Argument Abounds

As discussed in class, the Reading Log assignments on “The Lottery” have been cancelled. We killed far too many trees last week making copies of all our peer review forms and the sample papers we examined. As a result, I did not make copies of the story for you.

Instead of these reading logs, we will complete in-class writing assignments on Monday and Wednesday. The assignments will be related to the research paper process.

In addition, one class is still working on finishing Peer Reviews.

We will also discuss some common problems which seem to be occurring in the drafts I have examined so far.

It has come to my attention that a few students misunderstood the assignment change I made in class on Monday!

THE RESEARCHED POSITION PAPER DRAFT LENGTH REQUIREMENT IS SEVEN PAGES!!! THIS HAS NOT CHANGED!!!

The change I made was to the Reading Log. For this Reading Log, you will write your own version of a Peer Review to be used on the Researched Position Paper. The number of questions required is now only THREE.

The lowering of questions required on the Reading Log does NOT AFFECT the number of pages required on the drafts.

Here are the questions to help you really examine the Sample Researched Position Paper:

RPP Analysis Worksheet 

You do NOT need to answer EVERY single question in minute detail, but DO consider each question as you are reading. Allow your analysis of this sample paper to serve as a guide for you as you outline your own paper.

I realize that you have already read this sample paper and have answered the sample questions found in the textbook (for Reading Log 10). These are new questions, and they do not have the same focus as those in the textbook; however, if you feel that some of them are redundant, then focus your written responses on other parts of the questions.

The primary goal of this activity is to help you envision an approach that might work for your own paper. Please approach it with this goal in mind.

To bring on Monday:

1. Your written response to these analysis questions (I will collect these).
2. Your working outline, which should include a general idea of which sources apply to which parts of your paper.
3. The quotes you have selected as possible choices to use from each source. You should have a good idea of how these quotes will fit into the outline of your paper (i.e. which points the quotes support or refute, etc).

Here is the PowerPoint we will use in class on Monday (let’s hope the computer works!):

using-quotations.ppt

 Have a safe holiday!

 Don’t forget to bring a draft of the  

THESIS STATEMENT

you will be using for your final research paper. We will be workshopping these statements to make them stronger and more effective. 

We will use the following form for peer review of thesis statements.

We will also use this PowerPoint presentation: your-thesis-statement.ppt.

Remember to bring the draft of your Rogerian Assignment on Friday, 3/30.

As we discussed in class today, please be curteous to your peer reviewers by typing your draft (double-spaced), and by bracketing and labeling (in pencil or pen) the following major parts of your paper in the margin:

1. Restatement of Opposing Position (this is the position held by the author to whom you are writing the letter)
2. Agreement with Opposing Position
3. Transition to 2nd Position (this is most likely the position that you hold, but remember that you don’t HAVE to claim it as your own… you can keep the “some people believe” stance if you like)
4. Statement of 2nd Position
5. Agreement with 2nd Position
6. Resolution

Remember that the peer review and self-assessment are part of the process grade, so to avoid losing points, you need to be in class prepared with a draft. If unavoidable circumstances prevent your attendance, you may print the review forms and have the peer review done in the writing center instead. If you choose to do this, however, you will still miss the grade from Friday’s daily activity.

Having said this, here are the forms:

Rogerian Peer Review and Rogerian Self-Assessment 

Be prepared for a quiz on Chapter 12.

Bring in your grammar handbook (Simon and Schuster or other), your theory textbook (Wood), the MLA handout from the library, and any sources you are having trouble citing.

Be prepared to be quizzed on chapters 10 and 11.  

Be prepared to turn in Reading Logs 9 and 10. The directions for Reading Log 10 are stated on the syllabus, but here is a more detailed version:

• READ the sample research paper, “The Big Barbie Controversy” (pages 368-378).
• NOTICE the marginal notations that provide details about proper formatting, organization, and support. Your final paper will look like this!!!
• ANSWER the questions on page 379, based upon the sample paper.

Also be prepared to turn in ALL missing work. Wednesday, March 7th, is the final day that late work will be accepted without penalty. After this date, ONLY work that constitutes a major portion of the course grade (5% or more) will be accepted late, and a penalty will be assessed of 1 full letter grade (10 points) for each late day. This is the policy listed in the syllabus.

As of Wednesday 3/7, you should have turned in the following for a grade:

• READING LOGS 1-10
• CLAIM DETECTION ESSAY
• LOGOS/ETHOS/PATHOS PROJECT
• TOULMIN #1
• TOULMIN #2
• ISSUE PROPOSAL
• 12 TESTS OF AN ARGUABLE ISSUE
• 4 QUIZZES (cannot be made up)

In addition, you have had the following extra credit opportunities:

• Extra quiz (on library presentation)
• Summary/Analysis of State of the Union Address
• Toulmin #3: The Anti-ad
• Various opportunities to earn points on quizzes/reading logs through extra effort and exceptional participation

I hope to have all of the above grades in and averaged by Friday 3/9 for progress reports. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about your progress. Thanks!

Class meets in B-20 of the Library on both

FRIDAY, 3/2 and MONDAY 3/5.

Attendance at both of these presentations is important. Gretchen Terkay will provide us with information about research methods and resources that will improve both the process and the product of our Annotated Bibliographies and Researched Position Papers.

In addition, participation in these activities may count as a daily grade.

Please also remember

Handout from the fallacy files

The Fallacy Files website is extensive … it is easy to become lost while perusing this site!

Some pages to pay especially close attention to include:

The Straw Man Fallacy

Appeal to Misleading Authority

Quoting out of Context

The Black or White Fallacy

The Existential Fallacy

There seems to be general confusion about these Reading Logs. I did cover this information in class briefly, but I do realize that we discussed it at the last minute before class was out. For this reason, I am adjusting the due dates:

• READING LOGS 5 and 6 will now be due Friday, 2/23; however, if you have completed the logs, bring them to class tomorrow!
• READING LOGS 7 and 8 will now be due Monday, 2/26.

Please read carefully if you need further explanation of this assignment:

The purpose of these Reading Logs is to either: a) help you find an issue for your research paper, or b) get you started reading the actual research. In order to do well on your issue proposal, it will be helpful for you to have done at least a little reading about your topic.

The articles or essays you will read for these four Reading Logs will be CHOSEN BY YOU so that you are not wasting time reading material that has nothing to do with your research paper.

In order to choose your articles, follow these directions:

• If you DON’T KNOW your research topic, choose essays from the back of your Wood textbook (from the section called “The Reader” at the back). Use the Alternate Table of Contents on page xxiii to find essays that seem interesting to you.
• If you DO know your research topic, first check the Wood textbook Alternate Table of Contents on page xxiii to see if any of the essays in “The Reader” are related to your issue. If so, choose essays from the textbook.
• If you DON’T FIND any related essays, search the UTA library database for articles that may be related to your topic. Everyone should know how to do this, because we did it during the library presentation. Good databases to search include Academic Search Premier and JStor.

After you have CHOSEN your articles or essays (you need one for each Reading Log – a total of four due by Monday), READ THEM to get ideas for your Issue Proposal and/or to get started on your actual research.

After you have read one of the articles or essays, write a brief (150 – 250 word) summary response. This is informal writing intended to help you remember what you read, get ideas that will improve your Issue Proposal, and begin thinking about the available research on your issue. Your Reading Log is for you. The more effort/thought you put into your responses, the more of your research and thinking will be already done when you begin the next section of the Researched Position Paper.

Review chapter 1 (especially pages 24-26) for help in selecting your topic. I have also posted a page entitled “Argumentative Issues,” which lists some ideas that can help get you started. Remember that in your Issue Proposal you will need to be specific and more narrow than a general topic like “war” or “immigration.”

Please review the post entitled “Issue Proposal” for further information. Thanks!