The Next Step

In class today, people did a nice job of identifying a controversy and laying out the main arguments from each of the opposing sides.

The next step is to begin figuring out what it all means. Your task is to put forth a proposal about some aspect of your topic that respects the needs and values of people on all sides of the issue.

You aren't expected to come up with a permanent solution to your controversy, but hopefully you can recommend some way of looking at the issue that finds common ground between opposing sides.

For Thursday, try to formulate a working thesis statement that accomplishes this. For example, perhaps you have a proposal that would ensure people's access to abortion when it is needed, but at the same time drastically reduce the number of abortions that occur. A one- or two-sentence summary of your plan would serve as your thesis.

I realize some of you are a little unsure on this still. Just do your best and we will work with what you have on Thursday.

Essay III Instructions

I'm going to try something a bit different. In the past, I have always steered students away from writing persuasive essays on topics that might be called "cliché social issues." By this I mean certain issues that people tend to passionately argue for or against without ever resolving anything. These include gun control, the death penalty, abortion, affirmative action, taxation, gay marriage, drug legalization, the drinking age, and many many others. For this essay, you will choose a topic of this kind (or probably a more-precise subtopic) and propose a solution to the issue (or a specific aspect of that issue) that will satisfy people on both sides.

Your essay will need to demonstrate awareness of the main arguments on all sides of the issue, but it will also need to propose a more nuanced solution than those we're used to hearing.

In addition to effective use of the skills we've already covered, this essay will be evaluated primarily on the extent to which it proposes an original solution to the problem and demonstrates a strong ethical appeal by respecting people on all sides of the issue.

I will provide more-thorough instructions soon, but for now begin thinking about a topic and how you might approach it. Take a look around the internet and see what some of the standard arguments are. I would like to be able to discuss this during Tuesday's class, so please have a topic in mind by then. I will probably ask you to have a working thesis for Thursday.

Assignment for 11/12

During Tuesday's class, you will receive a one-page letter written by the Wallhouse Hotel company. For Thursday's class, please complete the following:

1) What is the letter's purpose? Sum it up in a single sentence (write it on the back of the letter).
2) Who is the letter's audience? Be as specific as possible.
3) On your copy of the letter, highlight three choices the author makes that are based on knowledge of his or her audience.
4) For each choice you highlighted, describe the specific values or characteristics of the audience that the text appeals to. For example, if you highlighted, "Hey, fellow Buckeye fans," you might say that this appeals to the reader's enthusiasm for Ohio State football and the sense of community that exists among fellow enthusiasts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Revised Revised Schedule

Here it is. Hopefully we will stay current for the rest of the term.

Tuesday 11/10: Book reports. Commas with nonrestrictive elements. Intro to persuasion.
Thursday 11/12: Misplaced modifiers. Essay three assigned. Persuasion, continued. Reading discussion.

Tuesday 11/17: Punctuation with quotation marks. Reasoning and fallacies.
Thursday 11/19: Dashes and hyphens. Other types of writing: business, technical, etc.

Tuesday 11/24: Literary writing. Reading discussion.
Thursday 11/26: Thanksgiving.

Tuesday 12/1: Final essay workshop. Last day for guaranteed comments.
Thursday 12/3: Last day of class. Recap and wrap-up.

Thursday 12/10: Final exam (bring handbook and #2 pencil). Final essay due.

Mission Statement and Learning Outcomes Overview

Link to mission statement


TME001 – English Composition First Writing Course 3 Semester Hours/4-5 Quarter Hours
Learning Outcomes

Outcomes marked with an asterisk are essential and must be taught.

1. Rhetorical Knowledge*
By the end of their first writing course, students should be able to recognize the elements that inform rhetorical situations. This understanding should enable them to produce expository texts that

• Have a clear purpose 
• Respond to the needs of intended audiences 
• Assume an appropriate stance 
• Adopt an appropriate voice, tone, style, and level of formality 
• Use appropriate conventions of format and structure 

2. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing*
By the end of their first writing course, students should be able to

• Use reading and writing for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating 
• Analyze relationships among writer, text, and audience in various kinds of texts 
• Use various critical thinking strategies to analyze texts 

3. Knowledge of Composing Processes*
By the end of their first writing course, students should be able to

• Understand writing as a series of steps that includes generating ideas and text, drafting, revising, 
• and editing 
• Recognize that writing is a flexible, recursive process 
• Apply this understanding and recognition to produce successive drafts of increasing quality 

4. Collaboration*
By the end of their first writing course, students should understand that the writing process is often collaborative and social. To demonstrate that understanding, students should be able to

• Work with others to improve their own and others’ texts 
• Balance the advantages of relying on others with taking responsibility for their own work 

5. Knowledge of Conventions*
By the end of their first writing course, students should be able to

• Employ appropriate conventions for structure, paragraphing, mechanics, and format 
• Acknowledge the work of others when appropriate 
• Use a standard documentation format as needed 
• Control syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling 

6. Composing in Electronic Environments*
Developments in digital technology are expanding our understanding of “writing.” To the extent that technology is available and appropriate, by the end of their first writing course students should be able to

• Understand the possibilities of electronic media/technologies for composing and publishing 
• texts 
• Use electronic environments to support writing tasks such as drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, and sharing texts 

7. Minimal Course Requirements*
By the end of their first writing course, students will have written

• A variety of texts with opportunities for response and revision 
• A minimum of 5000 total words (roughly 20 total pages of written work). Electronic or other 
• projects of equivalent rigor and substance may be included, but the primary focus of the course must be the composing of formal written work

Thesis Response Instructions

You will read each of your classmates' theses and offer a brief response. You may write whatever you like as long as you keep your response constructive. Here are some things to consider:

• Do you agree or disagree with the thesis? Why or why not?
• What are some counterarguments to the thesis?
• What would it take to persuade you to agree with the thesis?
• Is the thesis arguable? If not, what would it take to make it more arguable?
• Do you know much about the topic? What?
• What would you like to know about the topic?
• Does the thesis matter to someone somewhere? Why or why not? If not, how could the focus be shifted?
• What is the most interesting aspect of the thesis?
• What do you think the author most needs to hear?

Here are some sample responses:

• I agree that the new World Trade Center tower is unimaginative, but demolishing it is an extreme and impractical proposal.
• What does the pork industry say about your proposal to alter school lunches?
• "Black male kindergarten teachers" is more of a topic than a claim. What can you say about them? Do we need more of them? Would they be good role models?
• I love the idea of banning cars from downtowns, but I don't think the auto industry would ever let this happen.
• Why does it matter that accordion sales have been declining steadily since the 1950s? Isn't this fairly obvious?
• Is it possible to prove that the Eagles have the best logo in the NFL? Isn't this more a matter of opinion?

Links

Here are a few short videos on some of the grammar and punctuation issues we have covered.


Problems with modifiers

Semicolons

Parts of speech with fun buffalo

Apostrophes and its/it's

The serial comma

Pronouns as subjects and objects