Sept 10

Today in class:

• We turned in our News Analysis papers which had to be about 4 full pages.

• We spoke about our new assignment and also received short write .

Our homework was a little different than the Syllabus;


We must Read Chapter 6 in Everything's an Argument


Also short write C requires us to find an editorial and fill out the sheet provided.

Our new writing assignment is called the editorial analysis and the info on it can be found on page 156 in your JAC.

(cross-posted from another class section)

Class Notes 9/8/10

Tonight's Homework:

1) Final News Analysis (4 full pages)
2) Compile "Final for Now" folder together in this order:
    - "Final" Draft
    - Peer Comment Draft(s)
    - Professor Comment Draft(s)
    - Other Drafts (if applicable)
You can use a binder or folder, just as long as the papers are controlled and prevented from getting mixed with your classmates' papers.


Today in Class:

1) We slightly reviewed the 'Rhetorical Analysis' (reading for today).
2) We began to discuss the Editorial Analysis, our next paper.
    - This is to be an opinion article in which we analyze a biased newspaper editorial rhetorically. To do so, we must dissect and scrutinize their argument without disagreeing with said argument.
    - Remember to identify the claim.
             + use ethos (ethical credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic) to see how the argument works (or does not work)
3) We then got into groups and worked on a rhetorical analysis of different magazine advertisements.
    - Rhetorical Analysis Activity:
             + Step 1: Gather together in a group and look carefully at your advertisement.
             + Step 2: What is the ads purpose? What does it want you to do?
             + Step 3: Who has made the Ad? Nike? Dove? The Milk Processor Board?
             + Step 4: Who is the audience? Children? Women? Men? Both?
             + Step 5: How does the add appeal to this audience? Ethos, Pathos, Logos?
             + Step 6: Compile this information together to present to the class, and be prepared to explain/defend your analyses as a group.

4) Each group underwent the steps and openly discussed their rhetorical analysis of whichever advertisement the group had chosen.

Hope I helped!
-Martin Vanis

The Homework for tonight is:

1. Read ch. 5 EA

2. JAC 163 questions 1-6. Due at peer review

3. Read 131-137 JAC

Today in class we talked about proper MLA format for different types of citations. We went over direct citations, summaries, and paraphrasing. We also went over how to correctly give credit to a source for a citation.

Last Name, First Name, middle initial. "Article title" Publication title(italiciized) Name of Web site Date of pub. web. Date accessed.

We were also given our peer review groups and will be meeting them sometime Thursday or Friday.

No Class Friday

Class Notes 8/30

English 102 Class,

Hey everyone! The homework tonight is as follows.

1. Read chapter 4 in Everything is an Argument
2. Complete the draft of the News Analysis (2.5-3pg)
3. Print 3 copies of the previously mentioned draft and bring it to class on Wednesday.

In class, we finished up reviewing the articles started on Friday. We analysed the writings paying special attention to how the author appealed to a particular audience.
Also, some helpful points on how to construct a thesis.

"5 Ways of Looking at a Thesis"
1. A thesis says something a little strange.
-not fact, encourages the reader to go on
-says something new/interesting
2. A thesis builds from one point in the text to the next.
-provides the direction/structure of the paper
-shows how argument progresses
3. Deals with exclusive texts.
-limits the concepts based only on convergent texts
4. "Magic Thesis Sentence."
-"By looking at ______, we see ______, which most people don't see; this is important because ______."
5. A thesis makes a lot of information irrelevant.
-focus on the sole cohesive element between the writings

Good luck!
Jenna Sweeney

Aug 27

Today in class we did several things:

1. We went over the homework from the handout - discussing key words that reveal bias, examining article titles, considering the purpose of adjectives and adverbs, and sharing the news we found and what it revealed.

2. Discussing the importance of critical reading (JAC 52-53) but also the importance of critical writing, and using the steps outlined for reading in our writing too.

3. A reading exercise in which each group was given a different news article. After reading the 1 page article each group had to decide the Purpose, Occasion, and Kind of argument presented in the text and share with the class. We didn't finish this exercise so we'll continue it first thing Monday.

4. Discussion about Inference, Fact, and Judgment. An Inference as a statement made about an unknown based on a known. It is not a positive or negative statement. A Judgment, on the other hand, is an inference with a positive or negative statement embedded within it.

An example of an Inference: You see gray cloud and infer it is going to rain.
An example of a judgment: You see a banged up car and infer negatively that the driver must be a bad one.


Homework:
1. read Chap 2-3 in EA
2. read p. 20-31 in EW
3. Find 3 articles on 1 news event and fill in the spreadsheet that was distributed in class (if you were absent - email Prof. Joyce for this)

Aug 25

Today Prof. Joyce distributed our first assignment - the News Analysis and a 10 page handout called "Thinking and Writing - A Critical Connection".

She also passed out the blog sign-up sheet. Everyone signed up for a day to contribute to the blog. Prof. Joyce will bring the sign-up sheet every day in case students need to switch dates.

After everything was passed out Prof. Joyce talked to us about the requirements and expectations for the New Analysis assignment. Google news will be a valuable research resource for this paper.

Next we were given a writing prompt: What is the best or most convincing argument you have made recently and how did you support your argument? For 10 minutes each student wrote his or her response to the prompt and then Professor Joyce asked for volunteers to share what they wrote. By sharing, we were able to identify several kinds of argument.

Our homework for the night is:
1. Read Chapter 1 in EA
2. Read p 52-53 in JAC
3. Read p 14-20 in EW
4. Read the handout
5. Short Write A: answer questions 1-3 on page 10 of the handout.

1st day

Today we met and Prof. Joyce distributed the syllabus, and a policies and procedures handout. Additionally, Prof. Joyce showed up the three textbooks we would need for class:

1. Easy Writer (4th Edition)
2. Joining Academic Conversations (4th Edition)
3. Everything's an Argument (5th Edition)

As a class, we went over the syllabus and class structure. Important things of note:

1. Peer Reviews and Conferences will happen in groups of three in Prof. Joyce's office (very few peer reviews will ever be conducted in class)

2. There is no such thing as an excused absence

3. After 3 absences your grade will decrease by 1 full letter grade each missed class

4. This blog space will serve as a means to keep track of what happened in class and functions as a Short Write for the author of each post.


After we went over the class structure we did an introductory exercise to learn about one another.

Homework due Wednesday:
1. Buy all three textbooks
2. Read JAC (Joining Academic Conversations) xi-xviii
3. Write an Introductory letter about yourself