The common topics and AP courses

Now that we’ve discussed the New York Times video op-ed “Advanced Pressure,” I’d like you to identify your position on this issue. What do you think about AP courses and exams? Is there a problem with them as the video suggests? Are they good or bad for students or for their education? Is it possible to change this system or is it more practical to maintain the status quo? Once you identify your position, then choose one of the common topics (conjecture, degree, or possibility) and use this topic to sketch out all the possible lines of argument you could pursue to help you support your position about AP exam and courses. Post your response here as a comment, and we will discuss a few of these together as a class.

Rhetor's Notebook Post #4: The Common Topics

After reading the chapter in Ancient Rhetorics about the common topics and the commonplaces, pick an editorial or op-ed piece from the New York Times that interests you and that you think uses one of the common topics as the basis for its argument. As you write your blog post for Wednesday, please summarize the article first, making sure you clearly state the main claim of the piece and describe briefly how the writer supports his or her claim. Then, identify which common topic(s) you see the writer framing their argument around and explain how the writer engages with this topic. That is, imagine you’re playing a game of rhetorical jeopardy. You have the answer in front of you, and your job is to explain what the question is that the piece responds to.

Using kairos to respond to Paul Krugman

Respond to Krugman’s article and foreground kairos in your response. That is, draft a letter to the editor of the New York Times that makes your own argument about this issue, but draws specifically on or acknowledges the rhetorical situation as a way to strengthen your own point. Post your response here as a comment to this post before you leave class today.

Rhetor's Notebook #3: Kairos and the Rhetorical Situation

Read through the letters to the editor from the New York Times from the past few days. Pick one that interests you and read it carefully. Then, find the original article that prompted this letter and read it, too.

Write a substantial paragraph and summarize the original article and the letter responding to it. What is the article’s main argument? (Or, if it is a news article, what are the main issues that it reports on?) What does the letter say in response to this article?

Once you summarize the article and the letter, explain the rhetorical situation for the letter writer. What prompted the letter writer to respond to the original piece, and how does he or she frame the letter as a response to it? What audience(s) does the letter writer address (implicitly or explicitly)? What constraints (ideas, beliefs, values) does the writer face in making his or her argument?

Please post your response as a comment to this post. Aim for 250-350 words.

Reflecting on your writing and revision process

As you turn the final draft of your literacy event narrative in today, please reflect on your writing and revision process. How did your narrative evolve from your first draft to your final submission? What feedback from your peers did you find helpful and respond to? What writing exercises or class discussion helped you think about this assignment differently? As you revised, what specific changes did you make as a writer? Ultimately, what did you learn from this assignment about yourself, your writing, or your beliefs or attitudes about literacy?

Generating tension

Pick a possible situation that you might use for your literacy event narrative. Make a list of all the problems, challenges, or issues that you associate with this situation. Pick two or three that are most interesting to you. In a few sentences describe the tension. Give us more context. What’s the conflict? How were these tensions resolved? What was significant about this resolution?

Identifying the most significant scene in today's reading

To start class today, please get into groups of three. First, read your letter aloud to your peers. Then discuss what you think is significant in each one. What did your peers respond to or find significant that you did not? What did you learn from their reflections?

Next, as a group, identify the most important scene in Dorothy Allison's text, the scene that you think most vividly represents the point of her writing. Generate a paragraph that briefly describes the scene and then explains your choice to the rest of class. What are your reasons for why this scene best illustrates the main argument of this text?