10.30 Rhetorical Analysis

We started class with a look at the calendar for the rest of the term (posted to the right) and a discussion of rhetorical analysis.

Rhetrorical analysis characterizes the way an essay works; it describes how the essay is constructed in terms of: the rhetorical appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos; and the choices the author has made in terms of genre, focus, organization and development; and the way it uses the rhetorical moves from TS/IS.

In many ways, you have been practicing rhetorical analysis throughout this term:

• in making decisions about the audience, purpose and form for your essays; 
• in practicing the use of ethos, logos and pathos in the persuasive essay; 
• in your reflective analyses where you write about what worked and what did not work in your essay; 
• and in your applications of the rubrics to assess the effectiveness of the sample essays.

In each of these activities you formed an opinion about the effectiveness of the use of language to communicate an idea or persuade an audience => through using analysis.

Notes from class discussion
Rhetoric
how to influence/persuade and audience through communication = the use of language

elements of rhetoric:
1. thinking about relationships among the audience, purpose, and the form of an essay
2. evaluating what kinds of appeals to ethos, pathos, & logos will work for your audience, purpose and form.

Analysis
examine, identify parts of a system and describe how the "work" through characterizing the relationships among its elements (parts)

Rhetorical analysis:
How effective is an essay in terms of achieving its purpose?
How effective is each element in the essay?

• genre
• organization
• focus
• development =ethos, pathos, & logos

Notes on Warner
audience= governent
purpose= to convince government of the need to change the culture, address both the public's nutritional and pshychological needs => change food habits

form (analysis listed below)

Analysis of content

Paragraph 1: sets up a focus on school regulation of food; includes bashing Palin

Paragraph 2: idetnified Palin’s succesfu move/connection to American values

Paragraph 3.Glenn beck also attacks Obama - initiative for healthy eating

need to reform eating

Paragraph4. Republicans aren’t on board with Obama

Paragraph 5. need to change our culture of the way we’re eating; eating = a way of life

Paragraph 6. WWII= successful example

polical, cultural, emotional 

nutrition AND psychology

implying= this is what the government needs to do

Paragraph 7. governement shows facts but needs to connect to American values

Paragraph 8. eating could be re-cast just like smoking was in the past

Paragraph 9. this will be tough

Analysis of overall organization (what the paragraphs, or groups of paragraphs "did")

Par. 1-4 illstrate the conflicts in the ways American’s think about food

casts these conflicts along political lines

Par. 5. States thesis = states purpose/focus

Par 6 examples of a successful government campaign to change the way we eat

Par. 7. applies example to current situation (we are doing the wrong thing)

Par. 8 plan of action = how we could mount a successful campaign (tighten focus of on targeted eating patterns)

Par 9. conclusion

Here is a summary of what we did in class in order to analyze Warner.

1. Identify and list the content (what the essay says)  paragraph by paragraph. 

2. Identify how each paragraph or group of paragraphs functions (what it does (this is the list under Analysis of overal organization.) 

3.  Identify the audience for this essay

4.  Characterize the assumptions, values, beliefs of this audience

5.  Identify the purpose of this author’s argument.  State clearly the message the author wants to “persuade” the audience to believe.

6.  Analyze the effectiveness of the author’s argument for the chosen audience & purpose.  How effective is the author in persuading the essay's audience?

• What genre did the author choose?  Is this a good genre for the author’s audience and purpose.
• How did the author choose to organize the essay? Are these good choices for the author’s audience and purpose
• Characterize the author’s organization. Are these good choices for the author’s audience and purpose?
• How does the development work?
• Are there examples/support/illustration which are more successful than others?  Why?  What might the author change?  What different approach might work better?
• What kinds of moves does the author make? (classify them - in terms of ethos, pathos & logos)=> Which kinds of moves work well for the audience & why?  Which moves do not work as well, and why?

For next class:
Read:  Michelle Obama's address to the NAACP
Write: Go through the same steps for Zincenko that we did in class for Warner.  Post your rhetorical analysis to your portfolio page on Analysis.

All materials for the Persuasive writing unit were due today.  I will be grading them over the weekend  Be aware that, as discussed in class on 10, the last date to revise/post/make up material for the summary/response unit is November 9.  If you want me to re-assess materials from the summary/response unit=> make a note of it on the landing page.

And, FYI regarding the rumor that Halloween was cancelled in NJ.

10.28 Part 2: Analysis!

Note:  discussion of the reflective writing for the persuasive essay, and posting materials for the Grade-so-far for the Persuasive writing is in the previous blog post.

Analysis.
During the second half of class discussing analysis.  We worked together, as a class and in groups to solve a logic puzzle using analytic process.  As we worked on the puzzle, we paid attention to the "moves" we were making, and wrote a list on the board to name and describe our analytic process.  The purpose of this exercise was to make us more conscious of what we do when we analyze, and to develop a shared vocabulary to talk about the moves we make during analytic process.

You all use analysis all the time.  Before we began working on the puzzle, I gave you a rather technical definition of what analysis is.  I said analysis is the process of looking at a system or process or other object in terms of its parts.  The parts are named and classified (categorized) in terms of their features.  The analyst then lookes for patterns in the relationships among the parts.  This is a lot to take in - so the next thing we did was to talk about the ways you use analysis in your everyday life.  We talked about how you might use analysis when you "comparison shop" = by identifying what you like and don't like about the various options.  This is an analytic process.

Solving the sequence puzzle.

 1. DEFINE the problem/question 

This step included deciding what your task was (what you had to do)  and ORIENTING to the data (deciding the perspective or focus for your analysis).  In this case, this process involved ooking at the grid of shapes, reading the question at the bottom of the page. So initially the problem was "to identify the missing shape."  But to solve this problem, you also had to decide what "order" the shapes were in - whether they were arranged right to left, left to right, top to bottom, bottom to top, sudoku fashion, or. . .?  And the only way to know if you'd chosen to right "frame" for looking at the problem, was to solve the problem (find and answer that would explain the data).  So there was an element of trial and error even in definining the problem.

 

2. Identify or categorize the elements of the puzzle

Categories = groups of things with shared features - so in some ways, this step involved a kind of unconscious noticing of the differences/similarities of elements (diamonds, clubs, squares, hearts, etc).  Those siilarities and differences are the the features (shape, orientation, color) of the different elements.  You identified 8 different elements.  Some of you counted them.  Some of you looked for local patterns iat this point (step 4), and then "tested" your patterns by looking to see if they applied to the whole puzzle. 

In a way, this was a beginning of looking for patterns.

This step sometimes included counting the elements within a category (how many of each kind of shape/color/orientation) and it sometimes included noticing LOCAL groups or clusters (like the groups of two symbols of the same kind) and counting that as a category.

Looking at a LOCAL group (just part of the problem) so you could concentrate on a smaller, more manageable piece of data.  I think every group made important progress through looking at small, local groupings as a way to predict what other local groupings would be. 

3. Name/identify FEATURES within data = deciding which FEATURES in your data were essential features (relevant to the pattern you were trying to find) and which were incidental.

You noticed that there were different shapes,

That some of the shapes were oriented differently

That the shapes were different colors

Before you could talk about patterns, you needed to NAME and classify the features of your data.  You then could have a discussion about whether or not those features were relevant to the puzzle's solution.  In this case, shape and orientation were important within the global pattern, but color was only important in that it was fixed for particular shapes.

4. Look for patterns

 In this step you looked at the features, categories and local groups you identified as ways to talk about repetitions, relationships, and larger sequences. 

You identified lots of different local patterns = which shapes ALWAYS went together, or the order in which shapes followed one another.  

To develop different patterns - your looked at the puzzle from different ORIENTATIONS, and you also looked at particular, local sections as a way to consider part of the puzzle at a time

5. Pose local theories (connect to  patterns that are "out there" in the world).

Once you noticed a pattern in color, or sequence, or grouping  - you formed an idea of what that pattern might look like if it were true for the whole puzzle.  The idea of what a pattern would look like when it applies to ALL your data is a theory.

Theories often are connected to patterns that you already know.  For example, you "read" the puzzle from right to left (for different reasons) and from top to bottom, some of you connected to the 3X3 matrices of sudokus, and some of you tried columns).  Each of these decisions represents a "theory" about how the puzzle was oriented/organized.

Some of you noticed that there was a black shape in every row but the last one, and guessed the club (which is the right answer) => but the wrong reason.  There is also a diamond in every row but the last one => the REAL answer is about the sequence of the shapes (a  GLOBAL theory- a theory that can explain everything in the puzzle). Some of you theorized that the club occurred next because of the sequence (which shapes were always on either side of the upside down club)=> this was the right LOCAL theory, but it was not a GLOBAL theory (one that could account for all the data - and predict what would happen with additional data).

6. Test your theories!

 Once you had a local theory (about two shapes always following each other, or being above each other, or about the color distribution, or about symmetry) you tested your theory by checking to see if the pattern you identified applied to the WHOLE puzzle. 

If the theory didn't FIT (explain what you could see) and WORK (allow you to generate or extend the data further by predicting the pattern) - you decided the theory was wrong - and cycled back through the steps - re-thinking the names and groupings and patterns that you had already tried. You might even need to go back and re-define the problem.

7. Use local theory to pose GLOBAL theory (to explain the whole system)

Once you found a theory that seemed to fit and work for part of the puzzle - the next step is to see if you can use your theory to predict what would happen in new situations.  For this puzzle - the correct answer allows you to name the right "shape" at any point in the series.

You did a great job on this!  Both on naming what you did during analysis AND in solving the puzzle.

In the end, we oserved that analysis, like writing, is recursive -in that you work through "loops" - start over, get to a place where something doesn't work, and start over again.

We also (re)defined the terms we used to talk about analysis:

categories, elements, features, local theories, global theories, fit, work.  

You will want to go over these words so we can talk about what we are doing as you do your analyses in this unit.  

For next class:

Read:  Zinczenko (p. 391); Warner (p. 400). 

Write:  Finish yor persuasive essay, and put all work to be graded in your portfolio

In next class, we will start by nailing down the main points in each of the essays.  Then we will work as a class and in groups to analyze the arguments made in these two texts. 

Good class and see you Thursday!

10.28 Finishing persuasion, adding missing work to the portfolio

During the first part of class you worked on your reflective essay for persuasion and making sure you had all the assignments posted to the portfolio for the persuasive writing unit.

The essay assignment sheet is posted to the right.  I emphasized that this reflection should take the form of an essay, not a list of points in response to the questions. In summing up the demands of the assignment - focus on what you saw as new in terms of your writing.  In class you noted that writing an argument that made appeals to ethos and pathos and writing an argument that replied to/stayed in conversation with a particular text.  Using academic language, developing organization that reflects your argument (rather than a template),

Rubric for evaluating the essay (posted for 10.9 when we evaluated the sample essays):
25 Genre/Audience: Intro includes a clear statement of the focus of the argument at the beginning of the essay;  Intro also provides appropriate background or context for the argument.  Body paragraphs presents the argument "in conversation" with other texts; The essay uses language moves set forward for argument in TS/IS; For this argument = include ethos and pathos moves.

20 Focus: Intro states focus clearly; Each paragraph develops/connects to the overall argument in a different way; Conclusion restates focus in light of points/evidence from the essay.  

25 Organization: Includes an intro/body/conclusion; paragraphs include topic sentences, detailed development and connections to the overall argument; 

25 Development:  Use of quotes/detailed examples, illustrations, personal experiences to support or "prove" claims.

Correcness: 5  The sentence structure, spelling, grammar does not interfere with readers' understanding of the essay.

Posting your work:   All work for the persusive essay unit is due on October 30.  The list of what to post for teh Persuasive unit "grade so far" is listed at the previous blog post.  

Updating the Summary and Response units (adding/revising work). As discussed in class, if you are going to revise or add to work in the Summary or the Response unites, write a note on the "reflection page" telling me what you will be posting and when.  The last date  to post updates to the summary and response pages is November 11.  I will not review revisions/additions posted after November 11, and any revisions or additional work posted to the Summary and Response pages after November 11  will not change your score for the unit.  

Since this post is so long - I am posting notes from the analysis discussion to the next blog.

10.23 Workshop + choosing essays for Analysis

Below is a list of the assignments we used to build your essay for project 1.  These assignments will count toward the homework/writing-your-essa- through-a-series-of-drafts credit associated with Project 1: Persuasive Essay.

Persuasive writing assignments for portfolio

Each assignment should be named with your last name and the name of the assignment.

Practice argument 1 (10.9):

Feedback for peers(in-class, 10.9):

Practice argument 2 (10.14):

Brainstorming/rhetorical analysis for Project1 (10.16):

Rough draft Project 1 (10.21):

Plan for revision Project 1(10.23):

Revised Draft Project 1(10.23):

Final draft Project 1(10.30):
Reflective writing on Project (10.30):

If you have re-posted work for earlier assignments and you want me too re-evaluate, write a note on the landing page naming the assignments you want me to consider. ***As discussed in class, the latest point in the semester to revise/re-post/re-write material for re-assessment (raising your grade) for the summary response uint, is November 9 - two weeks from today.

Choosing essays for the Analysis unit.
We spent the first part of class reviewing the focus and "themes" of the essays in the Fast Food section of TS/IS. (Thank you Jessica for the photo of our work). I think you can enlarge this to see the categories- but just in case they are hard to read, the categories, or "topics" that connected to one or more essays, were:

1. The politics of fast fooe/or how fast food impacts particular groups of people
2. Cultural identities and eating as a "cultural construction" (something you do because of "the way you were raised" or who you hang out with)
3. Health = fast food as a cause (or not) for being overweight/unhealthy
4. Individual rights to decide how/what you eat
5. Science can tell us (or not) how to eat/be healthy
6. Regulating the way we eat
7 Analysis of who the piece was written for and how or whether it might be written differently for a different audience.

This work to identify and classify essays in the unit was in itself an example of how analysis works and what it is good for  Analysis identifies features of a set of "things", classifies (categorizes) those features, and describes relationships among categories, and among features within categories.  Don't worry if that doesn't make sense, we will be working on it all term.

The readings you chose include writing by : Haygood, Zinczenko, Warner, Freeman, and Pollan.  We also noted that we may, in addition, read Orbach & Obama.

During the second part of class you worked on your essays, and signed up for (optional) conferences.

Conference schedule:
Monday: 1:20 Sabrina; 1:40 Doreen
Tuesday  1:20 Khizer, 2:00 Terrell

For next class:
Read: nothing
Write:  final draft Persuasive essay.\

You will spend the first part of class making sure you have the correct assignments posted to the correct page of your portfolio, and writing your reflective analysis of (and grading)  the persuasive essay.

10.21 Workshop on Persuasive essays

How your essays are going. We started class by checking with how you are doing on your drafts. The collective list of "issues to work on we put up on the board was as follows:

• find references for support
• how to set up/refer to the essay that will be replied to
• decided to change topic (back to brainstorming)
• development
• coherence => relating points to focus. making the essay work together
• writing in academic forms
• writing to the assignment

The purpose of today's class is to give you experience working with classmates on addressing these (and related issues) in your writing.

Reviewing the assignment sheet:  In addition to reflecting on what you had trouble with, we took a minute to review the assignment sheet.  I strongly suggest that you keep a copy of the assignment open, and that you check back to it throughout your composing process.  In our brief review of it, we noted that the argument needed to be a reply to/conversation with one of the three assigned readings, and that you needed at least 3 references in your discussion that would work as "development" for your points.

Protocol for discussing drafts:
We listed the points you want to "check out" to make sure your essay meeting expectations.

1. Does the essay write to the assignment?
2. Focus: Is the focus set up in the introduction?  Does the writer make both a general statement of the focus and a list of the specific points s/he will argue?  Is the focus appropriate to the length of the assignment?  Is there more than one focus?  Is there extra/irrelevant material?
3. Organization:
overall organization: setup (Introduce the reading in a way that sets up your reply, transition to a statement of what you will argue=> include the series of points you will make to "prove" your position); argue your points in the order you set up in the introduction (this should be a logical order, include counterarguments if appropriate), present your conclusions.
paragraph structure: topic sentence, material to develop a point related to your focus, transition to next point.
presentation of quotations/evidence: introduce/set up your point, present the quote/evidence, discuss how the quot/evidence relates to your point.
4. Development: 
Check to see that each point has some kind of support to illustrate or show why/how your argument is correct.  Development can take the form of discussions of research, statistics, facts, reports; of personal experiences; of writing by experts; of examples from other colleges/institutions which have tried out the ideas you discuss, and so on.
5. Genre issues/academic forms for writing
Does the essay use academic language (forms from TS/IS)?
Does the essay use acacemic organization (set up the TS then present the IS)?

After you provided feedback to each of the writers in your group, you wrote up a plan for revising your essay and posted it to your Persuasive Essay page.

You spent the rest of class working on your essays, making the changes suggested by review of your essay.

For next class:

Read: any additional references you need for your project; take a look at the fast fold essays
Write:  Revised Project 1
Post: plan for revising your draft; revised Project 1

We will start class by choosing the fast food essays for the analysis essay.  The rest of class will be devoted to in-class conferences on your persuasive essay.

10.16 Getting ready to write a draft for the persuasive essay

Feedback on Practice Argument 2. We did not spend any time in class today going over Practice Argument 2, so for those of you who have posted your arguments, I will look at them, hopefully by Friday and certainly by Saturday, and write some comments with an eye to what you should work on for your Draft essay.  

Topics + readings for persuasive essay. By the close of the first class, each of you had identified a general focus for your essay + the particular assigned essay you were going to write for/against.  For those of you who are writing "for" an argument stated in one of the readings, be aware that you will need to bring in additional information and that the information you add to the author's argument should be directed toward your particular audience (the people you need to convince).   

As we discussed in class, the kind of source you choose to support your "side" is an ethos move.  If your reader thinks NPR is a bunch of bleeding heart liberals out of touch with what working class life is really like - then the NPR program on the high cost of college is not going to be a good source.  You need to pick facts from sources that the people against your argument will believe.

Ethos, pathos, logos. We reviewed what ethos and pathos moves will look like in your essays, and emphasized that every move you make in your argument should be directed toward the people you need to convince = the people who do not believe/are against what you will be arguing.  We noted that effective pathos moves appeal to the feelings, belief and self image of your audience.  If you are arguing to cut costs and improve education by eliminating tenure track faculty, you need to appeal to the beliefs/feelings/self interest of tenured faculty members in particular, and teachers in general.  

During the second part of class we talked about the form and focus for the assignment. As you draft and revise, read/re-read the assignment sheet.  Some general tips we noted include the following.

1. Use the academic forms/language discussed in the They Say/I Say chapters.

2. Set up theThey Say (identify the focus + the essay you will argue with) BEFORE responding with the I say

3. After you have identified the general focus, set up the points  that you will argue for/against

4. Include ethos & pathos moves.  Ethos and pathos can be in separate paragraphs, or as a supplement to a logical argument. Where you make these appeals will depend on the flow of your argument.

5. Write to the demands of the assignment

·       Be in conversation with one or more of the assigned articles

·       Make appeals to ethos, pathos & logos

·       Plan the an essay that will be the right length

·       Clear statement of your position

We also discussed a general process for writing your draft.

Process:

1. Find your topic + identify the article you will reply to

·       Free write = to things you know about/care about with respect to $$$ & college

·       List

·       Review the essays to see which one your feel interested in

2. Re-read the article paying attention towhat you will argue for/against

Identify your audience; who is on the other side? (list their beliefs, values, interests)

3. Consider your audience.  Idenfity the points, sources, and pathos moves that will convince that audience.  Also think about the “persona” that will work to convince this audience.  Write down some lists of points.  Read the sources and decide how you will use them.  Think about where your authority comes from for your chosen audience.   List the values/beliefs/identities associated with your audience and write how you might appeal to them.

4. Write down an overall plan for your essay.  List the moves or points you will make in the order you expect to make them.  Step back from this list and think about whether it will give you an essay that meets the demands of the assignment?  Right focus?  Enough material available for development?  Right organization?  Right length?

5.  Draft your essay.  You do not need to write it from begnning to end.  Since you have a list (point 4) you can write the sections in any order that works for you.  

6.  Re-read your essay.  Think about what you would like some help with in the peer-review workshop.

7.  Post your essay to your Persuasive essay page labeled NameArgumentDraft1.

For next class:

Write: Draft persuasive essay=>See the process described above.

Read: Chapter 10 : metacommentary; This chapter provides language that will help you to elaborate, explain, organize, and otherwise develop your discussions. 

In class Tuesday we will workshop your drafts, have conferences.  You will write a plan for revising and get started on those revisions.

It was great to be back in class.  Thanks for your good participation and I am looking forward to reading your drafts!

  

10.14 Class with Dr. Sutton

I just got an email from Dr. Sutton saying that you had a few questions.  Here are the answers.

1. What is the Due date/Timeline for this assignment?
We will work on finishin up the planning/brainstorming phase for your project on Thursday.

The tentative list of due dates is listed below (and is on the Calendar so far posted to the right).

T Oct 21 Due: Draft Project 1 

Th Oct 23 Due: Revised Project 1 

T Oct 28  Returned: Revised Project 1 

Th Oct 30  Due: Final Project 1 

2. We know that it requires sources, Are we limited only to the book or are we allowed other outside sources?

You must respond to/engage with one or more of the essays assigned from the book.  You are encouraged to find additional sources to build your argument.

Remember, the assignment requires that you need to make both an ethos and a pathos move.  I am not looking for a logos centered argument that does not seriously understand/connect to the values/assumptions/belief of the peoply you seek to convince.    You already know how to argue using facts.  This assignment is about learning to be persuasive.

Hope you had a good class today, and I will see you on Thursday.

Read: p. 256, A Lifetime of Student Debt by Robin Wilson + Chapter 9 (this is a short chapter_
Write: Brainstorming/rhetorical analysis  for Project 1.  For the rhetorical analysis, think about who you are trying to persuade, what they believe, what you want to persuade them of, relevant assumptions /life situations of your audience.  Come to class prepared to workshop your rhetorical analysis with a peer group, and to begin mapping out the arguments you will make to persuade your audience.

See you Thursday.

10.9 Assessing arguments: Practice Argument 1

We spent class today working on the overall form and language for persuasive writing.  We did this by reviewing the requirements for form and content in an argument, and then taking a close look at some sample arguments.

General form for the kinds of arguments we are working on *

1. Set up the argument
Introduce the general topic (either by identifying the central concerns at hand or by naming the essay/writers you will be replying to)
(make your ethos move=> this is one place you can make an ethos move, not necessarily required)
Summarize the readings/substance of the arguments you will be taking on
State your position in terms of the specific points you will make ( this provides the reader with a kind of a "map" of your essay - so it won't feel like a pile of facts). This may take more than one sentence.

The set up may take one or two paragraphs, depending on the detail of your argument.

2.  Argue your points in a logical order.  Use TS/IS language to put each point in touch with what the other side has to say.   Use transitions between points to help the reader see the sequence of your points.

Each paragraph should develop the overall focus in a particular way.  In general, the organization of paragraphs is to set up the point you will argue (topic sentence) in relation to the overall focus.  Provide detailed evidence, examples, illustrations, facts to "prove" your point.  State what the examples show with respect to your point + the overall focus.  Transition to the next point.

3. Conclude.  Re-state your argument in light of the evidence you provided in your points.

Rubric: 
At the beginning of class we developed a rubric for reviewing the sample arguments.  

Genre/Audience: Intro includes a clear statement of the focus of the argument at the beginning of the essay;  Intro also provides appropriate background or context for the argument.  Body paragraphs presents the argument "in conversation" with other texts; The essay uses language moves set forward for argument in TS/IS; For this argument = include ethos and pathos moves.

Focus: Each paragraph develops/connects to the overall argument in a different way; Intro states focus clearly; Conclusion restates focus in light of points/evidence from the essay.

Organization: Includes an intro/body/conclusion; paragraphs include topic sentences, detailed development and connections to the overall argument; 

Development:  Use of quotes/detailed examples, illustrations, personal experiences to support or "prove" claims.

We read through about 5 essays and you are definitely getting the hang for providing feedback.  Feedback is not criticism; it is information from other readers (and writers) that can help you strengthen your essay.  No writer "invents" all the forms in his or her essay.  We all benefit from the ideas of others.

Practice Essay 2.  During the last five minutes of class I presented the topic for Practice Essay 2: Write a practice argument taking the side that: Liberal arts education is a great value for the money; include appeals for ethos, pathos and logos.  About two pages.  Write your essay in the form we set up in class.

For next class:
Write: Practice essay 2 => post it to your persuasive writing page, and be ready to work with this writing in class on Tuesday.
Post: your notes from today's class.  In particular, post the writing you developed as  feedback you (in terms of the rubric) for each of the essays we discussed.

See you next Thursday.

*The form for an argument depents on the kind of argument you are making.  For these practice assignments you are arguing in relationship to a specific set up of readings.

10.7 General form of an argument

Feedback on response essays;  You all should have received an email with a feedback sheet for the unit on writing response essays.  I use a slightly different scale for assigning grades that the university (it was on the board): Above 90 is an A, and 90 is an A-, above 80 is a B, and 80 is a B-, and so on.  If you have any questions about your score, let me know and we can talk about it.

Planning a "practice argument": We spent today's class nailing down the points in Hacker and Dreifus' essay on the cost of college.

We started by noticing the general form for his argument.
Set up the general focus (the high cost of college education and the fact that something needs to be done about it)
A "why readers should listen to us" move (ethos move)
Followed by a statement of the general kinds of arguments the authors would make about cost and change for college education.

We noted that in this "set up" move he classified the kinds of arguments he would make - but did not go into details about his specific points.

Then he made arguments for a series of specific kinds of changes.

(all of this should be in your notes).

As we discussed the claims the authors made about how colleges needed to change, we noted which "kind" of argument each point was, and raised points that we might  argue against his point.  You took good notes on this!

After we went rhough (most of) the author's points, you took some time to think what you might say back to this essay.  We agreed that you couldn't reply to ALL of their points, so you would need to focus your response on a set of related suggestions.  I think I spoke to most of you about how to focus your essay - and it sounded like you were on the right track!

For next class:
Read: TS/IS Chapter 8  "As a Result"
Write: A two-page argument where you argue  AGAINST a related set of points from Hacker and Dreifus.  Practice using the overall form we discussed in class (including an ethos move), and make use of the connecting moves from the reading.

Post your practice argument to the persuasive essay page of your portfolio.

During the first part of class we will look at some sample arguments and evaluate them, During the second half of class you will look at your persuasive essays (so bring your computers) - and we will talk about what you need to work on to strengthen them.

Good class today, and see you Thursday.

10.2 Preparation for writing effective arguments

Finishing up response essays:  At the beginning of class I drew your attention to the homework assignments I will be looking at as I provide feedback for your response essay.  The points will be allocated in a way similar to the summary unit: 25 pts for preparation work, 25 pts for the finished essay.  I will send a grade sheet to your email address, sometime before next class.  This grade sheet will be a grade-so-far, and will give an indication of credit you have earned for participation  (attending class, being perpared, and taking part in class discussions), your baseline essay, and for the summary and response writing.   I will start class by answering question and talking a little about how to interpret the grade-so-far.

Reading the conversation:
We started class with a discussion of TS/IS's overview of strategies for reading essays both for the author's point (the I Say) and the set of arguments, assumptions, or beliefs that the author is arguing against (the They Say).  As pointed out in this chapter, the They Say may be implied, a gap (or an undeveloped argument), or it might be just plain hard to figure out.  

You worked in groups on how to figure out the "They Say" in difficult text, and we came up with the following (general) strategies:
1. Look for words from the templates that "signal" the They Say or the I Say.  For example, words before words like "but" are often part of the They Say, and words that follow it are often part of the I Say.

2. Use the overall organization of the essay to identify TS v IS.  In general (though not always), the They Say comes first.

3. Look for words that name a position as "mistaken" or missing the point.  For example, in the Ungar essays, the TS statements were identified as "misperceptions".

The text also suggested additional strategies for reading texts that were just plain hard to understand.
1. Identify words you don't know or aren't sure of - and define them.  Then see if you can paraphrase the sentences where they are used.
2.  Build bridges from confusing or new material to ideas that are more familiar.  In doing this, double check to make sure that you are building the right kind of bridge - that your idea and the idea in the text are actually connected.
3.  We didn't say this one - but make use of the internet to see how other writers may have interpreted the reading you are stuck on .  This can help with bridge-building.

The New Liberal Arts
We spent the rest of class talking about Ungar's The New Liberal Arts.  You worked in groups to identify the main ideas and supporting points for the They Say, and for the I Say for each "misperception" in Ungar's essay.  (hint: if Ungar names something a misperception => it is a They Say.)  We then talked as a class about points 1,3,5 & 7 and spent some time talking about both the TS & the IS for each point.

After we had those points on the board we noticed that Ungar had not directly stated his set of beliefs (whether he was liberal or conservative), but rather wrote his essay to appeal to conservatives (the people he sought to convince?) by pointing out that liberal education and liberal beliefs were actually quite different, and that in fact, liberal education fit with a conservative agenda.  At the same time, in the last point, he holds government accountable for making liberal arts education affordable.  He says the government has not given enough support - and that it has the capacity to give much more (so everyone has an equal opportunity).  This last point is clearly part of the "liberal" agenda.

So who was Ungar seeking to convince?  We decided it was the conservatives he needed to bring around, since the liberals probably already agreed with him.  So, was the logic of this piece designed to connect to the belief systems of conservatives?   Maybe.  All except for that last point (which is maybe why it was last?)

Who do you need to persuade with a persuasive argument?
So - very briefly, we spent the last part of class going over the different kinds of moves you can make to persuade someone who does not agree with your argument.    You can give them reasons - information that might change their mind (if they believe it);  you can appeal to their hearts - by stepping into their perspective, seeing how they feel & what they believe and speaking to that; or you can get them to understand and respect the authority of your argument - essentially, get them to trust you, respect you, and see things from your perspective.

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, and in classical rhetoric - Aristotle identified these three moves as appeals to logos  (logic); pathos (emption - getting your reader/listener to empathize), and ethos (character - establishing your knowledge, integrity, and/or  expertise).  

As we noted in our discussion at the end of class - sometimes getting someone to see your point of view is NOT about having "the facts" or even about "being right".  It is about making a connection to what the person on the other side believes, how s/he feels, or what she wants.  Therefore, an effective argument absolutely has to be a conversation - where you include the They Say, and acknowledge it and consider it as seriously as what you will say back to it.   Moves for pathos and ethos are essential to establishing a connection to They Say in a way that lets "Them" hear your argument, and maybe even be willing to see some of the value in it.

For next class
Read:  Are colleges worth the price of admission?  p 179.
Write: post your notes on Ungar to the Persuasive Essay page.  Name the file YourNameUngarNotes. These notes should describe the They Say and the I Say for each of Ungar's 7 points.  Use the strategies we noted in class for figuring out 2,4 & 6 (the points we didn't do together in class)

In class on Tuesday, you will practice identifying the audience, purpose and form for your arguments, and  you will work on creating "arguments" based in the three different appeals.  Your arguments will reply to or draw from one of the I Says set forward in the readings on the cost of higher education, Ungar or Hacker & Drefus.

Have a great weekend, and see you Tuesday!