Writing I: Mastering Your Bias
A Blogs@Baruch site
Read “Tools for Analyzing Texts,” then flip back to pages 118-119, where you will find a photograph of a Black Lives Matter protest in Louisiana. Review the questions beneath, and in the comments section below, please post a written response to questions #4, 7 and 8. We will discuss the other questions, and any of your questions, in class.
You’ve read about logos, pathos and ethos in “What is Rhetoric,” as well as rhetorical conventions. Now, look around you. Find an example from the world around you (or the world within your screen)–an advertisement, a photo, a product label–that exemplifies one of Aristotle’s “Big Three.” Post an image or link in the comments section, and then 1) state what concept this piece of media is appealing to, and 2) name at least one rhetorical convention that this piece of media is using, and explain why.
After you read the Introduction and “On Writing as Style and Entering a Conversation” in the Composing as a Process section of your reader, please reflect upon and share something about your own process.
For instance, have you worked with multiple drafts before? Have you considered your audience before? Do you panic when you have a paper and blow off a quick draft the night before, hoping for the best? There’s no right or wrong answer here. This is just an exercise to help you reflect on your habits of mind.
Below is a link to two short excerpts from Chimamanda Adichie’s novel Americanah.
The novel follows a Nigerian woman named Ifemelu who moves to the United States for graduate school, then returns to Nigeria. The first excerpt is a first-person blog entry in Ifemelu’s voice (not Adichie’s!) about race in America. The second excerpt, “Chapter 48,” is a third-person narrative describing Ifemelu’s experience at a party after she has returned to Nigeria.
In the comments section below, please answer the following questions:
-How does the blog entry address racial bias? Do you think Ifemelu’s approach is more or less effective than Trevor Noah’s? Why?
-What kind of bias is examined in the second excerpt? What is the main point Adichie is making in this passage? Please point to one specific moment in the text that shows her making this point.
Below is a link to “Chameleon,” a chapter from Trevor Noah’s autobiography Born a Crime.
Please read and respond to the prompt in the comments section below:
What is the main idea, or driving claim, that Trevor Noah is trying to convey in this chapter? Do you think he is effective? Please point to one specific example from the text that shows why he has succeeded (or failed) in making his point. You don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining the example; just refer to it briefly, and explain why you think it works, or doesn’t work.
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to your first English class at Baruch, English 2100: Writing I. I am looking forward to our time together. Below is a link to your syllabus, which I have also distributed in hard copy.
Best,
Jackie