Your Final!

Your final paper/presentation must follow this format:


• Exactly 1 full page, typed

• Single spaced

• 1-inch margins, all four sides

• Title: Top 5 Things I Learned in English 102 by Your Name

• 12-pt regular font

• NO MLA Header

• Bring two copies to class at the time of your final.



Final Presentation will be graded on the following . . .

• Ethos = Credible author; Unique and believable voice

• Logos = Specific details with rational organization

• Pathos = Sincere, honest and includes some personal connection

• DFD = Did Follow Directions!

• Presentation = Expressive and Inviting Tone

REMEMBER: Final meets on Wednesday, May 2 at 8 a.m. in LS 117 (same room as class).

Bravo!

I am just about done grading your papers. And, I, for the most part, have been very impressed with the way that you have incorporated my suggestions from your previous paper into this paper. I am really proud of the work you have done and the growth that you have demonstrated. Hooray!

Zoom in on the Problem!

Homework: Blog, in paragraph form in at least 400 words, answering these questions. (This will create a draft summary of the issue.):


What exactly is the problem?

Who is most affected by the problem?

What causes the problem?

Has anyone tried to do anything about it? If so, why haven't they succeeded?

What is likely to happen in the future if the problem isn't solved?

Make a claim using this template (see page 210 of Good Reasons): Someone should (or should not) do something because . . .

Gathering Resources

Your task over the next few days is to compile a total of eight resources for your paper topic. You will write a rhetorical precis for each resource, plus MLA citation AND post it to your blog. All, but one, of your resources must be scholarly.

Class in the Library!

This is a reminder that we will meet at LARC 217 for class on Wednesday, February 8. See you there!

Digital Music Sampling: Creativity or Criminality?

Here is a link to the audio we heard in class:
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/28/133306353/Digital-Music-Sampling-Creativity-Or-Criminality

Blogging for Invention

Blogging can be used to incite protests, chat about football, give fashion advice or connect with other people. In ENG102, we will be using blogging for different purposes -- to invent. When I use the word invention, I do not mean to conjure up images of Thomas Edison or Bill Gates. Rather, when I see the word invention, I think instead of Aristotle. Aristotle created a step-by-step framework for rhetorical strategy. Aristotle's Five Canons of Rhetoric include: 1) invention; 2) arrangment; 3) style; 4) memory; and 5) delivery.

Invention, in my opinion, is the most important and can be the hardest part. Invention is where you begin, it is putting words on the page, and it is finding something to say. Aristotle also states that invention is "discovering the best available means of persuasion."

In ENG 102, invention will also include research. For academic papers, research is how we find what to say. We must first consult what others have said, written and argued on a topic. Only after we listen to what is currently be said and written can we insert ourselves into the academic conversation. Here is a metaphorical description of what you will be doing:

"Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress " (The Philosophy of Literary Form 110-111).

Your blog is where you will prepare to enter the conversation; it is your place of invention. There will be required assignments, but I encourage you, as scholars, to do more than the required. Your blog will be where you collect your ideas, your thoughts, your words and your research.

Good luck! I will be blogging with you.