Class #15: Post 2 of 2: Wednesday, October 28, 2015: Formal Essay #3 Draft due Monday

Formal Essay #5: Argumentative Essay DUE MONDAY for both classes

Your next formal writing will focus on creating an argumentative essay based on The Atlantic article about teens and sexting.

First, let's familiarize ourselves with the basic components of good argumentative writing:

• The claim (that typically answers the question: “What do I think?”)
• The reasons (that typically answer the question: “Why do I think this?”)
• The evidence (that typically answers the question: “How do I know this is the case?”).

I encourage you to describe your own personal experiences and positions on the subject (please do not feel the need to expound personal truths that would sacrifice your privacy), but as opposed to the author of the article, your claim should reflect your unique perspective as a young person or a student. 

Also feel free to focus on what the writer got wrong about your generation. Is this an over-reaction? An under-reaction? Do you agree sexting is more prevalent than ever? Why or why not? Or is this notion the over-reaction of older people? Specifically cite this article as well as least one or two other sources you find on your own.


Assignment will be at least three typed pages. It must contain a works cited page in APA format.

Develop a claim based that advances a particular stance about, solution for or reason why sexting has become such an epidemic. 

Then back that claim with good evidence as discussed in class and in the videos we viewed this week.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Be safe! 

Class #15: POST 1 of 2: Wednesday, October 28, 2015: 6PM Class will meet as scheduled; 8PM class is canceled

In-Class: 1. Fallacy presentations 2. Talk CRAAP & activities

Assignments (My expectation is that BOTH sections will have these assignments ready for Monday): 

READ the attached oil drilling article (above) and apply the techniques for credibility evaluation discussed in the video found in the previous class post. WRITE notes that speak to verifying the article's credibility (or lack thereof).

READ through the Parallelism section of Hacker for a coming quiz.

WATCH & ANNOTATE this presentation on Writing Annotated Bibliographies. Also, in preparation for Monday's class, take a look at the Purdue Owl information on Annotated Bibliographies (you will be writing one soon).

Class #13, IN-CLASS: October, 21, 2015 CLASS IN D18

We will begin tonight's class by playing with the RSC digital portfolios. I will give you the first 15 minutes of computer lab time to:

1. Access your portfolio.

2. Watch the video associated with the portfolio.


Then...we will work on a research-based family assignment.

We begin with this link and information.

Each family will be responsible for giving me an email, so that each can be invited to our Google Doc.

On the doc, each family, under the family name, will be responsible for providing the following:

1. A claim (restate the question in the form a thesis that explores a single reason) EX: Affirmative consent will not work because it doesn't address the core causes of sexual assault.
2. Direct evidence from the provided text
3. Extrapolation of direct evidence provided
4. A second, scholarly or peer-reviewed source from a Stockton database that evinces your point.
5. A citation for said source.
6. ANY AND ALL Questions that arise from the pursuit of this assignment.

ASSIGNMENTS: 

1. Make sure that your "welcome page" on your portfolio is set-up with the initial "about me" and info.  

2. Finish the family assignment on the Google Doc. 

Class #12: October, 19, 2015: Family Punctuation Challenge Class

Family Punctuation Challenge!!

CLASS TONIGHT (October 19) In our regular room...

...B101. In computer lab on Wednesday.

CLASS TONIGHT (Oct 14) in B101...

...unless I can find a computer lab. Check back here for more info.

Class #11: Wednesday, October 14, 2015: RESOURCES FOR LIT ANALYSIS PAPER

Rhet Comp Canceled Today October 12, 2015

Class Canceled Today -- Costal's 6pm & 8pm -- originally set to meet in D18, will be canceled today. Please check the blog regularly, as assignments and announcements for Wednesday will be forthcoming. Please feel free to communicate this on Twitter with #costrhet

Class #10: Wednesday. October 7, 2015

Formal Essay #4: Literary Analysis (STEP ONE)

“Discuss the role of women OR femininity OR sexual identity OR gender difference OR "the predator" as it appears in Heels and The Rhett Butlers.”

All of the examples above serve as first steps to the larger world of literary theory and criticism. Writing prompts like this ask you to examine a work from a particular perspective. You may not be comfortable with this new perspective. 

1. Categorize the individual characters in the piece. How does their gender or identity come through in the most general, stereotypical way? How are the characters the same? How are they different?
2. How are these differences manifest in the story?
3. Examine the ways in which the characters you’ve categorized fit or don’t fit into the boxes you’ve assigned them. Do they support or undermine the categories, and what do others (including the author) say about them and their place in the world?
4. Mine your own personal ideas about these roles. What do you know to be true of concepts such as femininity/sexual identity/gender roles. Then do some preliminary research on the topic. Don't be afraid to marry your preliminary research to the ideas you are exploring

Consider the following to help you develop the evidence for your paper: 

      A. What can you infer about the narrators? What evidence from the story makes these inferences viable? What do they reveal about their character?

      B. What final conclusion(s) are drawn by the authors? Don't think of this only in terms of "what happened;" think of it in terms of what that means for the narrators. Consider your "horizon of expectation."

      C. Consider the "truths" of the stories. What is the truth revealed by the actions of the story. They are greater than the basic struggle and tragedy unfolding, right? Why? How? Who is to blame for what takes place...think further than the heinous, threatening men. 

      D. Consider the exemplary moment of either work. Identify it and expound upon it. How do the moments reveal a greater purpose in the writing?

READ: Read through the Parallelism section of Hacker for a coming quiz.

Next week, class will be in D18: Please bring: an electronic copy of your narrative and an electronic copy of Formal #4.