Writing Project #1: Narrative, Summary & Response Writing About Current Events or Issues Overview: One goal of English 104, Rhetoric and Composition, is to give you experience in crafting written discourse that accomplishes a specific purpose and appeals to targeted readers. If your writing experiences have been primarily "writing for the teacher," you'll need to adopt a new mindset and you'll need to consider a variety of strategies for making your ideas interesting and relevant to your readers. You'll have to persuade them to take you seriously as a writer and to at least consider, if not accept outright, what you have to say.
Historically, rhetoric is a process of seeking the best "means of persuasion" to fit an audience and/or opponent. In modern times, rhetoric is often used to describe political propaganda and advertising pitches. This is appropriate, but limiting. Rhetoric has the larger purpose of using emotion, reason, and character to convince an audience of your perspective. During the course of the semester, you will accumulate skills and knowledge to help you write an argumentative research paper on a topic of your choosing.
This first paper begins that process by asking you to research a current event or issue (something that happened or became newsworthy within the last six months) of your choice and write an essay that:
Your aim is primarily to inform your readers; however, your paper may have a persuasive edge if your summary and response encourage readers to rethink or reconsider their understanding of the event or issue you've discussed.
Objective: You should be able to write a coherent, grammatically correct essay that incorporates quotations from a minimum of three library sources. Your paper should cite, quote, summarize, and paraphrase other writers' ideas and words. It will also demonstrate your ability to read critically and write effectively.
Audience: Because it is necessary to learn the conventions of academic writing, your intended audience must be a part of the academic community. Imagine that you are writing to a professor in an area related to your topic or that you are writing for publication in a scholarly journal.
Instructions: Select a topic. Be sure you have your instructor's approval. In The Scott, Foresman Handbook, review Chapter 2, "How Do You Find and Explore a Topic" (15-28); Chapter 3, "How Do You Craft a Thesis?" (29-35); and Chapter 14, "How Do You Manage Opening and Closing Paragraphs" (211-219).
- Find appropriate sources on your topic by doing research in the library and on the web.
- Read and annotate sources.
- Complete assignments in and out of class that help you develop a draft for peer review.
- Bring a draft to peer review and get comments from at least two of your peers.
- Revise and edit your paper (local and global revision) and submit a draft to be graded.
- Submit the paper and all supporting materials in a file folder. Be sure all supporting materials are clearly identified.
What Do I Turn In?A revised and edited draft of your paper, written to comply with the following guidelines: - Follows format: Double-spaced, 500-600 words, 10-12 point font (Times, New Roman, Palatino, etc.)
- Cites a minimum of three sources
- one Web source (found only on the Web)
- one popular source
- one academic source
- Incorporates quotations from at least three sources.
- Follows MLA or APA parenthetical and works cited formatting.
- Supporting Materials (be sure these items are clearly labeled; don't expect your instructor to do guess work):
- Topic Proposal Memorandum
- Clustering Exercise
- Analyzing a Topic #1, Writing Traditions
- In-class Response Paper on Topic
- Annotated photocopies of your sources
- Essay Worksheet
- Peer review drafts with your annotations
- Peer review drafts with comments from your group
- Cover memo with self-critique
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