Analysis Unit and Schedule

ANALYSIS UNIT

DATES

Weeks 5-8

September 19-October 16

LEARNING GOALS

  1. Write your own texts critically
  2. Compose as a process
  3. Use conventions appropriate to audience, genre and purpose

SUMMARY

If you follow politics you’ve probably heard the term “rhetoric.” Usually, we hear it in phrases like “that’s just rhetoric,” “it’s empty rhetoric,” or even sometimes with a more violent connotation like someone is “spewing rhetoric.” As Roberts-Miller further explains, some people even use descriptions of “disease, infection, or contamination” (11) to describe those they oppose who they think are “guilty” of using rhetoric. Though rhetoric is often used negatively, it isn’t fundamentally a negative concept.

Carroll provides a more neutral and foundational definition: rhetoric is “the way we use language and images to persuade” (46). As Roberts-Miller relates, Aristotle—one of the original teachers of the ancient art of rhetoric—believed that rhetoric could conceal the truth (be “just rhetoric”) or could help us get to the truth (9). In fact, we can use rhetoric to help unravel how others communicate through the process of rhetorical analysis. In this unit we’ll employ rhetorical analysis to strengthen our reading and writing skills.

Analysis comes from the Greek (“ana-” meaning “up” and “-luein” meaning “loosen”) and literally means to untie or loosen. To analyze a text, idea, or issue is to break it apart into smaller pieces and evaluate those pieces based on a number of criteria like audience, occasion, exigency/Kairos, purpose, text, and writer. These criteria all form the rhetorical context—sometimes known as the rhetorical situation—surrounding the text or idea. Its rhetoric that helps us understand the purpose of a text and how well it’s achieving that purpose.

The goal of analysis is to better understand an idea, text, or context and often to critique and improve. Analysis helps us understand both how to spot and use rhetoric in writing.

TEXTS

WEEK­­ 5: SEPTEMBER 19-SEPTEMBER 26

Reading

Turn In

  • Writer’s Journal Prompt[6] [Blogs@Baruch]

Writer’s Journal Prompt [Blogs@Baruch]

Choose one of the following to write about this week:

  1. Think of a time you had to write or compose in a new genre like Dirk
    • What was the genre or format?
    • How did you feel about the new genre before writing it?
    • What features, affordances, or constraints does the genre have?
    • How did you learn those features?
  2. Roberts-Miller describes the extreme consequences of negative rhetoric or rhetoric that intentionally misleads an audience (11). Think of a time you have seen rhetoric in action. Was it positive or negative? Was it used to get at the truth or to mislead? What were the consequences?

WEEK 6:

Reading

Turn In

Writer’s Journal Prompt [Blogs@Baruch]

Carroll describes several ways we might already be using rhetoric in formal and informal ways throughout our lives. Choose one of the following prompts to write about this week:

  1. How do you use rhetoric in your daily life? What messages do you try to communicate? To what audiences?
  2. Describe a rhetorical situation you have been part of. What was the exigence? Who were the audiences? What were the constraints and affordances? If it helps, you could include a visual representation by using a rhetorical triangle to chart the situation.
rhetorical triangle
Rhetorical Triangle Chart A white triangle in the middle of a gray circle contained in a white rectangle. Within the white triangle is Purpose (mission, goal). Outside the triangle but within the gray circle in context (kairos or timing). Floating in the white rectangle beyond the circle is: Society and History Audience (who is being communicated to) and pathos (empathy and values) Speaker (who is communicating) and ethos (credibility and trust) Message (what is being communicated) and logos (logic/reason or proof)

Analysis Rough Draft [Blackboard]

Assignment Sheet available on Blogs@Baruch.

WEEK 7:

Reading

Turn In

  • Writer’s Journal Prompt [Blogs@Baruch]

Writer’s Journal Prompt [Blogs@Baruch]

After reading the Introduction and one additional chapter from Bad Ideas About Writing, chart or record the rhetorical situation this book is responding to. Consider using a visual representation or listing the elements in your response. Use the rhetorical triangle image below to help you. Include:

  • Society & History – what history or social norms exist
  • Audience – who is being communicated to (be specific)
  • Speaker – who is communicating (be specific)
  • Message – what is being communicated (just one thing? many things?)
  • Purpose – what is the mission or goal?
  • Context – What is the Kairos/timing/exigence?

WEEK 8:

Reading

Turn In

Writer’s Journal Prompt [Blogs@Baruch]

You’ve now read a lot about not only writing, but Writing Studies. Writing Studies is an academic field that researches and writes about the teaching and learning of writing. Bad Ideas About Writing is a great jumping off point to learn more about issues being debated in Writing Studies right now.

For this week, choose an issue from Bad Ideas About Writing that intrigues you. This can be a chapter we’ve read this week or a different one of your choosing.

In your response, please describe the problem or issue you see at the heart of the chapter you’ve chosen. Do some informal research (Google is great here) and see what conversations are happening around this issue.

  • Who is talking about it? In what way?
  • What are the arguments or positions around this issue?
  • What’s your relationship to the problem? Is it relevant to you?
  • What do you notice about the issue or problem?
  • What do you still wonder?

Quarterly Check-In [Blackboard]

This is a short survey to check-in on our progress and provide self-assessment about your participation in the course so far.

I want to know what’s going well, what I can improve on, and what questions you have. I’ll use this feedback to make any adjustments to the course I can and will try to address questions as they arise.

You can also reach out via email at any time if you have questions that require an immediate, direct response from me.

  1. What’s going well? What readings or writing prompts have been especially productive or interesting to you so far? What is working well in the organization, delivery, or interactivity in the course?
  2. What’s challenging? What readings or writing prompts have not been interesting or engaging to you? What suggestions do you have to improve the organization, delivery, or interactivity in the course?
  3. What questions do you have about the materials/course/etc. or aspects of the course do you think need clarifying?

Analysis Polished Draft [Blackboard]

Revise your rough draft based on feedback.

Assignment Sheet available on Blogs@Baruch.

 

[1] https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf

[2] https://anchor.fm/bad-ideas-about-writing

[3] https://writingcommons.org/

[4] https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces/writingspaces1/

[5] https://wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces/writingspaces2/

[6] You can find guidelines for these responses on Blogs@Baruch and Blackboard.

Go back to Analysis Assignment Sheet.

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