londie t. martin - first-year writing ii: rhetorical analysis and argument syllabus

TEACHING PORTFOLIOUniversity of ArizonaSchool of Information Resources & Library Science1515 East First StreetTucson, AZ 85719

520.621.0242 [email protected]

www.londietmartin.com

LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.

first-year writing II:rhetorical analysis and argumentspring 2011 / 22 students

course descriptionThis course emphasizes the skills of rhetorical analysis, research, persuasion, reflection, and revision. It is de-signed to help you learn to write for varied audiences and situations, find and evaluate sources, and make criti-cally aware decisions about how best to achieve your purposes at the university and beyond. The immediate goal of this course is to prepare you for further research and writing in your future fields of academic work. In the first unit of the course, you will read and respond to various essays, learning about various types of rhetorical analysis, and choose one type to use to develop a rhetorical analysis essay. In the second unit, you will do both library and field research on an issue of your choice within an area of academic, cultural, or personal interest, which will culminate in an analysis of the issue, called a controversy analysis. In the third unit, you will then use this research to support an argument of public interest, called a public argument. Finally, in the fourth unit, you will revise your public argument for a different rhetorical situation and write an analysis of your revision process.

required textbooksHacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. 2009 MLA Update. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print.Juárez, Marissa M., Jacob Witt, and Jennifer Haley-Brown, eds. A Student’s Guide to First-Year Writing. 31st ed.

Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil, 2010. Print.Minnix, Christopher and Carol Nowotny-Young, eds. Writing Public Lives: From Personal Interests to Public

Rhetoric. 2nd ed. Plymouth, MI: Hayden McNeil, 2011. Print.

course requirementsThe table below lists all course assignments and their point values. To receive an A in this course, you must ac-cumulate at least 90%; for a B, 80%; for a C, 70%; and for a D, 60%.

Unit 1: Personal/Analytical WritingExploring identity, culture, and community through rhetorical analysis

• Essay #1: Rhetorical Analysis 20%

Unit 2: Localizing Controversies & ResearchExploring a controversy and its local connections through ethical, critical research

• Annotated Bibliography• Essay #2: Controversy Analysis

3%25%

Unit 3: Argument, Community & ZinesLocating ourselves within a controversy and publish-ing a multimodal, multigenre zine

• Essay #3: Public Argument Zine Project 20%

Unit 4: Critical Reflection & RemixRemixing your public argument and reflecting on the process

• Essay #4: Public Argument Remix & Reflection 20%

Short Assignments: In-class writing, journals, quizzes, and short homework assignmentsLibrary Research Modules: A series of six online modules to be completed during Unit 2

2%10%

mailto:londiem%40email.arizona.edu?subject=

http://www.londietmartin.com

First-Year Writing II: Rhetorical Analysis and Argument Syllabus 2

LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.teaching portfolio

summaries of major assignmentsRhetorical AnalysisA rhetorical analysis examines how a text works—how its words, its structure, its ideas connect (or don’t con-nect) with a given audience. Your analysis essay should describe how an author employs certain strategies to communicate her/his purpose and her/his argument for a particular audience in a specific context. In keeping with our class discussions about the relationships among culture, meaning, and understanding, your analysis should also describe and analyze how your personal worldview shapes your analysis of the communication.

Annotated BibliographyAn annotated bibliography is a kind of bibliography designed for researchers. Not only does it give the usual bibliographical information (author, title, publisher, date, etc.) you would find on a works cited page or a bibli-ography at the end of a professional article, it also gives information about the sources themselves. It is especially useful for researchers because it helps them decide whether a book or article will contribute to the purpose and thesis of a particular project. You may have come across annotated bibliographies in your own library searches, and if you have ever found one that addresses your topic, you know how useful it is. For this assignment, your task is to write an annotated bibliography for 5 sources you found for your Controversy Analysis and are pretty sure you will use in your essay.

Controversy AnalysisThe previous assignments give you the experience of analyzing the different ways arguments are put together, and the Controversy Analysis will help you look at the issues that generate those arguments and analyze argu-ments taking different viewpoints on a particular issue. By definition, an issue must have at least two different viewpoints addressing it, and the most complex issues have numerous viewpoints as well as multiple approaches to them. We will move beyond the problematic dualism of pro/con argumentation and, instead, identify and ana-lyze controversies that have many sides. To complete this assignment, you will: identify a complex issue for inves-tigation, conduct ethical research to discover the many sides of the issue, collect a variety of sources that shed light on the nuances of the issue, evaluate and analyze the rhetorical situations of those sources, and compose an essay that describes how the many sides of your issue are related or in conversation with each other.

Public Argument Zine ProjectIn the previous assignment, you have the opportunity to thoroughly and carefully research and analyze an issue of your choosing, and in the Public Argument Zine Project you will take your place among those who have ar-gued on this issue and make your own argument. Based on the research you did during our Controversy Analy-sis unit, you now may choose an aspect of the controversy to argue. However, this assignment asks you to work individually and collaboratively as you compose your own argument. You will individually compose your argu-ment in the form of a public argument essay meant for publication in your group’s collaborative zine. In other words, each member of your group will write their own public argument, and the group will work collaboratively to compile these articles into one, cohesive zine.

Public Argument Remix and ReflectionThe purpose of this assignment is to explore the relationship between analysis and synthesis, between content and form. During this assignment, we will investigate how different forms of writing allow us, as authors, to ex-plore and re-present our arguments from different perspectives and for different or multiple audiences. Put dif-ferently, we will ask, “How does an argument’s persuasive power evolve when we remix it as a poem? As a comic? As a speech? How might different genres work creatively and persuasively for different audiences?” Moreover, this assignment gives you the opportunity to reflect on your writing and think critically about the approaches that work (and don’t work) best for you and the audiences you want to reach.



a note about technology and mediaEach of the major assignments for this course will ask you to think broadly about composition by working with various forms of media. Familiarity with digital photography, video recording, image editing, or web publishing, however, is not a prerequisite; we will explore these technologies together.

daily course schedule WPL = Writing Public Lives RFW = Rules for Writers SG = A Student’s Guide to First-Year Writing D2L = Reading is on our Desire 2 Learn website

Week& Topic Date Daily In-Class Activities

Due at theBeginning of Class

1Intro to Our Course & Unit One

Thu1/13

• Introduction to our course• Briefly discuss books, policy, syllabus, D2L• Introductions and quick rhetorical analysis

oVonnegut’s Palm Sunday

2Intro to Rhetorical Analysis & Essay #1

Tue1/18

• Discuss Journal #1 responses• Introduction to Essay #1• Class Quick Write & Discussion: From Einstein to Adler:

Imagination, Invention, Analysis, and Personal Growth• Vote on topics and analytical approaches

oCourse Policy, Unit 1 Syllabus [D2L]o“Introduction: What’s the Point in Analyz-

ing?” [WPL: pp. 1-9]oAdler’s “How to Mark a Book” [D2L]oJournal #1 [D2L]

Thu1/20

• Definitions of Rhetoric• What is an argument? Discuss Corder and Journal #2

responses• Guided rhetorical analysis, from small groups to class

discussion

oCorder’s “Argument as Emergence, Rheto-ric as Love” [D2L]

oJournal #2 [D2L]

3Rhetorical Analysis: Neo-Aristotelian Criticism & Rhetorics of Technology

Tue1/25

• Quiz over “Neo-Aristotelian Criticism” and “The Toul-min Model of Argumentation”

• Discuss neo-Aristotelian criticism• Discuss sample essay and example analysis• Focus: visualizing toulmin arguments

o“Neo-Aristotelian Criticism” [D2L]o“The Power of Saddham Hussein’s War

Rhetoric” and “Withdrawal from Kuwait” [D2L]

o“The Toulmin Model of Argumentation” [D2L]

Thu1/27

• Present your work for Journal #3 and class discussion of possible analyses of the day’s readings

oYour choice of one of four essays on Tech-nology & Progress [D2L]

o“Technology: What’s So Great about Prog-ress?” [D2L]

o“Writing Your Rhetorical Analysis” [WPL: pp. 121-132]

oJournal #3 [D2L]

4Rhetorical Analysis: Narrative Criticism & Rhetorics of Education

Tue2/1

• Discuss “Narrative Criticism,” “Fallacies,” and Journal #4 responses

• Discuss sample essay and example analysis• Focus: interrogating logical fallacies

o“Narrative Criticism” [D2L]oPDF of sample narrative essay [D2L]o“Fallacies” [D2L]oJournal #4

Thu2/3


oYour choice of one of five essays on Educa-tion & Schooling [D2L]

o“Learning Power: The Myth of Education and Empowerment” [D2L]

oJournal #5 [D2L]





5Rhetorical Analysis: Feminist Criticism & Rhetorics of Sex/uality & Gender

Tue2/8

• Discuss “Feminist Criticism,” “Cultural Context,” and Journal #6 responses

• Discuss sample essay and example analysis• Focus: seeing culture in arguments

o“Feminist Criticism” [D2L]o“Ladybug Picnic: Engendering Pyrophobia

and Promethean Desire” [D2L]o“Ladybug Picnic” @ www.hulu.com/

watch/38827/sesame-street-ladybug-picnico“Cultural Context” [D2L]oJournal #6

Thu2/10


oYour choice of one of seven essays on Sex, Sexuality, & Gender [D2L]

o“True Women and Real Men: Myths of Gender” [D2L]

oJournal #7 [D2L]

6Peer Response & Writing Workshop

Tue2/15

• Peer Response: Form small groups and share your work from Journals 3, 5, and 7.

• Based on peer response, craft plans for Essay #1.

o“Practicing Global and Local Revision” [SG: pp. 100-104]

o3a and 3b [RFW: pp. 27-39]oEssay #1 Invention Heuristic [D2L]o“The Ballot or the Bullet” @ radio.indyme-

dia.org/uploads/echoesmalcolmx.mp3o“‘The Gospel of Black Nationalism’: A Rhe-

torical Analysis of Malcolm X’s ‘The Ballot or the Bullet’” [WPL: pp. 127-131]

Thu2/17

• Peer Response: Everyone brings a copy of their Essay #1 rough draft for review.

• Writing Workshop: One student volunteers to have their rough draft read by everyone.

o“Tips for Successful Workshopping” and “Getting the Most Out of Your Workshop Experience” [SG: pp. 104-110 & 108-109]

oRough draft of Essay #1

7Intro to Unit Two: Localiz-ing Contro-versies and Research

Tue2/22

• Go over the Unit 2 syllabus and the essay #2 assignment sheet

• Discuss potential controversies: What will work well for this assignment? What are possible pitfalls?

• Mapping communities to discover issues & preparing for Thursday’s fieldwork

oFinal drafts of Essay #1o“Introduction: Discovering the Conversa-

tion” [WPL: pp. 195-204]

Thu2/24

NO CLASS MEETING: Instead, work independently on your “Curious Writing in Unfamiliar Spaces” assignment.

oExcerpt from Place: A Short Introduction [D2L]

oLibrary Tutorial #1, “Choosing a TopicoLibrary Research Quiz #1 on D2L by 10

pm, February 24.

8Invention and Research Proposals

Tue3/1

• Invention for Essay #2: discuss fieldwork experiences• Conducting ethical inquiry and local research as social

action• Research questions, plans and types of evidence; narrow-

ing down a topic

oResponse to “Curious Writing in Unfamil-iar Spaces” assignment [D2L]

o“Finding and Conducting Research on a Local Issue” [WPL: pp. 205-218]

oSample student essay, “Ecotourism: Benefit or Detriment?” [WPL: pp. 229-234]

oJournal #8Thu3/3

• The Research Proposal: developing a line of inquiry• Research Proposal workshop & mini-conferences• Share and workshop topics

oLibrary Tutorial #2, “The UA Libraries”oLibrary Tutorial #3, “Searching Databases”oLibrary Research Quiz #2 & Quiz #3 on

D2L by 10 pm, March 3.





9Analyzing Ideology and Sample Controversy

Tue3/8

• Practice rhetorical listening through an analysis of “Un-packing the Invisible Knapsack”

• Discuss annotated bibliographies as a genre, focusing on precision in rhetorical analysis and genuine curiosity in research (e.g., asking questions and being open to the answers)

o“Identifying Ideology in a Controversy” [WPL: pp. 219-226]

oPeggy McIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” [D2L]

oResearch Proposal for Essay #2 is due. Fol-low the instructions listed on the Essay #2 assignment sheet.

Thu3/10

• Discuss sample controversy oLibrary Tutorial #4, “Using Your Results”oLibrary Research Quiz #4 on D2L by 10

pm, March 10.

10Spring Break

3/15&

3/17

NO CLASS: Spring Break! Have a safe and restful break.

11Conferences

Tue3/22

• No class: conferences in our regular classroom. oBefore you come to your conference, please read the “Preparing for Your Conference” handout on D2L and follow the instruc-tions. Remember, missing your conference counts as one, unexcused absence.

Thu3/24

• No class: conferences in our regular classroom. oFinal draft of Annotated Bibliography for Essay #2 is due in the D2L dropbox Friday, 3/25, by 5 pm.

12Intro to Unit Three: Argument, Community, and Zines

Tue3/29

• Introduce essay #3 and begin discussing zine project groups

• Analyzing your rhetorical situation: public writing & zines

• Watch an excerpt from $100 and a T-Shirt: A Documen-tary about Zines in the Northwest

• Freewrite/workshop ideas for essay #3 and discuss zine project groups

oFinal draft of Essay #2 is dueo“Writing Outside of the Classroom Box:

Academic and Public Audiences” [WPL: pp. 301-308]

Thu3/31

• Revisiting Corder & Rogers: Ways to organize your argu-ment

• Class discussion: “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”• Finalize zine project groups

oCorder’s “Argument as Love, Rhetoric as Emergence.” Now that we’re at the end of the semester, how do you feel about Cord-er’s view of argumentation and rhetoric?

o“Persuasive Possibilities: Thinking Through the Audience and Genre of Your Public Argument” [WPL: pp. 323-39]

13Public Argument Drafts and Zine Proposals

Tue4/5

• Class Discussion: “Children at War”• Zine Workshop: Develop your zine proposal

o“Writing Your Public Argument” [WPL: pp. 391-405]

o“How to Make a Zine (tips and tricks)” on D2L

opp. 6-21 from Stephen Duncombe’s Notes from Underground

Thu4/7

• Peer Response: Read and respond to your partner’s pub-lic argument rough draft.

• Zine Workshop: Develop your zine proposal

oA rough draft (at least 3 pages) of your public argument essay

oFormal group proposal for Essay #3 (zine group project) is due in the D2L dropbox by 5 pm on Friday, April 8. Follow the instructions in the “Composing a Zine Project Proposal” handout on D2L. This assignment is part of your group grade for Essay #3.

14Zine Workshops

Tue4/12

Zine Project Work Day: Come to class prepared to work on your collaborative zines.

Thu4/14

• Zine Project Work Day: Come to class prepared to work on your collaborative zines.• Zine Peer Response: Be prepared to present your group’s work to another group for feedback and revision.• Prepare for Next Class: Go over presentation and zine submission guidelines.





15Zine Presen-tations

Tue4/19

• Zine Day! Informal sharing and group presentations of zines. Help us appreciate and learn from your hard work.

• Introduce Essay #4, Public Argument Remix and ReflectionThu4/21

• Remix Workshop I, Visual Arguments: Discuss examples of visual public arguments (photo essays, comics, and more)

16Remix Workshops and Peer Response

Tue4/26

• Remix Workshop II, Creative Writing: Discuss examples of poetic and narrative public argu-ments (short stories, poems, and manifestos)

oMaya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of Morning” on D2LoLangston Hughes’s “I, Too, Sing America” on D2LoAlice Walker’s “Flowers” on D2Lo“Queers Read This” on D2L

Thu4/28

• Peer Response: Revising our Public Argument Remixes for design, audience, and genre.

oBring 1 copy of your public argument remix to class for peer response.

17Peer Response and Last Class

Tue5/3

Last Day of Class!• Peer Response II: respond to drafts of the

remix reflection essay• Final thoughts on the semester & reminders

about the Final Exam

oBring 1 copy of your remix reflection essay to class for peer response.

Fri5/6

Final Exam Day: No Class• Final drafts of Essay #4 – your remix and your reflection – are due in the D2L dropbox by 10 am.

londie t. martin - first-year writing ii: rhetorical analysis and argument syllabus

Documents