 outline what to do in APA, if thats what youre using. And there may be off things that youre not sure what to do with. Fear not! Well figure it out. As before, youll be summarizing the source, discussing its credibility, and explaining its relevance and use for your project. Keep in mind that these are relative valuesthat is, their meaning depends on the rhetorical situation. For example, lets say that youre doing a film that promotes SLU as a great university,

and your audience is high school seniors. You might include clips of current students praising SLU. Are those sources credible? Of course. Why? Because your audience is very likely to put their trust in those sources. As I say, theres going to be a variety of sources you use for this assignment. But lets set some bare minimums. (You can always go beyond these minimums.) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. A video clip An image A piece of music or soundtrack A scholarly article from a SLU database Another scholarly book.

Stage #3: Evaluating a Classmates Video Argument

In this assignment, you will need to evaluate how well your classmate has argued their position in their stage 2 project and whether they have made a persuasive case to the audience. You will be partnered with a classmate, and you are going to evaluate your partners film project in the form of a letter addressed to your classmate. For example, Mary has viewed Larrys video. She will now evaluate it as a skeptical audience member. Her job is to be thoroughly intellectually engaged with the employed rhetorical devices, visual, oral/aural, and textual, as well as the overall argument. In his letter, she should put herself in the position of an audience member and discuss whether, in that position, she finds the video persuasive. She should mix praise with criticism. It is not enough, in other words, to say, Great Job! all the time. Instead, he should say, The creepy music was appropriate for your purpose in alarming the audience at this particular point in the video. Again, the purpose is constructive criticism: you should be honest, but not cruel. Its a matter of professionalism. She will write those observations in a letter to Larry, who will then take his turn in responding to Marys video project. Now, heres a bit of a twist to the assignment. As usual, you still be doing research; the difference, however, is that youll be doing research for your classmate. And, in another turn of the screw, you will be researching counter-sourcesthat is, sources that take the view contrary to your classmates view. For example, lets say Larry has done a video suggesting that SLU athletes should be paid something for their participation in sports. Marys job is to find sources that counter Larrys claim, sources that suggest that it would be a mistake to pay student athletes. In her letter, she will incorporate these sources into her argument, like so: You say that athletes should be paid because their playing makes money for the university. However, according to Dr. Joan Smiths article in The Journal of College Sports, the evidence suggests. See how that works? Youre using the counter-sources to challenge your classmates argument, to point out potential flaws in the argument. Keep in mind: a successful evaluation makes a claim about the value of something and then supports its claim with criteria that the audience will agree are important. Focus on establishing your criteria and describing how well what you are evaluating meets those criteria. Remember to always be aware of your audience, and how you can make connections and relate to the reader. A good evaluation will do the following things: First, it will make an argument as to whether the film is working as well as it can. It will make a claim. The reader will know where the writer stands. Second, it will rely on several kinds of criteria: o Rhetorical: for example, audience. What is the purpose of the film? Does it relate to the audience effectively? Or, The appeal you make regarding athletes might appeal to them, but it might not appeal to administrators or faculty. How are you going to do that? o Aesthetic: for example, on the images: The image you use at the 2:40 mark doesnt come through very well, so it loses its power. Or, Im not sure the music you use is really appropriate here. o Ethical: e.g., If you dont address some of the more common counter-arguments, your audience might not trust you. Third, it will make frequent and specific reference to the video itself. Fourth, it will incorporate the counter-sources to bolster the arguments.

Finally, its format: it will run roughly 1,000 words; include a short annotated bibliography of the counter sources. It will include as an appendix a completed peer review form.

Heres what it will look like: 1. Heading 2. Body of argument 3. Annotated Bib 4. Appendix with peer review form Annotated Bibliography Draft 4 As weve said, your job is to find counter-sources. Specifically, you will find two such sources. They both should be scholarly in nature, but can be either books or articles. When Mary finds the counter-sources to Larrys argument, she will write annotations for them that she will include in the bib for her letter. When Larry receives his evaluation, he should review the sources that Mary has found and then include them in the next iteration of the annotated bib. Why is he doing this? Because any good proposal (the final stage of the overall project) should address the available counter-arguments. You want to be able to say, Now I know that some might disagree with me. For example, so-and-so says. Heres why I think thats wrong.

Peer Review Form (A)

This worksheet is intended to 1) help the evaluee looking forward to revision and the next assignments, and 2), the evaluator, in regards to the letter of evaluation he or she will have to write. Both of you will fill out this form in the same document, hence the identical sections (A) and (B). !
Author of Video: Evaluators Name:

VIDEO
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Does the video represent a clearly defined position? What is the position? Does the video content/form support the position? Explain. Is the video making a persuasive case? Why or why not? Overall, how does the video employ the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos? What rhetorical devices, visual, textual, or aural, has the author used to engage the viewer? How has their use been successful or unsuccessful? How could the video be more effectively organized? What are the strengths of the video? What about the video works well? Where would the video benefit from additional elements? Make two suggestions that you think would improve the video. Does the video meet the requirements laid out in the assignment sheet (regarding length, visual and aural components, etc.)? Why or why not?

SOURCES USED 1. Did the video use credible and relevant sources effectively and faithfully? Why or why not? 2. Did the video include (in images or audio) a works cited list? COUNTER SOURCES FOUND 1. What credible and relevant sources did you find that could strengthen the argument of the video? 2. What credible and relevant sources did you find that could undermine the argument of the video? 3. For each source, write up a short annotation, keeping in mind these important elements: What is the content of the source? Why is the author credible? How and why is this source relevant to the argument of the video, as well as your own argument in your evaluation?

Stage #4: Presenting the Project

You have completed three assignments as part of your advocacy project so far: analyzing the problem, arguing through film, and evaluating those arguments. Building up from what you have done, you will now make an oral presentation of the argument youll be offering in the proposal. In your video assignment, you tried to create and audience of stakeholders by bringing the issue to their attention. Now, your purpose is to appeal to an audience of decision-makers (who might be the same people, but might not) and to present to the your specific recommendation for action. In other words, youre trying to persuade in the most basic sense: to induce them to cooperate with you. It is therefore to reveal and promote your position on the issue you care about and try to convince your audience to sympathize with you. You will perform an oral presentation on the issue and your position. Make sure of to use proper and effective body posture, tone, and eye contact. Written notes are not allowed; you are supposed to persuade through speaking rather than reading. For an effective presentation, you will be required to use multimodal supporting materials using power point or prezi, but they have to be subsidiary. Your oral presentation should be the main means of conveying your message, which means that you need to compose the presentation mostly using your own voice. So your purpose is persuasion, and your audience is decision-makers. The context depends on the particular situation in which youre intervening. At the very least, though, you should imagine that youve managed to get 5 minutes with the people who matter. Now, youve got to sell them. The specifics include the following:

The presentation should run 4-5 minutes, so youve got to brief and to the point. I will follow strict regulations on presentation time (otherwise, well never get done). Your presentation should include either a handout or a slideshow of some kind. However, the presentation depends mostly on your speaking. In other words, dont let the handout or the slideshow do the talking for you. They should aid your presentation, not take it over. Compose a three-paragraph outline of your presentation to be submitting in your folder in Drive. The outline must include the purpose, audience, and context of your presentation. You should also place your handout or slideshow in the appropriate folder on Drive. During your oral presentations, your classmates and I will be evaluating each presentation based on the evaluation point on page 232-33 of CDA. Ill explain how were doing this as we get closer. (These evaluations, however, will count toward your Short Writing Assignment Grade.)

Reuse and Recycle Your oral presentation should of course include some of the resources youve found. It cant include all of them, obviously, b/c of the length. But if youve got good images, text, video, etc. from your video project, by all means, use them again. Annotated Bibliography Draft 5 At this point, you should be up and running on doing research that will support your proposal. For the oral presentation, please add 2 new sources: either 1 more scholarly article & 1 new local source; or 2 more scholarly articles; or 1 article and 1 booksome combination of 2. Also, be sure to add the two counter-sources from the Evaluation assignment!!! When you get to your proposal, youll want to include these by way of anticipating counter-arguments.

Stage #5: Proposing Solutions

At this point in the semester its time to bring everything youve been working on together. Based on the research you have done throughout the semester you will propose some kind of change to the policy or decision makers concerned with your project. This is the opportunity to argue for the change you would like to see in your particular rhetorical situation. In stage 2, you argued that there was a problem that needed to be addressed. In stage 5, you are now arguing for the solution you would actually like to see implemented. This project is the most traditional of our assignments; it looks the most like the kind of research papers youve written before. However, there are some key differences:

Youre writing for a particular and specific audience, not for me. Youve got to write to the people who might have the power to change your situation or address your issue. If its an audience of professionals, you should adopt a professional tone. But if its an audience of peer, you should adopt a tone appropriate to peers. Youre not writing an academic essay, in which you analyze some situation. Your proposal should make clear what you want to see happen.

Again, present your ideas as you would to the policy makers involved in your subject. Who has the power to enact your changes? How should you address them? What kind of tone, language, and style should you use? Remember that change can be hard to enact, so be persuasive and clear. What are the main concerns of your audience? Are they financial? Social? Political? How do this context affect your argument?

Purpose: To persuade the appropriate audience to your proposed change. Audience: Both decision-makers (those who can actually do something about your proposed change) and stakeholders (all those who have an interest, and who might be able to bring pressure on the decision-makers). Context: By now, you should have a thorough idea of the context in which youre operating: the source of the issue, the political, economic, and social ramifications of the change youre proposing.

Specifics As a formal proposal, this paper should include design elements like headings, a table of contents, a works cited, and any other elements you feel are beneficial to your project (graphs, index, appendices, etc.). In other words, this should not look like a standard research paper, with nothing but 12-pt. Times New Roman font. Instead, it should like a professionally prepared document, with intentional font choices for headings, color choices, and image choices. Be creative, keep your audience in mind, and remain professional. Design elements should clarify and support your ideas. It should be 10-12 pages (including works cited). The WC page should include a minimum of 8 sources. Isnt that less than what weve collected so far? Yes. But usually a researcher will collect more sources than actually get used in the final project. So, the minimum is 8. You can always include more. Reuse and Recycle Its all fair game at this point. You should be using whatever you think is appropriate. ________________________________________________________________________ Short Writing Assignment #4 Quite simply, your job here is to start drafting the argument of your proposal. Id like you to draft at least 2 double-spaced pages on it. Your draft should include at least two things: the

actual proposal (that is, the payoff moment when you say what ought to happen) and a couple of arguments as to why that ought to happen. You should upload this draft to your Drive folder so that we can look at a few in class. Date Assigned: 3/24 Date Due: 3/28 (before class begins) Short Writing Assignment #5 Same drill, with one change. Here, Id like you to draft either your introduction or your conclusion. Doesnt matter which, but be sure to title the document with either introduction or conclusion so we can know which is which. Again, the idea is that well spend some time workshopping these in class. Date Assigned: 3/31 Date Due: 4/4 (before class begins) Annotated Bibliography Draft 6 We come, then, to the final iteration of the Annotated Bibliography. Now, Id like you to add three sources: 1 more scholarly book, and 2 scholarly articles. Now, one of these scholarly articles should be data-driven that is, it should feature some engagement with statistical/numerical/numerically empirical research. In other words, you want to find numbers.

Assessing the Outcomes

In this final assignment, you'll be writing one last argument. What will you be arguing? That you have succeeded in the course. Purpose Your purpose here is simple: to persuade your audience that you have succeeded in English 190 according to the Council of Writing Program Administrator Outcomes, which can find in CDA, pp. 10-13. As youll see, the outcomes describe what a student ought to be able to do at the end of a first-year writing course. They are divided up into five groups: 1) rhetorical knowledge; 2) critical thinking, reading, and writing; 3) knowledge of conventions; 4) processes; 5) composing in electronic environments. Your job in this final paper, which is worth 5% of the grade, is to argue that you have done these things successfully. Audience For this assignment, your primary audience is me, your instructor. Context The context is our particular course, this semester, right now. Annotated Bibliography Draft 7 There is no addition to the annotated bib for this assignment. However, ou do need to rely on some sources: 1) the CWPA outcomes; 2) your own work. Specifics Genre: The genre of this piece is a formal business letter, addressed to me. Minimum Requirements/Deliverable: The letter should look as professional as possible. It should have a date, a return address, a mailing address (you can use my office address in Adorjan Hall, 3800 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63316). It should be no more than 2 pages. If its more than two pages, I wont read it. It does not need to include a works cited page. Now, you may be asking, What will this piece actually look like? Do I need to include every single outcome? That seems like too many for a letter of 2 pages. Let me answer the second question first: no, you dont need to address every outcome, but you should include at least one outcome from every one of the five groups. As to what it should look like, here is an example:
My work shows my ability to understand writing as an open process that permits writers to use later invention and re-thinking to revise their work. When I first wrote my written digital philosophy, I had structured the essay in such a way that the argument didn't appear until the second half of the piece. After receiving feedback, I decided to move the argument to the front of the piece. As the outcome suggests, I did some rethinking in order to revise my work. I also brought in some new sources that I found that I didn't have when I finished the first draft. Once I had these sources, I had to invent new arguments. For example, I wrote QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE.

Notice that there are clear links among a) the student's claim; b) the WPA outcomes; c) evidence from the students own writing. You should quote yourself often. With paragraphs like these, you will succeed in this assignment.