Argument Abounds

Just FYI – I received this notice in my email today:

SNAP Job and Student Employment Services offices are offering free Customer Service Skills and Workplace Etiquette trainings for UT Arlington students.

Call 817-272-2895 to register.
Call 817-272-3461 or 817-272-2895 with any questions.
Light refreshments will be provided.

 Here is a copy of the assignment sheet which details the steps of the research paper process, due dates, etc:

Researched Position Paper Sequence

The issue proposal (1-2 typed, double-spaced pages), is due Monday, February 26th. Please review the assignment sheet for details.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN, you may want to explore the steps listed in Exercise D, page 24 of Wood. You are actually already being required to complete this process – this is why you are asked to read articles and complete reading log entries (the first two are due Wednesday, February 21st).

YOU WILL ALSO WANT TO BE SURE that you have used the “12 Tests of an Arguable Issue” (page 25) on your idea.

MORE DETAILED DIRECTIONS and a SAMPLE ISSUE PROPOSAL are located in Exercise G of Wood (page 26).

As always, feel free to ask questions if anything seems unclear!

Duncan Robinson Essay Contest Form  

Duncan Robinson was formerly chair of the English Department.  His family has established a memorial fund which is used to fund a freshman essay contest.  Four winners are chosen each year and each receives a $50 scholarship and a certificate.  For each academic year, all students taking 1301 or 1302 are eligible to submit their essays for this award. Students from both the fall and the spring semesters are eligible, and essays written in either fall or spring semester may be submitted. There will be a spring banquet toward the end of April and the winners of the Duncan Robinson awards will be honored at it.  The deadline for entries is April 9th.

Remember that we have two required Toulmin Assignments. Together, these activities comprise ten percent of your final course grade. Although technical difficulties necessitated some changes to our original assignment plan, we will forge onward, and the online syllabus has been edited to reflect recent changes. Please feel free to check it, print it, or use it to revise your previously printed syllabi.

TOULMIN ASSIGNMENT #1 is due Monday, February 19th. For this assignment, you will consider an article of SPAM (included in handout) as an argumentative text. Following the directions on the handout, identify each part of the Toulmin model. Next, identify elements of logos, ethos, and pathos used by the author. Finally, find and correct some of the many, many grammatical errors. Have fun!

TOULMIN ASSIGNMENT #2 and EXTRA CREDIT are due on Friday, February 23rd. Remember that on Friday, February 16th you were asked to bring a magazine or newspaper advertisement to class? This ad should make an argument with which you strongly disagree. Following the directions in this handout, you will generate a Toulmin analysis, identify elements of logos, ethos and pathos in the advertisement, and (specifically) identify the target audience. This analysis will require considerably more thought and explanation than Toulmin Analysis #1, since the parts of the argument will be less blatantly stated – and may even be visually represented.

Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to design and create your own “anti-ad” in response to this advertisement. See handout for details. 

Remember: due to the infamous unopenable worksheet and to the fact that many students already worked with the dentist/military ad in the Wood textbook, I have CANCELLED the homework due on Wednesday 2/14. This decision was announced in section 013, and everyone has received an email notification to this effect. Remember to check UT Arlington email on a regular basis.

 We meet in the computer classroom located in the basement of the library during our class time this Wednesday. See you there! Attendance at this presentation counts as a daily grade.

Happy Valentine’s Day! <3

Just a reminder: NO CLASS ON FRIDAY due to conferences.

Conferences are held in my office, 212 Carlisle Hall.

Please be prompt as a courtesy to other students.

Check the following Conference Schedule to verify your time slot. Thanks!

If you choose to revise your first essay (the Claim Detection Essay), the due date for revisions has been extended until

Monday, February 19th

Notes about revisions:

* Revisions must be substantial in order to substantially affect your grade.

* For the first paper, the revised grade will be taken IN PLACE of the first grade. For subsequent papers, the revised grade will be AVERAGED with the first grade.

* The final research paper cannot be revised.

If you are an English major, or if you are considering majoring in English, you might want to check out the

FIRST MEETING OF THE  ENGLISH STUDENT ASSOCIATION

Wednesday, February 7th, 12:00 PM

Preston Hall 100

Meet other English students and learn about this semester’s events. Pizza will be served.

For more information: utaesa@yahoo.com

Visit online: www.uta.edu/english/esa/

If you are interested in the ways in which language and learning are affected by factors such as technology or culture, here are a few ideas to consider researching and writing about:

Instant messaging is not a spoiler of syntax in youth

The Racial Politics of Speaking Well

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Thanks!