Week 1 Introduction
1/14 In-class: “Can You Spot a Fake News Story?”
In-class: AllSides.com media bias ratings and methods pages; Snopes.com.
Definitions: Critical thinking; bias; confirmation bias; laws vs. ethics; conspiracy theory; fake news; opinion;
In-class: Likes & dislikes icebreaker activity; course syllabus; WOVE; plagiarism; quotes activity;
1/16 “Re-thinking the way colleges teach critical thinking” by Scott K. Johnson (eC)
See “Documenting Sources: MLA” (EA 465-486)
Watch in-class: “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In-class: MLA citation; on opinions; on participation; on grades; intro A1;
1/18 “Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf (D 79)
“Appealing to Audiences” (EA 21-26)
“Class and Public Discussion” (EA 345)
In-class: Opening the Discussion sign-up; basic “do”s and “don’t”s of academic writing (for this class);
homonyms; email etiquette;
Due: A1. Turn assignment in on Canvas by 5pm
Week 2 Advertising
1/21 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — no class
1/23 “An Advertising Revolution: ‘Black People Are Not Dark-Skinned White People’” by Code Switch (28 mins) (eC)
“Analyzing Multimedia Arguments” (EA 368-370)
In-class: Media Literacy Project’s “Language of Persuasion” handout; visual rhetoric practice; why does audience matter?; what is a thesis?; opening paragraphs
Due: Course Policy Awareness Form (print from e-Classroom under “Assignment Sheets and Rubrics” dropdown menu)
1/25 “Episode #729: When Subaru Came Out” by Planet Money (20 mins) (eC)
“Structuring an Argument” (EA 121-150)
Watch in-class: “Why I live in mortal dread of public speaking” by Megan Washington
In-class: public speaking tips/practice; closing paragraphs; how to use visuals during presentations;
Turn in: A2 Visual Analysis outline, printed
Week 3 Art
ePortfolio blog post due this week by Friday 5pm. Title of post: “Five Goals.” Contents: Consider our course objectives and contents to come up with five goals you hope to accomplish by the end of the semester. Your goals must be tangible. (Don’t say: “I want to become a better writer.” Instead, say: “I want to strengthen my writing by employing stronger organizational tactics.”)
1/28 “Man vs. Corpse” by Zadie Smith (eC)—this one is long, don’t wait until the last minute
In-class: Intro A2; intro ePortfolios
1/30 In-class: practice analyzing art
In-class: why does the author /creator matter when discussing rhetoric?; options for A2; topic sentences; paragraphing ideas; visual rhetoric practice
In-class: practice analysis; the power of images; what point is the author trying to make? How does context play a role in our understanding of the author’s point?
Week 4 Speeches
ePortfolio blog post due this week by Friday 5pm. Title of post: “Types of Arguments.” Contents: In your own words, explain one rhetorical strategy you learned about in the EA reading this week. Come up with a real-world example of this strategy in play (this could be anything, from a song to a conversation you had with a friend). Describe the example and then explain how the rhetorical strategy was used, including whether or not (in your opinion) it was effective and why. 1-2 paragraphs.
2/4 Chapter 2 Everything’s an Argument
Workshop: A2 Visual Analysis completed paper, printed
Speech day: 6 speeches
2/6 Chapter 3 Everything’s an Argument
Speech day: 10 speeches
2/8 Chapter 4 Everything’s an Argument
Speech day: 8 speeches
Due: A2 Visual Analysis