Class - Wed., March 2, 2011

Class Activities for Wednesday, March 2

Today’s Instructor: Jeannie Bennett

1. Roll

2. Collect Peer Review Sheet from last week

3. Chapter 5 Reading Quiz – 20 minutes

4. Crossfire clip (through about 8-minute mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE

Pg 136-137 in the textbook also discusses this clip.

A. After watching the clip, please respond to this question:

Consider John Stewart’s point about the state of argument in America today. Have you encountered any examples recently or argument that’s not really argument? How can you tell the theatrical sort of argument from the rhetorically-engaged?

B. Discuss answer with a partner

6. First-year Writing Textbook: Chapter 5 pgs. 135-153.

A. Questions/responses.

B. In groups of four, please answer the following questions:

·        What is an argument?

·        What is different between ancient and modern forms of argument?

·        What does argument look like in our society today?

·        How does one get someone else to change their mind about a topic? In other words, how does one effectively argue? Is this different when done in written form versus verbally?

7. Go over BA 5 (Due Monday, March 7 at 11:59 p.m.). You’ll want to be SURE to read what’s listed below before beginning the assignment, as the readings will guide your analysis in BA5.

Step 1 -  Read First-year Writing Textbook: Chapter 5, pgs. 153-166

Step 2 – Read Textbook: Chapter 6 pp.169‐197

Step 3 – Complete Brief Assignment 5: Logical Proof and Theoretical Framework

Objective:

To demonstrate your ability to analyze the effectiveness of support in an argument and how the support relates to the author's theoretical framework.

Description:

Choose one of the following articles, and in a 400-600 word essay, identify and analyze the author’s use of logical support and how the support helps frame the writer’s theoretical framework.

* “Iraq and the Democratic Peace: Who Says Democracies Don’t Fight?” (501-505)

* “The Tragedy of the Commoners: Biotechnology and its Publics” (540-547)

* “Why Marriage Today Takes More Love, Work – from Both Partners” (419-421)

Describe the author's framework.  Consider the following: What types of evidence do the authors use? How does this evidence demonstrate the authors’ ideology. Be sure to use evidence from the text itself to support your evaluations.

Length: 400 - 600 words Format: MLA style for internal citations and works cited.

 BA 5 Scoring Guide:

 C1—Issue Identification and Focus

Does the student thoroughly analyze the kinds of support used by the author and its effectiveness? Does the student analyze how the author’s support might reflect the writer’s ideology/theoretical framework?

 C2—Context and Assumptions

Does the student’s analysis show an awareness of how elements, such as background, environment, bias, and so forth can influence or shape the author’s theoretical framework?

 C3—Sources and Evidence

Does the student support his or her analysis with evidence from the text?

 C5—Own Perspective

Is the student’s voice apparent throughout the analysis? Does the student assert his or her own views?

 C6—Conclusion

How effectively does the conclusion pull the analysis together? 

 C7—Communication

Does the student communicate his or her analysis effectively?  Is the student's tone professional?  Has the student organized his or her analysis effectively?  Is the analysis relatively free of grammatical errors?