English 246 Lamonica
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"Public opinion's always in advance of the law." --John Galsworthy "In
the modern world the intelligence of public opinion is the one indispensable
condition of social progress." |
Rationale
I once gave a talk called “Top Ten Reasons to Become an English Teacher.” I was trying to be funny (something I do from time to time with varying levels of success), so my first nine reasons were kind of silly, but my #1 reason was dead serious. One reason to become an English teacher, I said, was “Because you want to change the world.” Okay, maybe that sounds silly too, or at least naïve, but I really meant it. Teaching English is all about empowerment. The ability to read and to think critically about what we read, the ability to speak in a way that makes people want to listen, the ability to write in a way that can sway public opinion . . . that’s what English teachers have to offer their students, and in a democracy, it all adds up to power. In this assignment we’re going to exercise it.
Assignment
In the essay you read for today, Andrew Sullivan makes a fairly complex argument about recent laws designed to combat hate crimes. As you analyzed the reading, you were probably able to identify a particular audience for whom and a particular purpose for which Sullivan was writing. For this project I would like you identify an opinion you would like to share, an audience with whom you would like to share it, and a purpose for sharing that opinion with that audience.
Once again, it seems to me that there are an almost infinite number of directions this assignment might take you. In order o find them you should first remind yourself that you are not being asked to replicate the text mentioned above. Your own texts will inevitably be shaped by the opinions you have to offer and the audiences and purposes for which you are offering them. Like the writer who creates it, each text will be unique.
Writing Strategies
As we work our way through this project, I’m going to ask you to “stretch” as writers by using some writing processes and strategies that may be new to you. These will include:
Ø Brainstorming as an invention strategy
Ø Audience analysis and awareness
Ø The effective use of logos, ethos, and pathos
Ø Using “Reply” as a response strategy
Ø Box editing
Deadlines
The following deadlines have been established to ensure that we can engage in tasks in common in the classroom on certain days. Please be sure to complete each task on time so that you can join in the class activities.
Deadline Task(s)
to be Completed
2/13 Draft II: Proposal
2/15 Project II: Draft for Response
2/18 Project II: Draft With
Revision Questions
2/20 Project II: Draft for Editing
2/22 Project II: Final Unit Draft
Project II:
Analysis/Reflection (end of class)
Formatting Issues
In order to avoid confusion among drafts, please use the following format for your headings:
Your Name
English 246/Lamonica
Name of Draft (as given in “Deadlines” above)
Due Date (as given in “Deadlines” above)
Assessment Issues
Assessment in English 246 is an on-going process. As you work on each project, your classmates and I will provide formative assessments of your writing. Formative assessment is simply formal or informal feedback designed to provide direction during the course of a project.
At the end of the time allotted for the project, I will provide an assessment that is both formative and summative in nature. That is, I will offer comments designed to help you find a direction, should you decide to continue work on the project for inclusion in your portfolio. I will also, however, assign an advisory grade for the project. I will arrive at this advisory grade by applying to your work the “Grading Standards for Individual Texts,” which can be found in the Instructor Folder and on the Web. These standards are extrapolated from the “Portfolio Grading Standards” by which your final portfolio will be evaluated at the end of the semester.
Please remember that grades on individual texts are advisory only. They are “progress grades,” meant to give you an idea of where your text currently stands. Your final grade for the course will be largely determined by your portfolio grade. This grade is not an average of previously assigned advisory grades, but a separate grade arrived at by applying the “Portfolio Grading Standards” to the body of work you submit in our portfolio.