SubscribeBelow are three writing assignment sheets from courses I have taught that offer a good perspective as to the types of formal and informal assignments that students might expect in my class. Eventually, I hope to add comments for revision to these originals based on student performance and comments.
Analysis of a Contemporary Issue :|: Semester Portfolio :|: Repurposing Argument
Critical Analysis of a Contemporary Issue
This assignment was the final one in a freshman writing course, a four-hour section of a "Writing in the Disciplines" curriculum mandated by the school. The class - as a group - selected a number of contemporary issues from the daily news that constrained their choices for papers. It asks students to choose a discipline through which they might address a chosen issue for their individual papers and also to develop -- in groups -- an interdisciplinary analysis of the issue for oral presentations.
Logistics
Length - Individual Paper: 8-10 pages; Group Presentation: 15-20 minutes
Audience - Your paper will target your instructor and other group members as academic readers who need to understand your position as well as the research that has informed your position. In the oral presentation your focus will shift, as you will address your classmates in their broader roles as private citizens--that is, part of a larger, more popular audience--in an attempt to synthesize the information you've gathered in an overall, interdisciplinary critical analysis of the issue.
Documentation - Select the style appropriate to the scholarly area you've chosen.
Purpose & Scope
The course culminates with this final project, which will both focus on the individual disciplines we have been exploring this semester as well as emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of academic inquiry. The purpose of this project is to critically examine a contemporary social issue from the perspective of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. There are two components to this task: 1) individually you will write a critical analysis from the perspective of one of the three domains and 2) your work will contribute to a group presentation in which each of the domains is represented in a broader analysis of the contemporary issue.
Research & Analysis
As in earlier projects, your goal is to move beyond what you already know on the topic, and beyond public opinion or general impressions. You'll investigate the academic research on your topic and draw your own conclusions, interpreting and building on what scholars have learned or proposed. Topics may be drawn from any of the academic domains we've explored - the sciences, social sciences, or the humanities - but you will need to make sure that your group selects an issue that can be addressed from each of these areas. Most issues can be examined fruitfully from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Often, it's only when we move outside the original research domain that we appreciate the real complexities or implications of an issue, as when we examine the social consequences (as opposed to the scientific possibilities) of biotechnology, for example, or the psychological impact (as opposed to the artistic elements) of urban graffiti.
Process & Organization
The class will be divided into small groups of three or four members each. In a joint effort, each group will choose a contemporary social issue to explore in depth. For this contemporary issue group members will collaboratively find a popular source that each member will use as a guiding or framing reference in writing his or her paper. Each domain (natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities) should be represented by a group member, who will write their critical analysis from the perspective of that discipline. Each individual will find six-to-eight academic sources (in addition to the shared popular source) that pertain to their domain (science, social science, humanities). In drafting the paper for this assignment you should (1) apply your critical reading and analysis skills to the understanding of an interdisciplinary issue and (2) think about how your own ideas and positions are formed and how to bring those ideas into ongoing "conversations."
Evaluative Criteria
I will evaluate your paper based on how well it asserts and supports a specific position regarding your issue in the context of your chosen discipline. Additionally, you will need to employ the research skills that we have been developing over the course of the semester to find and use reliable academic sources that are both focused on your issue and relevant to your discipline to support your position. Finally, your project will need to meet the standard expectations of good academic writing. Your purpose and focus will need to be clear and well explained, as well as logically organized. Your prose will need to be well written both stylistically and grammatically.
In addition to the above, specific evaluation criteria will be discussed in class.
Semester Portfolio
This assignment was developed for a junior-level course in "Writing in the Rhetorical Tradition".
Logistics
Due - Weekly entries, checked periodically throughout the semester, complete folder at the end of the semester.
Citation - MLA, Where appropriate
Purpose & Scope
Throughout this semester, you will encounter ideas and theories that are foreign to you, that spark your interest, or that you feel may remain important in future classes. The purposes of the portfolio assignment are manifold. First, it will help both of us track your understanding of concepts pertinent to the course material. Second, it will help you reinforce concepts with which you may have difficulty, those which you find particularly interesting, or simply those you feel deserve more thought, providing you with an opportunity to research and discuss the topic in an informal document, the chance to "think in writing." Finally, it will serve as a study guide for our two exams.
The scope is not limited solely to concepts covered in class: you are encouraged to explore peripheral ideas as well as those we read about or discuss in class. It will span the duration of the course, with the final entry providing you the chance to summarize your experience.
Basic Requirements
You must complete one entry per week by no later than 10:15 a.m. on Friday. Each entry should be single spaced, with a double space between paragraphs, with your name, the week (week of: Aug. 25-29), and a page number appearing in the header of each page, with the first line of the first page providing a brief title. Each entry should be no fewer than 1.5 pages long, and no longer than 3 pages. Place each entry into one pocket of a two-pocket folder, in chronological order (with the oldest entry on top), and any supplemental materials (news articles, the first page of a source, etc.) into the other pocket.
Because the material in this course will be new to all of you, this should serve as a resource for all of you, you will frequently be placed into small groups at the end of the week to share your entries. Doing so will help you not only gain a better understanding of rhetorical theory, but also to prepare for exams and assignments.
Entry Requirements
Each entry should rely more upon independent reasoning than quotation. You are to use these entries to work out your ideas, not to provide me with a series of pithy quotations with empty commentary that regurgitates the material. You have several options to choose from for each entry, listed below.
- Exploratory Essay - choose a concept with which you need more familiarity. At the beginning of the entry, write a series of questions (preferably italicized) about that concept in paragraph form. Find a few sources (NO ENCYCLOPEDIAS!) that discuss this concept and set about answering your questions.
- Kairotic Essay - If you happen to find a current news article or similar artifact that you feel deserves commentary through the lens of a particular concept from this week, take advantage of the opportunity to practice criticism or analysis. Please provide a copy of the artifact, labeled with the week, in your portfolio.
- Peripheral Concepts - As we progress, you'll often find that concepts we've already covered are interrelated, or that they relate closely to other topics that we may not cover but are related, in general, to classical rhetoric or critical theory. If you're struck by some connection or another, discuss in detail this connection, focusing on the course concept and the reasons why it is so intimately related to this "other."
- Practice Essay - When learning a method of critical writing, the best way to absorb the content is to use it. Find an artifact and apply your knowledge from class to it.
- ???? - This is a sample list. In the first few days of class, I'll ask for your input and (perhaps) add to it.
Grading
Your portfolio entries are not individually graded: I will periodically check them to ensure progress, but when I grade the portfolio at the end of class, I will be looking at the overall product. There are two main exceptions: if you have missed an entry during one of my checks, or if I happen to read an entry that does not conform to the requirements of the assignment (i.e. facile reasoning, "filler" essays that contain little meaning, etc.), you will have one week to correct the error (with a small penalty to your final portfolio grade), or else receive no credit for that entry. We will discuss some of the evaluative criteria early in class.
Repurposing an Argument
This assignment is the culminating paper for a course in rhetoric, asking students to apply rhetorical theory in order to achieve a practical goal.
Logistics
Length - 7-10 pp.
Weight - 15%
Peer Review - 24 Nov.
Due - 1 Dec.
Purpose & Scope
The purpose of this paper is to provide you with practical experience writing in the rhetorical tradition. You will use concepts from class to briefly analyze an artifact from your political issue, criticize it, and then rewrite it for a specific audience (identified in the introduction to your rewrite). The purpose of these papers is not editorial, that is, I do not want you to "correct" the artifact; rather, you are to use the papers to demonstrate your understanding of rhetorical appeals by generating an "alternative" edition of the original artifact that is aimed at a different audience.
Thus, to successfully complete the assignment, you will need to be accurate and succinct in your initial analysis, identifying the appeals used, the audience at whom it is directed, and the ways in which the content can be reframed to appeal to a different audience. Note: your rewrite should retain the "spirit" of the original artifact, that is, you cannot take a "pro" statement and make it a "con;" instead, you are to emphasize and sublimate different aspects of the content in order to gain the support of a different audience.
Research & Writing
You will select one rhetorical artifact from your political issue for your analysis and rewrite, organizing the papers according to the three-part format below. You may use any of our course readings and class discussions from up to one week before the due date to aid you in performing your initial analysis. I do not want you to repeat the content of the readings, but to demonstrate your understanding. You have limited space in which to do so, so instead of defining a concept in detail, citing the source, and then moving to analysis, you should name the source (author) and concept when discussing a feature of the artifact. It is important that you identify the source through which you are framing the term: Isocrates and Aristotle, for instance, differed on subtle aspects and uses of a few terms.
Example: Bob's opening statements provide a classic example of Cicero's method of winning the audience's favor by using more subdued ethical appeals alongside ardent pathetic appeals and an engaging, disarming wit.
NOT: In De Oratore, Cicero - through Antonius - suggests that winning the audience's favor is best accomplished by using a modest, mild style for ethical appeals and a more ardent, passionate style for pathetic appeals. Indeed, according to Cicero, the orator should truly feel the emotions he wishes to evoke: "There is no mind," he writes, "so ready to absorb an orator's influence, as to be inflammable when the assailing speaker is not himself aglow with passion" (De Oratore XLV 2). In "Why Are They Being Bad People?" Bob's opening statements provide a classic example of this through the use of such impassioned language as "will not stand," "trampling our rights," and "weep for the children."
Organization
Your papers will follow the three-part format given below. Identify each section with an individual heading.
Analysis (3 pages or so): In the analysis, you will first provide the context of the artifact (setting, medium, issue, and rhetor's role). Next, identify the audience at whom it is directed, providing evidence from the artifact, and why this audience is important to the rhetor's achieving his or her goals. Next, identify and discuss the appeals that the rhetor uses, again providing evidence from the artifact. Your discussion should be brief but concise: tell me precisely why this is an example of X's Concept, without a verbose description of the concept.
Introduction to the rewrite (1-2 pages): identify the audience at whom you will direct your rewrite, the means by which you plan to reframe the appeals to address that audience, and how you plan to retain the spirit of the original artifact while appealing to that audience.
Rewrite: Acting as the rhetor, rewrite the original artifact, keeping in mind the requirements that your rewrite should retain the original spirit, address a different audience, and use different methods of appeal. Be creative, but again, don't change the facts, political position, or rewrite history.
The body should be double-spaced (without the irritating extra space between paragraphs), using 12-point Times New Roman, Garamond, or Palatino font. The headers of each page should consist of your last name and page number on the right margin, 1/2 inch from the top of the sheet, and headings within your paper (identifying the section) should be bold, centered, and without extra spaces (hit enter, center the font, bold, enter, and continue the paper). A brief bibliography (on a separate page, not counted as part of the page length requirements) in MLA format should accompany your paper, identifying the source of the concepts you discuss.
Evaluation
When I evaluate your paper, I will be looking primarily at three criteria: first, I want to see how well you demonstrate your understanding of the appeals used - appropriate attribution and labeling are important, but your understanding of the concept is more so. Second, I will evaluate your understanding of the relationship between the appeals and the audience. Finally, I want to see how well you can apply your knowledge in a practical setting: how well does your rewrite appeal to a new audience while retaining the position of the original artifact?
Your paper will also need to meet the general criteria of good academic writing: a clear focus, logical and purposeful organization, strong use of supporting evidence, and thoughtful development of the ideas you are presenting. It will also need to be well written both stylistically and grammatically. In addition, we will also be discussing specific evaluation criteria in class.
