(credit to LD for the title)
We're gathering resources for our next synthesis question:
Read the following sources carefully. Then write an essay in which you develop a position on whether Lincoln Logs or Legos better promote creativity in children. Synthesize at least three of the sources for support.
Post your info on Lincoln Logs or Legos below. Remember, this is not an assignment for credit, but simply a chance for us to create our own question.
Read More......
Check out the Conservative/Liberals Post for readable instructions.
Please bring a clean, final copy of your argumentative article to class tomorrow.
Read More......Here's a link to my blog post on the video we watched today. In it, you'll find a link to the morality scale site (oops, there's another one), as well as a link to TED.com (dang).
Here's the stereotype/bias test that MB brought up in class the other day (and posted a comment on earlier.
Lastly, here is what we didn't cover in class today:
Some of you have already written an argument for our weekly analyses. This time, instead of responding an argument that has already been published, you will be creating your own. By my count, each of you has analyzed and discussed at least 18 articles; now it's time to get your own voice to paper!
- Use the general topic of your books as a starting point (and source, if appropriate; this is where the journal comes in handy) for your outline
- Discuss the issue with your friends or parents
- Address any counter-arguments
- Revise your outline
- Flesh out the outline in the form of an article
As always, there is no length requirement for this assignment; write as much as is necessary to fully argue your point. You will be turning in your outline along with the finished article. We'll briefly discuss this in class tomorrow, and devote Friday to brainstorming ideas and discovering sources.
Challenge
The above is the complete assignment. However, if you are feeling comfortable with creating a written argument and would like an alternative challenge (for no additional points; this is simply a greater test of your skills), follow the directions above to step 4, then continue below.
- With your outline in mind, consider the most efficient means of communicating your argument to your intended audience (see below for possible ideas)
- Revise your outline, eliminate unnecessary content with the aim of presenting the most important information in the least amount of space
- Come up with a strong hook (a brief, cogent slogan; an appropriate image; a solid pitch)
- Follow your hook with enough information to get your audience to do something (find more information, donate time, etc.)
- A written argument is often the most effective means of changing a person's opinion, but what if you are spreading awareness amongst a small audience?
- Visuals (posters, stickers, advertisements) are often an excellent way to raise awareness of an issue without requiring extended attention from an audience
- Cinema (short advertisements, viral video), while a form of visual media, requires more attention, but can deliver more information
We have not spent much time on visual arguments yet, so you will need to do some research (look around the internets, check out advertisements and public service announcements, come see me) to get a feel of the rhetoric of visual persuasion before you begin. Please see me if you would like to attempt this assignment; in addition to your visual, you will be required to turn in your outline and an analysis of your work.
Read More......Remember, Google is your friend. Or is it?
On video games:
Violence, Social behavior, Intelligence (and here, here...)
On teenagers:
Excerpt from Nancy Redd's book, Pregnancy, Identity, Body Image, Media Impact, Horror Movies (that last one is strange...)
Gladwell:
On Stereotyping, Excellent review
Minimum Wage:
LA Creole:
History, Language (take it slow with this one, but worth the read)
Marijuana, etc.:
Activism, Google results for news
Read More......Continue reading over the sources for your support, refute, or qualify essay [click to download] this weekend. We will work on your thesis statements on Monday, your support on Wednesday, and write the final drafts on Friday. Normal article analyses will be due Tuesday and Thursday. (Holy organization, Batman! A week planned in advance!) Have a great weekend, enjoy the extra hour.
Edit: Great ironic inevitability! Of course, as one of you so gently informed me, you do not have school on Friday. So, the essay will be due at the end of class on Thursday, and the rest of the schedule stays the same. [sigh.]
Edit 2: Here is the url for the essay download site: http://www.mediafire.com/?uz1ilncmiii. Six of you have downloaded it so far, so it must be working at some point in the process. Keep me updated if you are still having trouble. There will be no article analyses tomorrow because the gods of organization have conspired against my best laid plans. Work on your essays, come to class tomorrow with a thesis statement and some support. [If you email a copy of your thesis to me before tomorrow I'll smile warmly upon you.]
Read More......We will be discussing DeLillo's White Noise through chapter 34 on Monday. We will write over this in about a week, so please keep up with your reading journals.
Another great discussion (From the Board below) over the censorship! The debate was heated at times, so we'll be writing our own argumentative articles this weekend. By now you are all familiar with the basic structure of an argumentative article, but here's a quick outline to help you with your writing:
- Know your position. Begin with a basic argument, such as "Apples are good."
- Begin gathering support for your basic argument.
- "Apples are healthy"
- "Apples are all-American"
- "Apples are portable"
- "Apples can be eaten many different ways"
- Then, begin supporting each claim, adding statistics and quotations from other sources as necessary.
- "Apples are healthy"
- Food and Drug Administration
- "Apples are all-American"
- All-American Apple Council
- "Apples are portable"
- Relevant personal anecdote
- "Apples can be eaten in many different ways"
- Recipes
- How-to guides
- "Apples are healthy"
- After that, make sure your sources are credible and your claims are relevant and logical.
"Apples are all-American"(Appeal to emotion, but not a major point.)All-American Apple Council(Biased source)
- After you are certain you have a logical argument, begin writing your article. Draw your audience in with a "hook"—something to draw them in, give them interest in your article. (Look over your previous articles for examples.) Also, because this is such a heated topic, don't forget to appeal to those on the other side of the issue.
Post questions below for the good of all.
Legend: Black: from the articles, Blue: From you, Green: From me.
Read More......
Trying something a bit different this time. Black text paraphrased or "quoted" from the articles you brought in, blue text is your words. (Please comment below if you feel I've misrepresented what you stated, or if you would like to clarify something.)
I missed the title of the first article (if you presented, please fill us in), but here is a link to the second, "Are these books Really 'Required Reading?'" and the last "Golden Compass: Athiesm for Tots."
We will continue this discussion tomorrow.
Read More......We've chosen to explore the issue of book banning for our articles next week. I've listed a few sources below for those who would like to get a head start. Remember, we are looking at arguments for book banning on Tuesday and against book banning on Thursday.
As you are searching, remember that you are looking for articles arguing one side or the other of the issue, not an "overview" of the debate. Here is a good one about Harry Potter:
- "Some Thoughts on the Harry Potter Series" by Michael D. O'Brien from CatholicEducation.org
Parents Against Bad Books in Schools is an organization devoted to raising awareness of inappropriate material in books available in public libraries. This page contains a number of links to articles that may be worthy of discussion.
Your analyses should be written according to the guidelines I gave you in this post. Remember, you aren't arguing for or against the issue (we do that in class), but explaining how the author structures his or her argument.
Read More......An article on oration from The New Republic.
Read More......We will be presenting articles and analyses tomorrow. Check the previous post for links to the articles that we discussed on Tuesday, then search for a new one that will continue our discussion.
Comment below or send me an email if you have any questions.
Read More......"America's Worst Cities to be a Sport's Fan" from Forbes
"The Death of Wikipedia" from RoughType
"Advertisements: Manipulation of Innocent People" from General Information
"Hipster: The End of Western Civilization" from Adbusters
Read More......This course is founded upon learning and applying rhetoric in your academic and everyday lives. To this end, you will bring in two articles/essays/works of art/books/etc. each week (every Tuesday and Thursday, even if I forget to remind you), with a synopsis and an analysis of the argument presented for each. They do not need to be typed, but each must contain the following:
- Your name and date at the top. (This is logistical; I cannot give you credit if I do not know it is yours.)
- MLA citation of the work. (You will most likely be using the citation guidelines under the “Article in a Web Magazine” or “Page on a Website” headings.
- Author, name of article/work, and name of periodical (if you pulled it from a magazine or journal) in the first paragraph.
- Short (single sentence) explanation of which rhetorical devices the author uses and whether the work is persuasive.
- One paragraph outlining (with examples) how the author uses these rhetorical devices.
- One paragraph explaining why the article is or is not persuasive.
This may seem like a lot to do, but once you start writing them it becomes second nature. We will discuss these articles in class, so pick articles that argue a point (this is important; many newspaper articles merely report on a topic, so check the Opinion or Editorial pages for arguments) and come prepared to discuss. If you have trouble finding something to bring to class, or if you forget about it until the last minute, check out the RSS feed on the left of this page. I have set this up to deliver articles that I think are worth reading. Snag one, write an analysis, and enjoy class knowing you came prepared. It’s a good thing.
Example
Here's a quick example of an average article analysis of this article from last year. Note that the student dissects the argument without identifying the rhetorical devices used. This is appropriate as you begin writing your analyses, but take chances and implement the vocabulary you learn in class.
Parker, Kathleen. “The Perils of Pandering.” Tulsa World. 17 Jan. 2008: A19.
“The Perils of Pandering,” the title of Kathleen Parker’s latest opinion article, details the paradoxes and labyrinthine mix of intentions involved in the Democratic front-runners’ candidacies, specifically those of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Parker explores the argument of “it shouldn’t be about race or gender but it is” by referencing the candidates’ own words and actions to display their contradictions. For example, Parker quotes Clinton’s insistence that she is “not asking you to vote for [her] because [she is] a woman,” while following up with Clinton’s cry to “shatter that highest glass ceiling” at Wellesley College. The juxtaposition of the paragraphs emphasize Parker’s point; that the candidates don’t know whether to play their minority cards.
Another interesting topic is brought up in the article: the idea that a victory for one candidate is a defeat for the other’s minority group. “The battle for race and gender has become a fight between race and gender,” Parker states. “If a Clinton victory is viewed as a victory for all women, then her defeat can only be viewed as a defeat for all women.”
Parker’s argument is convincing; it’s hard to disagree when the quotations are from the candidates themselves. Her bias is mild compared to other articles she has penned—she acknowledges the party’s “noble intent” as she bemoans the identity politics. Her audience is not a narrow one; she can appeal to Republicans and Democrats alike. All in all, it’s a very effective piece.
Read More......We worked through Michael Lewis's "Cross-Buying" in class today. I hope you now have a better understanding of how to go about annotating a text. If you are still unsure of where to begin, here's a quick set of guidelines:
- Make sure you have a working knowledge of the devices we have discussed in class so far. These include:
- Skim the piece once to get a general idea of the argument. If you want to begin marking up your page at this point, go ahead, but the first pass should simply give you perspective on the work.
- Begin reading the work more closely, looking for words or phrases that stand out (because they are unusual, interesting, or unfamiliar), devices that you recognize, and any counter-arguments presented. Each time you come across something worth marking, ask yourself "Why has the author included this? What does it do for the work? How does it help/hurt the argument?"
- Look for the thesis. This is rarely at the end of the first paragraph in published works, and not always a single sentence. The thesis should cover the scope of the argument. For example, in "Cross-Buying," the author states that his "fondness for buying women's clothing is nothing more than a fondness for—and a curiosity about—women themselves." It is important to understand what the author is arguing before you begin writing about the work.
- Finally, go over the work one more time, focusing on your annotations. How do they fit with the thesis? Does your interpretation of each support or contradict the author's thesis? (If they contradict it, you may have misunderstood something. Or the piece is poorly written/argued. It's possible.) Do you see any connections between the various devices?
- Diction
- Imagery
- Detail
- Audience
- Speaker
- Tone
- Any other devices with which you are familiar
That's it. I like to use several colors to annotate a work (diff colors for vocab/interesting things, things I don't understand, questions I have, and reactions), but do whatever works for you. The important thing is that your hands are busy. It will take longer to read a work at first, but this will eventually become second nature to you. Pretty soon you won't be able to read without a pen in your hand. You'll be better for it, I promise.
Read More......Click below for image from class.
I blacked-out some of the article for copyright purposes (we are using this for our classroom, so it falls under fair use, but I cannot publish a full copy).
Read More......
We are annotating Michael Lewis's "Cross-Buying" over the weekend. As you read over the article, pay attention to any parts you find interesting, while concentrating on the author's voice (T-DIDLS). When you come across an interesting word or phrase, ask yourself what it does for the author's argument. Here are a few questions to get you started:
- In the first paragraph, Lewis makes several seemingly contradictory statements. Identify these. Why does he use this juxtaposition, and what assumptions does he want to dispel? What further questions does this raise?
- What descriptors is Lewis using for each gender? What are the general connotations, and what can you infer about his use of stereotypes?
- In paragraph three, we have "low, juvenile instincts," "exploding word bombs," and "people diving for cover." What gender is the preceding, unidentified "anyone"? How do you surmise this?
- How does the author's use of parenthetical and dashed asides contribute to the overall tone of the piece?
- There is a shift in syntax and imagery from paragraph four to paragraph five. it hinges on the author's use of asyndeton. How does this further his argument?
You don't need to write out the answers to these questions; they are merely here to help you get started. We'll discuss these and more in class on Monday. If you want to record your thoughts, I suggest using your journal.
From the vault
Over the next few days I'll be resurrecting some old posts from last year to supplement our lectures.
Read More......
NPR story about a Kansas man earning money for his political campaign using an online comic rife with "geek" references. Link to the comic on the left of the article.
What does this mean? Sure, he's raised the money, but the article notes that "about 90 percent of his donations came from out-of-state contributors through PayPal." Those donations do not translate into votes. What do you think of the comic?
This is really cool. Images of citizens posted around the community. Better than billboards? Probably. But what's the point? via NPR
More technology and urban planning. Text to vote for new business. Gothamist Story
From PopRally, "a program of events at The Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center," comes an exhibition of political works of art from the JustSeeds Visual Resistance Artists' Co-op. [If you find something cool, post a direct link in the comments. I haven't been able to look through all of the works. Although this one from the front page is fantastic. How does the background image affect the message? What about the color and quality of the background image?] Original story via Gothamist Story.
Slate article on one group's protest of the movie Tropic Thunder.
Again from Slate, this time a video analysis of the McCain/Obama commercials. [Anyone know what the title of the article is alluding to? Why would they call it that?]
Read More......If you were confused by the RSS feed talk today, check out this older post. I have listed sites that I enjoy, as well as a video about setting up an RSS feed yourself.
I'd add Treehugger and Popmatters to the list.
Remember, comment below, telling me who you are (if it isn't obvious from your name), which web sites you like to visit and anything else you care to share, like good music! If you don't have a site to share, click on a link that has been posted, have a look around, and report back.
Buy journals soon. We'll begin discussing T-DIDLS in class tomorrow.
Amazing first day! Thanks, guys.
Read More......I came across Bad Idea magazine in Barnes & Noble the other day while looking for the latest printing of The Believer (music issue with CD!). These things happen, mags are potato chips, etc....
This feature from Bad Idea's website illustrates the editing process undertaken before an article is printed. Check out the deletions from first and fourth paragraphs: It is a very short piece, but strong because the editor removes the initial pathos-laden information, allowing the reader to ease into the story and the rising action. The details of Marko's life are only hinted at in the beginning, as the author mentions he "fled to Belgrade," "had run out of money," and now "packs as adroitly as a refugee." These small details pique the reader's curiosity but do not deliver enough information to satisfy.
The climax ("'For me, I felt happy about 9/11'") and the surrounding buildup is left mostly intact, with one important exception: the editor's command of "Show, don't tell." If there is only one mantra you remember in your studies as a creative writer, make it this one. These asides and clarifications have the effect of pulling the reader from actively imagining and engaging with the scene to passively accepting information. In this case, it's as if the author is presenting a good movie, but pausing every so often to talk about what is going on.
All writing is about communication; creative writing (even creative nonfiction) is about communicating an experience. If your reader feels what you feel, sees what you see, then you've done your job as a writer. If your reader senses your presence in the experience, you have "broken the fourth wall" (to borrow a phrase from theatre) and the connection is lost. As soon as you speak to your reader instead of about the story, you have taken away his or her chance to actively reflect (which is the very thing that makes reading fun and engaging). This is the challenge for all you creative writers: tell your story, let the audience make of it what they will.
Read More......a post chock full of links, video, books, and discussion topics.
I shared some cool contemporary artists with you on Thursday, promising links for browsing. Here you go:
- Greg Simkins's website, I'm Scared
- Works by Naoto Hattori
- Brian Dettmer's Book Autopsies via Centripetal Notion
Colin Meloy interlude...
This is one of those careers you never think about. The Believer interviews Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, set decorator for Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and... Just check it out. Another testament to the underlying thought that goes into any good piece of art in order to communicate an idea.
I especially love the statement about Owen Wilson's character's rocket sheets:
They sort of made sense in that room somehow, in a way that was authentic and quirky and fundamentally human.
I wrote about "quirkiness" in film yesterday. If you haven't read that post, check it out here at The Winsome Scholar.
More to come later. If you haven't purchased Pearson's The Princeton Review, please do so.
