The argument rubric

I forgot to post this before - you don't need it for the draft, but please make sure to print it out when you turn in your final draft at the final exam.

Argument rubric

Very Important, please read!

I have changed the due date for your argument paper! The final draft of your argument is now due at the final - for this class that will be December 10, 2009. This will be your final, so expect to show up and turn in your argument, then leave.
J Moody

What is due on Tuesday (12/3)

3 sources from the library website, copied, with the annotation sheet stapled to the front (one sheet per source). Please staple these before class because I am not lugging around a stapler. The information for the annotation can be found on the argument assignment in the blog post below.

On Tuesday, we will talk about doing the in-text citations as well as about logical fallacies and claims and assumptions - we have a lot to cover!

For those of you who were not in class, please do the library information literacy modules on finding sources:

Information Literacy Module

You must obtain a score of 90% or higher in order to pass this module - feel free to use the tutorials below to help you before you take the assessment.
Finding Journal Articles by Subject
Finding Electronic Journal Articles

Possible argument topics

9-11 trials – how easy would this be to research?
FCAT in elementary schools?
Overfishing in Florida?
Should states adopt a welfare-to-work program?
Should we adopt a standard global currency?
Should we have socialized medicine?
Should we adopt a national healthcare policy?
Should people be allowed to adopt dogs if they work all day?
Are we wasting time in Congress talking about steroids in sports?
Should football players be hit in practice?
Should Congress get involved in football practices?

Feel free to add possible topics as a comment under this post.

The argument paper

Today we will go over what an argument is, and how to structure an argument. I will assign the argument paper, and will give you some reading (ACW 517-534 and Lunsford 105-146). For Tuesday, please have your topic posted on your blog, and be prepared to come in and do some research - we'll be looking at the library site and learning how to find peer-reviewed articles.

Argument Assignment

Bring your Lunsford book on Tuesday!

For Thursday

The final copy of your review paper, with the rubric (I didn't give you a copy of that initially, so here it is so that you can print it: Review Rubric).

On Thursday I will also be assigning the argument paper. On Tuesday we WILL be having class, and we will be doing the MLA workshop, which is a very important class. I understand that this is Thanksgiving week, but we don't have much time to pack this all in, and this workshop, while not particularly scintillating, is really helpful. It will also help you research in other classes, so I don't recommend that you leave early for the holidays.

Peer Review

Purpose:

Students should be able to identify parts of the review and revise.

Process:

Directions: Get into pairs and exchange review papers. First just read the review once, not taking notes. Then, read over the questions and answer the questions below. Finally, discuss your findings with your partner.

1. Underline the thesis. Does the thesis provide an evaluation of the object being reviewed? Is this evaluation positive or negative? How do you know this?

2. Does the evaluation summarize or describe the subject thoroughly? (Where might the summary or description be unnecessary or unrelated to the main idea?)

3. Where does the writer support broad evaluative claims with specific details about the subject? Are there any places where there are specific details that don’t support a particular claim (a detail that is not necessary, perhaps)?

4. Are the evaluative claims important to the audience? Are these points of criteria that the audience cares about?

5. Point out any places where the paragraphs shift without a smooth transition.

6. Point out paragraphs that have excellent details to support a single point of criteria.

7. Does the reader gain information or value from reading this review?

8. Consider the following technical aspects to the paper: (Circle each area of concern)

· What sentences contain wordy phrases

· Where can the writer change linking verbs to active verbs

· Where is the writer overusing the words “I” and “You”

· Where is the writer using passive voice

Review Draft

Bring your review draft with you to class on Tuesday - we will be doing peer review in class in order to catch up. Your final draft will be due on Thursday.
/jm

What you should have done and posted for Thursday 11/12

Template B from the Review Assignment (it's posted on an earlier post on this blog). This should be done by start of class on Thursday as we will go over them in class.

Then we will outline the review in class, so start thinking about how you want to structure your review. Find an example of a review that is similar to yours (keep in mind the plagiarism workshop!) and note how they bring up their criteria. How do they arrange the review? What are some things you like about this review? What do you want to do differently in your own review? You shouldn't borrow criteria from this review - criteria should be more personal. What YOU like in a restaurant, for example, is not what another author might like. But good restaurants do share some common themes - good service, appropriate ambiance (this might be different for a pizza place and a french restaurant!). These (service, ambiance) are CATEGORIES of criteria. So your criteria should be more detailed.

I will see you in class on Thursday.
/jm

Plagiarism Workshop

In your groups, consider the following scenarios. Rate these scenarios on a scale of 0-5, where 0=not plagiarism at all, and 5=probably IS plagiarism. You should also discuss and answer the question -why is this plagiarism (or why is it not)? Also discuss the reasoning behind your decision - is this situation fair? Is it justifiable? Are there perhaps some instances where the University atmosphere CONTRIBUTES to plagiarism?

1. You and a roommate have ENC 1102 papers due at around the same time. In order to save time and have more fun doing research, you choose similar topics and research together. You will certainly write your own papers, but you use the same articles and books.

2. You have a paper due in Technical Writing that is supposed to be a proposal. You are also taking a speech class where you have to write a proposal. You decide to write the paper and the speech on the same topic to save time since you are taking 6 classes.

3. You are taking your first online class, and the teacher's assignments are very vague. For this assignment, you really aren't sure what he wants, but you do know that you are supposed to post something on the discussion board and answer some questions from the module. You look at the discussion board and see that some other students have already posted their assignment, so you look at their postings to get an idea of what they answered in response to the question and feel much better. Now you know what you have to do!

4. Same scenario as number 3 above, but this time you look at their postings, and use one of the assignments as a template. You change their answers and post your response, but then you get an e-mail from the teacher accusing you of plagiarizing the assignment. How could she do this? Your answers weren't the same as the other student's!

For the next part of this assignment, I want you to look up on the UCF Office of Student Conduct website (http://www.osc.sdes.ucf.edu/) what the penalties for plagiarism at UCF can be. Discuss them in your group - do you think that they are fair? Too harsh? Not harsh enough?

Look up (on OSC's website) the Golden Rule on Plagiarism.

For Thursday

Post the audience analysis (Template A) by midnight Thursday. Sometimes it helps me to think of the audience as a comparative audience. For a magazine, for example, how would the readers of Vogue and Entertainment Weekly (or Car and Driver) differ? How would older readers view drug ads (the kind that have the back page side effects listed)? How do younger viewers see these ads?

As you think of who they are, think also of who they're not. Would readers of Vogue, for example, be likely to be younger or older women (or men?). Would they be women who are rich (not necessarily - I read Vogue) or who appreciate the art that is fashion?

Your review assignment

Please note that your review assignment is due on 11/17, but the draft is due 11/12. We will be having conferences that day and for the next three days online in groups. You will be responsible for signing in to a chat room and we will conference that way. Please come prepared to these chats with at least three questions about your draft.

Review Assignment

Please bring your books with you to class during this assignment and during the argument assignment as well. I didn't like the treatment of the Commentary in the books that much (I thought I could do better :)) but I like the way that the author's handle the review material.For Thursday, look me up on Rate my Professor, and read the chapter in ACW on Reviews.

Office Hours (NOT class!)

We will be having class as usual today, but I wanted to let you know that I have to cancel my office hours today because I am substituting for another teaching during that time. I'll be back to regularly scheduled hours on Tuesday from 10:30-11:30.
J Moody

Citing Sources

For this paper, we will be doing informal citations. For the argument paper, I will be VERY concerned with your research accuracy and your citation format, but for this paper I'm more concerned with the accuracy of your research than I am the format of your citations.

The general rule is that if most people don't know this information (general knowledge), you have to cite where you found it. So anything that you learned for this commentary, like information on skateboarding at UCF, how many students go here, or results from your interview with fellow students, has to be cited.

For the interview, use the following information:

Lastname, Firstname. "Personal Interview on xxxx (date)." When you refer to the person's interview in your paragraph, for instance to say that your partner thought that skateboarding was equally dangerous, you could say something like "According to Shelly Larson, who was run over by a skateboarder as she headed to class, skateboarding should be totally outlawed on campus." And then you cite the source on a separate works cited page.

For newspaper or magazine information, in the commentary itself, reference it like this: "In a recent Newsweek article, skateboarding was the number one cause of fatalities on campus." and in your works cited page, list the article like this:

Author's last name, Author's First Initial (if the author's name is listed). "Title of the Article." Newsweek. May 7, 2009. (23-29 (page numbers)).

For a website, in the commentary, say something like "On cancer.gov, the leading cause of lung cancer is listed as smoking." and in your works cited page, you would post a link to the actual page where you found the information, as well as the date you accessed the page.

If you have any questions about citing a source, as well as whether you need to cite a source, please ask in class on Thursday, as most of the class needs to know as well.

In the Lunsford book use the MLA format section for information on how to set up the works cited page (you can also find information on how to set up all of the citations here as well).

For Thursday (10/15)

Draft the thesis paragraph for your commentary. This doesn't necessarily have to be the first paragraph, but it should be the paragraph which contains the thesis. Remember the following criteria for your thesis statement:

• Satisfactory thesis statements offer an observation of a trend or situation.
• Strong thesis statements offer some insight into what the trend or situation signifies.
• Outstanding thesis statements offer a qualified and thought-out insight into what a trend or situation signifies.

This thesis paragraph is due Thursday at the beginning of class. Make sure that you read my blog post on citing sources as well for Thursday's class.

Analyzing a commentary

Using either "The Hypocrisy Bowl" or "Metrosexual Matrimony," (links are below in the commentary assignment section) analyze the commentary using the following questions. This should be done in a small group of 2-3, and should be put on one person's blog. You can either use your laptop or your group can go to the computer lab if you're quiet. We will meet back here at the predetermined time so that we can go over your answers in class.

1. What is the trend or situation on which the commentary focuses?
2. Does the author give the reader an interesting introduction to the issue? Why or why not?
3. Does the author explain the context of the issue? How in-depth does he or she go? What do you think this signifies regarding the intended audience of the commentary?
4. What are the possible causes of the trend or situation the author explores?
5. What examples or observations does the author give to back their belief that these are the possible causes?
6. What is the author's stance on the topic?
7. What significance does the author see in this trend or situation?

Please phrase your answers in complete sentences. This exercise will be worth 50 points, so please make sure to put all of your group member's names on here!
J Moody

Tuesday 10/6/09 - What you should be doing now...

Post the 10 questions and the interview answers from today in class (if you didn't come to class today, e-mail me and I'll send you an overview of what we did).

Post your letter to your friend (see the commentary assignment #3 - it was due today but I extended the assignment till Thursday). The purpose of this letter is to inform someone who doesn't go to UCF about your issue so that you get a chance to articulate it to an outside party. This helps you think about the issue from someone else's perspective. It doesn't have to be typed and double spaced - that was only for turning the assignment in in class and I decided to have you turn it in on your blog instead.

Read the two articles listed below the commentary assignment (The Hypocrisy Bowl and Metrosexual Matrimony) and think about how they are arranged and how the authors got the background information to write them. We'll talk about them in class on Thursday.

Your assignment for Thursday, October 1

Remember that you are supposed to post three ideas for your commentary that relate to issues here at UCF.

Then I would like you to take one of those issues and develop it a bit. Write about 250 words about that issue - Following prompt #2 from your assignment. Think about your issue, and observe the atmosphere around the issue. Think about the context of the issue - how did we get to this point?

As you observe, record the sensory details of the phenomenon/trend, as well as the spatial/contextual perimeters. How does it look and feel to you? Consider what it reminds you of, literally and figuratively. How is it like or unlike other things you’ve experienced? Note how others react to it. Are there differences between your response and others’ responses? What significance does it have for you? What significance does it seem to have for them?

Commentary Assignment

Link to Commentary Assignment

Link to Commentary Rubric

The Hypocrisy Bowl

Metrosexual Matrimony

What you need to turn in for Commentary:
Folder with your name on it, commentary rubric, commentary in MLA format (double spaced, name, class (including section), date, title, page number on each page except first), works cited page)

For those of you who missed the assignment

Here are the questions for the peer review so that you can complete the peer review and the draft.
1. Does the intro engage the reader?
2. Indicate where the main point of the story is located.
3. What does the reader learn or gain from reading this memoir?
4. Indicate where a sentence or paragraph uses dialog effectively.
5. Name a part of the excerpt where the author uses exposition. How is it effective?
6. What particular event or sentence do you like about this paragraph?
7. Are there particular words or phrases that are redundant?
8. Where should the writer describe in more detail? Where is the writer showing/creating a visual scene for the reader to walk into?
9. If you had one suggestion for improvement, what would it be?

My suggestion would be to e-maiil a friend this list of questions and a link to your blog, and request that they give you feedback. That will help you complete the memo assignment and draft.
If you missed the assignment, you won't get credit for the review, but you will proably find it difficult to do the memo otherwise.

Memoir Rubric Link

Here is a link to the memoir rubric:
Memoir rubric

Memo Assignment

Your next post assignment:

Post a memo to me (on your blog) about how you are going to implement the feedback from the peer review. Where are you going to go from here, and what are you going to do with this feedback? This memo should be at least 300-500 words and should deal with not only revising this paragraph, but with finishing the memoir in a way that incorporates strong visuals and insightful significance (see your memoir assignment and rubric for specific assignment criteria).

This should be in memo format, written in academic tone, and should be done no later than Thursday, September 17, 2009.

Updated Links to other blogs

There were some errors, so use this list.
http://arthomasenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://cwburkhartenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://bsrhoneyenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://amunroe.blogspot.com/

http://raatkinsenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://slsalernoenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://serojhanienc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://cdvillanienc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://amneary-careyenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://skmckeeverenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://tbnielsenenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://cjkellerenc1101blog.blogspot.com/ 

http://apsternenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://smjokelaenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://kastultzenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://ekomalleyenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://ajmataenc1101.blogspot.com/

http://jcriceenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://rtmoxeyenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://pdquirogaenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://jkfreemanenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://zjwujcikenc1101blog.blogspot.com/

http://dcardoso12.blogspot.com/

http://kadilynn.blogspot.com/

If you don't see your blog on here, that means I haven't received it via e-mail and you need to send it to me. Please do so ASAP or you will not receive credit for future assignments!
J Moody

Main blog for Enc 1101 Section 107

Welcome to the blog for ENC 1101 Section 107! This blog will be the main stomping grounds for you to link your separate Memoir blogs to, and a way for us to organize ourselves around a central theme. For now, remember the main ideas for your memoir:

• The event should have been long enough ago so that you have sufficient perspective on it
• The event should have been something that was important to you as a child, but that still resonates with you today as an adult.
• The event should be something that your audience can relate to.