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?