Assignments
Rhetoric Research Assignment
For the final project you will be writing a two to three page paper where you identify a rhetorical (communicative) situation (this may be anything from how information is conveyed in the workplace to a public protest) and create your own rhetorical theory explaining how communication works in that situation. Remember, we’re interested in understanding what writing does. This should be specific to a particular place, discourse community, group, genre, etc. We’ll talk about the particulars more in class but for now I want you to watch my YouTube video description above.
Goals
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To think about rhetoric research in a specific location, site, or culture
To develop your own theory of rhetoric in relationship to the course readings
Grading
Grading for this assignment will be based on your answers to the following criteria:
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Did you spend time developing your own theory of rhetoric?
Did you relate your theory to course readings?
Did you use MLA citations for your references?
Is your final entry polished? (spell checked, formatted, etc).
Wiki Project Assignment
For this assignment you will select and research a topic for the Beyond Greco-Roman Rhetorics: Breaking Precedent, Revising Stories wiki. This could include a concept in Schaub or Powell, a biography of a rhetorician we’ve read (or will read), or a larger entry on a particular period in history. The purpose of this assignment is deep research (you will compose your entries with MLA references), as well as writing for a public audience. We are also fortunate to have Prof. Qwo-Li Driskill visiting us on Skype from Texas A&M University. Prof. Driskill will also discuss the project goals and objectives with us, as well as provide some possible wiki project ideas.
Goals
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To think about writing/composing in the form of a research question
To gain experience composing scholarly writing for a public audience
Grading
Grading for this assignment will be based on your answers to the following criteria:
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Did you make a contribution to the wiki project (In other words… did you check with Jim before researching a topic?)?
Did you do extensive research for your one page entry?
Did you use MLA citations for your references?
Is your final entry polished? (spellchecked, formatted, etc).
Writing Research Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is for you to conceptualize a two-page study design. You will identify an instance of composing, design a study, and then carry out short research project where you will gather and interpret data about composing/writing.
The most central question for your two page study design is this: how are you choosing to study writing/composing, and why do you choose to study writing/composing a particular way.
Warning: do not answer the second question with “because it’s easy” or “because it’s just what I picked.” I want you to be able to hypothesize how your study design will produce a certain kind of data.
The last page or two of your paper will include a summary of your initial study. How much potential do you think your study design has to yield knowledge? What kind of knowledge? Can you generalize certain things from your initial findings? If so, what’s the scope?
Goals
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To think about writing/composing in the form of a research question
To gain experience framing a research question in terms of a study design
To discuss the limits of your results
Grading
Grading for this assignment will be based on your answers to the following criteria:
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Did you answer how you are choosing to study writing/composing, and why you are choose to study writing/composing a particular way?
Did you discuss your study design in detail?
Did you summarize your study results?
Did you discuss the scope of your findings?