Post 20: Blog Reflection for Wednesday, April 7, 2010
For the final blog post of the semester, you will write a 1-2 paragraph post evaluating the use of the blog in the classroom over the semester. What I am interested in is how the blog has facilitated your learning and/or your writing. You can address both positives and negatives of your experience; make sure to be detailed about the hows and whys of your response (give specific examples).
Questions that may help guide your reflection:
- What has been your overall experience with the blog?
- What have been your favorite blogs posts? What have been your least favorite blogs posts?
- Have certain types of posts really helped you with your writing?
- Has the discussion through blog comments helped your learning? Do you feel like you’ve participated in true discourse with your peers?
- To you, what are the advantages and disadvantages of a blog over traditional assignments of the same size?
- Does the fact that all of your peers are going to read what you write change how/what you write?
In the comments, it would be useful to build on the reflections of your peers–agree or disagree with their thoughts, give other details that their reflections made you think of, etc.
- Label to put on post: blog
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
Post 19
You get blog credit for creating the website conceptualization plan.
Post 18: Analyzing Persuasive Websites for Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Spend a few minutes browsing through the following persuasive student websites (they’re hyperlinks–just click on the titles):
Now find an example of a persuasive website online.
Right a paragraph or two analyzing what makes a website persuasive, strengths and weaknesses of various websites, etc. Make sure to reference specific examples from both the student websites and the website you found; also, include a hyperlink to the website you found.
- Label to put on post: websites
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 17: Crafting a Perfect Paragraph for Friday, March 19th, 2010
In class we’ll be working on revision–at the paragraph level. Spend 15-20 minutes revising the introduction of your issues paper–make it as good as it can be in that amount of time. Then post it on the blog.
- Label to put on post: paragraph
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
- Comments that will be useful: give further feedback on the paragraph’s revision potential
Post 16: Issues Paper Outline for Monday, March 15th, 2010
Post a detailed outline of your paper–in whatever form you choose. You should have at least one point for each section of your paper, and sub points that represent some of the rhetorical moves that have to happen within each section. It may be useful to think about using having a point on your outline for each paragraph you will need. Try to have at least one full sentence for each section of your paper–this will force you to think not just in general concepts, but in specific arguments you will be making. If you know any sources that would be useful to cite in a given section, list them.
- Label to put on post: outline
- Number of comments: TBA (will be completed in-class on Monday)
- Number of comment responses: TBA (will be completed in-class on Monday)
Post 15: Ethics of Writing for Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Rush-write on any aspect of the following prompt:
What are the ethics of writing? Of researching? What are our responsibilities to those who have set the groundwork for our ideas? What are our responsibilities to our readers? Why are we supposed to avoid plagiarism? Give specific examples, details, or explanation.
- Label to put on post: ethics
- Number of comments: 1
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 14: Evaluating Sources for Monday, March 1st, 2010
I want you to look at two websites–one which would be a credible source for a paper and one which would not be a credible source for a paper. (These can be either for your issues paper, or for another topic entirely.)
Include a hyperlink to both web pages, the credible and the non-credible. Then write a paragraph exploring what the difference between the two pages is. Don’t just write in general terms–but apply your analysis specifically to these websites that you’ve found.
- Label to put on post: sources
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 13: 3 Potential Research Questions for Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Write a list of three potential research questions/topics that are connected in some way to new media that you could use for your issues paper.You should write 1-3 sentences about each research question/topic.
- Label to put on post: issues
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
Post 12: Issues Paper Brainstorm for Friday, February 19th, 2010
List 10 things you are passionate about–any 10 things, whether they’re hobbies, related to your major, current issues, etc.
- Label to put on post: brainstorm
- Number of comments: 1
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 11: Mini Analysis for Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
In essence, you’re writing a mini-analysis of whatever text you’ve chosen for your rhetorical analysis.
This should include:
- 2-3 sentences on the overall rhetorical purpose of the text. (What is the goal of the author? What do they hope to persuade the audience of/what do they want the audience to do as a result of interacting with the text?)
- 1-2 sentences on whether or not the text is effective for the audience and why.
- 1-2 sentences on the kairos of the text.
- A list of 4 rhetorical devices using the written (or spoken) word that are found in the text. See W&R Chapter 5 for ideas. Include a name for the tool, 1-2 examples of it (quotes), and what this tool does for the audience.
- A list of 2 other devices using either visuals or new media found in the text. Include a name for the tool, 1-2 examples of it (quotes), and what this tool does for the audience.
- Label to put on post: analysis
- Number of comments: 2 – to be completed in class on Tuesday
- Number of comment responses: 1 – to be completed in class on Tuesday
Post 10: The Power of New Media for Friday, February 12th, 2010
Reading Reminder: watch the video “What is New Media?”
Take the text that you have decided to analyze for your rhetorical analysis. Analyze it as a new media text, a text that incorporates visuals and alphabetic writing, that interacts with the reader in some way, that is potentially navigated (as in a web page), commented on (as in a blog), or anything else that it may be doing.
Write a paragraph introducing your text, and analyzing it as new media. Make sure to consider the audience of this new media text–why is it designed in a particular way? What is its effect on an audience?
- Label to put on post: new media
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
Post 9: The Power of the Image for Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Find an image online–ideally, a Creative Commons image that you have permission to reuse. Or use a photograph or image that you have created. Embed the image in your blog post and give credit for who created the image.
After embedding the image, write a one to two paragraph analysis of the image. You may want to analyze why it is powerful, funny, or persuasive, who the intended audience is, and what tools the image uses to achieve its purposes.
- Label to put on post: images
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
Post 8: The Power of the Word for Monday, February 8th, 2010
Each of you will be assigned a particular term from the Writing and Rhetoric reading.
Your task is to redefine the term in your own words, and then to give us two other examples (beyond the one in the book) for this term.
One of these examples you should create; the other you should find online (quote it and give a link to it–can be text or video).
- Label to put on post: words
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
Assignments:
- Courtney: Diction (generally)
- Braden: Metaphor
- Mikhaela: Simile
- Chelsie C.: Analogy
- Kevin: Allusion
- Chelsea F.: Imagery
- Ty: Overstatement
- Troy: Understatement
- Heidi: Personfication
- Amanda: Rhetorical Question
- Jacob: Irony
- Lydia: Tone
- Aaron: Tone
- Robyn: Denotation
- Jennifer: Connotation
Post 7: Real-Life Analysis for Friday, February 5th, 2010
Helpful side note: a link to the reading for Friday
Your task: find something online where real-life analysis is occurring, analysis that adds insight to the original text.
This could be
- A political commentary/analysis
- Someone’s reflection on a poem or book and how it impacted them
- A movie or book review
- A comment to a blog post that does some work of analysis
- Analysis of an advertising campaign or of Superbowl ads
- Analysis of a current event
- Anything else that has at least a few sentences of analysis in it
In your blog post, include a link to the analysis. Then write a paragraph explaining: 1. What is being analyzed; 2. Why it is being analyzed; 3. What insight the analysis offers beyond the original text.
- Label to put on post: analysis
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 6: Song Analysis for Monday, February 1st, 2010
Pick a song, any song, and write a short, 1-2 paragraph analysis of it. Your analysis should get to more than just what the song’s about, it should do more than just summarize the lyrics. Consider both the rhetorical intent of the song and how exactly the song achieves its purposes (what techniques/tools are employed). If you’d like, you can focus on just the lyrics; you can also analyze both the lyrics and the music.
Note: You’d be surprised I have to say this, but please include the title of the song and the name of the artist in the first sentence or two of your analysis. It’s hard for us to appreciate your analysis if you don’t include a reference to whatever it is that you’re analyzing.
- Label to put on post: song analysis
- Number of comments: 3
- Number of comment responses: 2
Post 5: Sentence Style for Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Take a sentence from your opinion writings–any sentence. Consider the principles that we’ve been looking at for style–clarity, coherence, conciseness, voice, active, variation, etc.
Paste the original sentence, just as it is. Then write the same sentence–with the same basic content–in 7 different ways.
- Label to put on post: style
- Number of comments: 1
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 4: Cool Writing for Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Think about something you’ve read that you’ve enjoyed reading, be it a book, a magazine, a blog, an article, something that to you just represents good writing.
Post a paragraph about this writing. Tell us who the author is, what the text is called, and why you think it’s good writing. Then quote 2 or 3 of your favorite sentences from it.
- Label to put on post: style
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 1
Post 3: Opinion Writings Prep for Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
Keeping the opinion writings assignment in mind, post a paragraph analyzing the rhetorical situation of an issue you might use. Analyze the issue, the audience, your relationship to the audience, and different genres that might be able to reach the audience.
- Label to put on post: rhetorical situation
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
- Types of comments that would be useful: Does this seem like the best approach to reach the audience? Are there other genres that could or should be considered? Are there other characteristics of the audience that the writer should know in order to be more persuasive? etc.
Post 2: An (Initially) Unacceptable Claim for Monday, January 11th, 2010
The key to persuasion is realizing that you must persuade an audience that doesn’t already agree with you, or isn’t already taking the actions you’re prescribing, or agrees with you on some level but has lost sight of a purpose or goals. As a result, when you make a claim it needs to be unacceptable to the audience–at least initially. If they agree with you already, you’ve either chosen the wrong audience (you don’t need convince a member of PETA that animals need rights) or you’ve chosen the wrong issue (if you say your favorite food is chocolate, I’m not going to argue that it’s not). You start with a claim that is unacceptable to your audience, and then in the process of your writing you make that claim acceptable to your audience.
After doing the reading on claims, reasons, and assumptions, find a claim that is being made online–whether it’s in a visual, a film, a webpage, etc. Tell us what the claim is, give us a link to the original post/site/video within the text of your post, and explain why this claim is initially unacceptable to the audience. Then analyze–what reasons and assumptions are used to make this claim acceptable to the audience?
- Label to put on post: claims
- Number of comments: 2
- Number of comment responses: 2
