Rhetorical Analysis (30-45 min)

Let’s look at a classmate’s first draft of a rhetorical analysis and talk moving toward submitting a draft on Wednesday.

I only share writing that I am excited about and think is really interesting (something pretty much all of your writing always does at some level).

In this piece, I want you to focus on the following:

• Choose one moment where the author does close analysis of a text. Answer the following: What textual evidence does the author use? What claims does the author use based on those evidence? How are they connected? What did you find persuasive about it?
• Name one way the analysis connects to a larger argument about the author’s life.
• Anything else that you thought was cool, interesting, something to work on in revision, etc.

Everyone do this! I am going to bust out the wheel of names, we are gonna get into this paper. Take 10-15 minutes to read it over.

 

 

Get To Work This Week (5 min)

There is no learning module due this week. I want you to take the extra time this week to work on your rhetorical analysis and get that draft ready to go. If you never submitted a first draft, that’s okay. You can always revise what you turn in this week again (any assignment can be revised again before the end of the term).

If you are behind on other work besides the rhetorical analysis, please use the extra time this week to make up some work. You can find what you owe in two ways:

• Search “Libertz” in your Baruch email account. One of the emails will explain the work you are missing. If you make up anything, let me know by email.
• Using what you find in the email, go to the Course Schedule to find out more information about what you owe.

As always, I’m available for questions.

I will also be available at 12:25pm if you want to come to Discord to work on your rhetorical analysis draft or any work that you want to make up. Please come to Discord on Wednesday if you have been struggling to get stuff done! We had 4 people come the first time we did it and everyone got work done.

 

Stasis Theory and Research Questions (30 min)

Last class, we went through the prompt for the Research Writing Project. By the end of today, I’d like to see a proposal for what you are thinking of working on (see Course Schedule).

While you don’t have to come up with a research question by tonight (though I will push you to do this for next week), I thought we can start thinking about what that looks like through a discussion of stasis theory.

When you further polish your research question into something that is clear, focused, concise, complex, and arguable (see George Mason Writing Center page that we talked about last class), you would have formed a question that will have a baked-in audience:

—–An academic discipline that is also interested in trying to answer similar questions.

Throughout the unit, we will talk more about topics related to writing for an academic audience in a specific discipline (e.g., using a documentation style like MLA or APA, learning conventions of academic journal articles).

In the Blankenship reading on stasis theory, she presents five ways of thinking about a topic that can help sharpen your research question:

1. The facts (is it real? does it exist?)
2. The meaning or nature of the issue (definition: what should we call it?)
3. The value of the issue (quality: is it good or bad?)
4. The plan of action (policy: what should be done about it?)
5. Origin (Causality: what caused it?)

Blankenship offers several examples of claims that could be made in one of these five areas of stasis on pages 192 and 193. Review them now for a bit.

For your research topic, create (at least) 1 possible research question for each stasis. So, you should have 5 research questions. Make sure each is as close to clear, focused, concise, complex, and arguable as possible.*

Write out each of your 5 research questions. Take about 10 minutes to do  this.

Then on our Discord text channel for today’s lesson, post the one you like best.

 

Next Time (2-5 min)

-Send your proposal on Discord (see course schedule). Very informal here.

-Submit the Rhetorical Analysis this week!!!!

-Come to our Discord server this Wednesday to work on your Rhetorical Analysis and/or your Research Writing Project (or making up past work). I’ll be there starting at 12:25pm. Everyone who came by last time got work done before they left. Positive peer pressure!

-No Learning Module this week. Focus on your writing, get it done.

-For April 12, be prepared to work with your research question in class. Needs to be submitted to Blackboard before class. Also do the reading for that day by Blankenship.