Lydia Wilmeth RHE 306K

For Wednesday, bring three copies of your paper to be read aloud in class.

After class, reviewers will conduct a rhetorical analysis on each paper, which should consider the following:
Ethos: what is the author's ethos and is it supported in the paper?
Are there critical grammatical/syntactical errors that detract from the author's credibility? Does the author's ethos appeal to his/her intended and/or general audience? How is the author's ethos guided or constrained by the venue/form in which it appears?

Logos: How is the argument structured? What form(s) of argumentation does the author use? Do these forms effectively appeal to the audience(s)? What underlying assumptions do you detect in the argument and do they detract from its effectiveness? Does the author clearly and carefully anticipate opposing arguments?

General
Your purpose in this 5-7 page essay is to analyze one position in your controversy by discerning differences and similarities among those who hold the same position. You'll do this through the careful (textual and contextual) analysis of a single representative article advocating this position. Once again, you are not to take a stance on this position; your job is not to advocate or evaluate but to analyze and describe. Your audience for this essay will concerned and interested but not particularly informed citizens who are looking to you for an unbiased presentation of information. The essay will be turned in via the course gmail account no later than midnight Monday, April 7th.

Although the four authors do not all have the exact same argument, they all do mention the most important argument using the same appeal of emotion and sense of security to their audiences, and their intentions are the same—give illegal immigrants the right to receive health care.

Lyd's Example:

Pepsi Sample

Overview
For this assignment you will conduct a visual analysis of a web video using the interactive website, BubblePly.com. After signing up for a BubblePly account, select a web video from YouTube or any other video sharing site. Following the instructions on BubblePly.com annotate your video with insightful analysis about the visual argument its author(s) make(s). This means go beyond merely pointing out what the video contains; rather, talk about the specific effects the images create. Remember, you're also making an argument based on what you choose to point out and how you choose to do it. Will you use thought bubbles, for example, or boxes of text? Will you use lines or arrows and what color will best suit the points you're making? You will be showing your video in class on April 9th, so all of your annotations should be clear and germane to the visual analysis at hand. Be prepared to answer questions about your analysis. You will also make the link to your video available to the class via the course webpage by the April 9th due date.

Test your thesis statement here as a prelude to peer review on Monday. After peer review, use the forum as a space for continued discussion of your reviewers' comments.

Assignment Overview
Write a one-page (8.5x11) paper summarizing and then commenting on a specific source you discovered in your research. Put your name in the top left hand corner and list the author's name and the full citation information of the piece you're summarizing; set margins at 1 inch, spacing at single, and font at 12 pt Times New Roman. Do not exceed a page in length. Submit your paper via email (to lydia306@gmail.com) no later than 12:30p on February 27th, 2008.

Summary Section
The first three quarters of the page should be a concise but thorough summary of the position this source is advocating. Stay as close to the text as possible, quoting the author's exact words at times to tie both you and your readers to the original text itself - cite page numbers for any quotations in parentheses after the quote (just the page numbers, no pp. or p.). Your aim is to hand over to your readers your understanding of WHAT this text is arguing for. Phrases such as "Smith says/notes/states," or "according to Bell," etc., will help you designate what is called intellectual property. You will not have room to cover all the points an author makes, so you will need to synthesize the information for us, tell us what position the author is advocating and then offer quotes from the text itself to demonstrate (to show us) that the author is arguing what you says she or he is arguing. Do not offer your own comments, opinions, arguments about what the text says, and do not offer a rhetorical analysis of the writing either. Stick to content: what is the author saying in this text? What position is she or he advocating?

Daily Show Metaphorical Satire

Texas Monthly's Bum Steer Cover

Irony in Amnesty

Our first peer review session is on Monday. I just want to remeind everyone that this is a mandatory class session. If you know you can't make it on Monday, you need to email the entire class to make arrangements for someone to review your paper outside of class.
What to bring: Three copies of your finished paper, a pen, and (optional, but recommended) a highlighter

Topic: Is illegal immigration hurting American culture?

1. Yes, there is an increase in crime rates, especially involving illegal immigrant gangs.

2. Yes, illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from U.S. citizens, which in turn hurts the U.S. economy.

3. No, the arguments made by the anti-immigration activists are based in racism.

http://www.city-journal.org/html/14_1_the_illegal_alien.html