Dear Class,
We have two classes left! Keep in mind the following:
Thursday, May 10: Essay 3 papers and presentations are due. Post papers to D2L. Be ready to present to the class!
Tuesday, May 15: Last class. Potluck! Essay re-writes are due to D2L.
It’s been a pleasure. Feel free to email me any questions you have.
Best,
Janel
Dear Class,
Class is cancelled Thursday for conferences. Bring a printed copy of your rough draft of Essay 3 for homework credit and feedback, plus post a copy to your blog. The conference schedule is below. Coming to your conference counts for your in-class attendance for the day. If you are meeting before or during our class time, meet in the classroom. If you are meeting after class time, meet in the courtyard just outside our classroom.
Please let me know if for any reason something changes and you are not able to make your conference by email (jnspencer@pima.edu) or text (520-247-0506). If you have not yet signed up for conferences, feel free to email me to schedule a time.
Conference Schedule
8am –
8:10 – Enrique
8:20 – Mary
8:30 – Stacy
8:40 – Cynthia
8:50 – Malia
9:00 – Krystal
9:10 –
9:20 – Ghiselle
9:30 – Kajhia
9:40 – Jenn
9:50 – Sam
10 – Kyle
10:10 – Gemma
10:20 – Nahiely
10:30 – Lexie
Dear Class,
Today the Chuck walked us through using the PCC library website to conduct scholarly research.
I’ve decided that we will postpone the debate until Thursday to give you all more time to work in your groups. We discussed in class that the debate is to be specified as a for/against argument on the following policy change:
The US federal government should substantially increase funding and/or eligibility for Medicaid enrollment.
I encourage you to continue researching your side and to be in contact with your group leaders.
Best,
Janel
Dear Class,
It’s the “eleventh hour.” Don’t forget that your final drafts of Essay 2 are due tomorrow. Bring one printed copy to class and post one copy to your blog!
Also, if you are planning to submit your essay to the Pima Essay Contest, it is due tomorrow to this email: student-essay-contest@pima.edu. The contest prompt is here: Essay Contest Prompt. And here is the entry form: PCC Contest Entry Form. Best of luck and don’t stay up too late. 😉
Janel
Dear Class,
Today we worked on our rough drafts, working in particular on our thesis statements and topic sentences.
We talked about ordering your paper, and how you can separate your paragraphs by analyzing appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos, or analyze the piece chronologically, or analyze how each strategy works towards multiple appeals in each paragraph. You could also order it based on the rhetorical triangle: author, text, then audience. Now working towards a second draft, you should start to see a natural order emerging and work on honing that order.
Homework is to work on your second draft, due Thursday, April 5. Final drafts are due Tuesday, April 10.
Have a great weekend,
Janel
P.S. The trick for rhetorical analysis is to make sure you are analyzing not only what they are saying/showing, but how they are effectively or ineffectively building their argument and why (to what effective, for what purpose, and for whom).
Dear Class,
Today under “In Class” you’ll find many resources and example essays to help you with your homework: Rough Draft 1 (roughly 2 pages) of Essay 2. Bring a printed copy and post it to your blog before next class.
Best,
Janel
Dear Class,
Today we looked at appeals in ads and created our own persuasive ads. On Thursday we will talk about analyzing commercial spaces, which is one of the prompt options for Essay 2.
For homework, post 5 ideas for what you might like to analyze for Essay 2/Essay Contest to your blog. You might analyze a song, a piece of art, an advertisement, speech, video, TED talk, poem, or commercial space such as a store. List 5 specific options you might like to write about.
Art by Al Margin:
Today we learned about the difference between Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on rhetoric (from Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing), discussed what constitutes a “good” and ethical argument, discussed the claims and evidence in Caruso’s commencement speech (The Difference Between Poetry and Rhetoric), further considered the importance of emotional appeals (“The Importance of Feelings” – MIT Technology Review) and connotative language in constructing effective arguments (“Connotations” from Language in Thought and Action), analyzed stanza one and two of “Power” by Audre Lorde, and analyzed articles that present evidence for polarized sides of the current debate about police brutality against African-American communities (for in-class writing).
For homework:
1. Read the following: Visual Rhetoric.
2. Analyze (one paragraph) a piece of visual rhetoric (for example, a piece of art, a photograph, an advertisement, or a political cartoon). Post your analysis to your blog.
Have a nice weekend!
– Janel
Today we discussed different definitions of rhetoric, questioned authority (the authority of the dictionary in particular), read about John Berger (“How John Berger changed our way of seeing art” and “John Berger’s Way(s) of Seeing is more relevant today than ever”), watched most of Episode 2 of the BBC show “Ways of Seeing,” and read and began discussion of Audre Lorde’s poem “Power.”
For homework, read and respond on your blog to the following speech (similarly to how we responded to John Berger’s Ways of Seeing in class: What is Caruso’s authority/how is it established? What is Caruso’s argument/what are her claims? What is her evidence? Do you agree or disagree; why or why not?): The Difference Between Poetry and Rhetoric. (Allot yourself some time for this assignment; the text is 6 full pages.)
Writing 101 Spring 2018 Spencer 