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Please sign in and take a handout and two notecards. Don’t write on them yet.

If you go by something other than the name on the roster, please let me know.

Get out a piece of paper and do a free write while we wait for everyone to show up. Write about specific, achievable goals.

Welcome to ENGL 1301

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Please check your schedules to make sure that you are in the correct location.

You should be in ENGL 1301 with Neal Durbin.

If this is not the case then you are most likely supposed to be elsewhere

Are you in the right place?

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I am from Littleton, Colorado I studied Linguistics at the University of

Colorado at Boulder I am studying English-Linguistics and

Forensic Science here Something interesting about me: I once went

to a summer camp in Finland.

Who am I?

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Find a partner Introduce yourselves. Discuss:

Where you are from Your major (or, what you are interested in

studying) Something interesting about you

Then you will introduce your partner to the class.

Write this information on the notecard. I will be using these to learn your names (so be thorough).

Who are you? (Yes, it’s one of those exercises)

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Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed two absences, but please use these for emergencies (note the Attendance section on page xx)

Due dates are firm. Make sure you get your work in on time. Do not explain why your work is late in your writing concern. Interesting fact: 99% of 1301 students that had perfect

attendance and turned all of their work in on time passed with a C or better.

Only turn in your own work Computers, tablets, phones, etc. are not permitted in the

classroom.

Course Policies

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• Identify, discuss, and analyze various rhetorical strategies and elements of the writing process

• Analyze text and visuals, and compose summaries and paraphrases of those works

Synthesize ideas presented in a variety of works and present those ideas in a coherent essay

• Demonstrate a competency with conventions of Standard (American) English

Expected Outcomes

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In this class we will be doing a lot of rhetorical analysis. This serves two main purposes.1. You will learn how to think and read critically.2. You will learn how to begin thinking about

your own rhetoric. This second purpose is often overlooked in

these classes.

But really, what is the point?

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This is a hybrid course, meaning that half of the class is taught here, and half is online

This means that there is a lot of work, but it is all useful, trust me

I am your CI. I am part of a group that includes other CI’s and DI’s

Grading is shared and anonymous

How this class works

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durbin1301.wordpress.com neal.durbin@ttu.edu Office hours: Wednesday 2-5 in 458 or by

appointment Check out the contact information on the blog before emailing me. This will save us all a lot of time.

Communication

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http://durbin1301.wordpress.com I will use the blog to post abridged class

notes (usually before class, if you want to print them out and bring them) as well as grading guides, and to make announcements

What blog?

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You must have the current text book First-Year Writing: Writing in the Disciplines,

Seventh Custom Edition (2013-2014) You must have the online e-handbook

St. Martin’s Handbook Both of these are available at the campus

bookstore.

Books

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RaiderWriter is the online portion of the class You will (or already have) receive an email

with instructions for setting up your account GRADING IS ANONYMOUS. DO NOT

INCLUDE YOUR NAME ANYWHERE IN YOUR SUBMISSIONS

If you have issues with RaiderWriter, you need to let me know immediately

Let’s see what it looks like

RaiderWriter

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There are 9 brief assignments (5% each) There are two drafts (13.5% each) You will complete two peer critiques (3.3 % each) At the end of the semester you will write a

review of your writing (6.7% each) In-class participation will be 13.5 % Everything (well, mostly) will build upon previous

assignments that will help you write your rhetorical analysis

What we will be doing this semester

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You cannot receive participation points if you are not present to participate.

You will receive up to 100 points per day that we meet, and 100 points per in-class homework assignment.

For days where we have peer review, you will not receive any participation points if you do not bring anything to review.

Participation Points

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What is rhetoric anyway?Rhetoric is the art of persuasion.

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FIRST OF ALL

What is rhetoric? Okay… So what is a rhetorical analysis? Rhetorical analyses will address a writing’s

purpose, specific audience, and rhetorical strategies. Notice that argument is not on this list. Why

would that be? Rhetoric that effectively persuades the

specific target audience may not be as effective for another.

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What is the Writing’s Purpose? What is the Writing’s Specific Audience?

What is the author trying to get across?

Why? To inform To argue To change an opinion To sell something To get the vote

Narrow or broad? Age range Gender Education level Culture Beliefs of the audience Academic Community

PRELIMINARY THINKING:

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Due at 11:59:59 on Friday Objective: To identify potential weaknesses in

grammar and mechanics for further study this semester Purpose: Often, students realize that they have trouble

with grammar and mechanics, but find it hard to learn to avoid those errors because they aren’t even sure what they are. This assignment requires you to take the pre-semester diagnostic and then to write a brief reflection in the form of a short essay about your score. You will also answer some additional questions about your writing experience prior to enrolling in ENGL 1301.

BA.1

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Description: 1. Please begin by telling readers what your score was on the diagnostic. 2. Then, write a few sentences in which you tell us what problems you've had with grammar in the past and what questions about grammar you'd like answered. Also, please write a few sentences in which you tell readers whether or not the score was higher or lower than you expected. Look at the top 20 errors in the handbook. What error(s) do you see most frequently in your own writing? After reviewing your results, and based on your previous writing experiences, which particular grammar elements would you like to focus on this semester? 3. Conclude this first assignment by telling readers a little about the writing you did in high school. Roughly how many papers did you write? What kinds of papers were they? Research-based, argumentative, analytical? What do you think your strengths are as a writer? Your weaknesses?

Your assignment should be about 300 - 350 words in length in the form of a brief essay.

The link for the diagnostic will appear on the students' homepage when they log into RaiderWriter.

NOTE: You may only take the diagnostic once, and you may not exit out and resume the diagnostic at a later time.

BA.1

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So, what do you need to include?

1. Score2. Explain problems that you

have had in the past3. Problems on the diagnostic4. What were your

expectations?5. What do you want to work

on this semester?6. What are your experiences?7. 20 Common errors?8. 300-350 words

Use paragraphs Use complete sentences Think about your

audience Use a professional tone This is somewhat

informal, so you may use first person ‘I’ in your submission.

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This is not a test, so do not think of your score as a percentage.

Your score will be used for comparison at the end of the semester, when you retake the diagnostic.

A score of 20 is not bad, even when compared with a score of 35.

There is no reason not to read through your handout before you take the diagnostic, but if you do, make sure that you read it again when you retake the diagnostic.

The Diagnostic is NOT a Test

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We don’t have class next week, but there is reading. Make sure that you do all readings for weeks 1-3 before the next class.

In addition to the readings on Raider Writer, I want you to start reading the four articles that we are working with (listed in the reading for BA.2), and The Ethnobiologist’s Dilemma by Jared Diamond. I know that this seems like a lot, but it is work that

needs to be done anyway, and if you do it, it will be much easier for you to do it now than it would be later.

For Next Class

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I want several things1. Tell me about your thoughts on rhetoric2. Tell me about your favorite paper from high school or

last semester, or your favorite book you read, or your favorite teacher, or your favorite class. Give me something that will help me get to know you

3. Think of two specific goals that you have for this course.4. If you have previously taken 1301, please let me know,

as well as who your instructor was. On your notecard, tell me something that you don’t

understand about writing, grammar, or mechanics.

Free write for today

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Links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Merj9tLcb9c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z65zICcIT2Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EZSFOApBwA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-pTOeuy4c8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JaRTElvMPc