Wednesday, September 18, 2013

REVISED SYLLABUS TOGETHER WITH ASSIGNMENT SHEET


SYLLABUS

WRT 120-40—EFFECTIVE WRITING I

Fall 2013: MWF 9:00-9:50am, Recitation 101

 

Prof. Spring Ulmer

SULMER@wcupa.edu

Office: Main Hall 524

Office phone: (610) 436-2626

Office Hours: M-F 7:00a.m.-8:00a.m., and by appt.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course meets the Academic Foundations in English Composition component of the WCU General Education curriculum. This writing course is designed to encourage your growth as a writer. You will focus on honing your organizational skills and awareness of styles of writing, and you will become a critical reader of texts, audiences, and situations. Finally, you will emerge from this course a critically thinking, rhetorically-savvy writer. In other words, the course will enable you to recognize the nuances that make written communication most effective. This includes understanding the relationship of language and writing to a wide variety of contexts, including the university environment and the larger public sphere beyond campus. To become a successful writer, you need to read. In this course you will summarize readings and synthesize (and/or contrast) readings. You will also focus on the process of writing, rather than only on the final product. You will learn to draft, analyze peer writing, revise, and revise again. By doing this, you will engage in a deliberate composing process that includes considering rhetorical options and cultural influences. This course should enable you to be a successful writer in your university courses, as well as in your life.

 

This course meets three General Education goals that will help you learn to: communicate effectively (examine the uses and effects of various types of writing, noticing how different contexts for writing call for changes in tone, syntax and genre); respond thoughtfully to diversity (by paying careful attention to the language in which categories like race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc., are represented), and to think critically and analytically (to recognize and analyze patterns of argument).

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

In WRT 120, you will learn to:

• find your authentic authorial voice, and trust your ability to express significant ideas in your writing

• develop and support a meaningful and interesting thesis

• become a conscious user of writing technologies

• learn what plagiarism is and how to avoid it

• compose both informal and formal writings

• create texts in multiple genres and recognize and analyze the differences among these genres

• engage in all of the recursive stages of the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading

• engage in peer-response sessions

• review grammar, punctuation, and spelling guidelines

 

• learn how to be critical thinkers, readers, speakers, and writers who can analyze a variety of        cultural “texts”

• learn how to analyze a rhetorical situation: audience, purpose, context, and tone

• learn how to function effectively in different discourse communities; use appropriate language

and vocabulary according to the different groups of people and situations

• learn to respond thoughtfully to diversity by paying careful attention and by becoming aware

that language decisions are not simple surface choices; learn to recognize that language may reflect personal and/or cultural beliefs

• learn how to locate, evaluate, use, and cite sources

• write 20+ pages of finished writing

• compile a portfolio; compose a final Self-Assessment Questionnaire

• recognize your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and use support available to you to

improve your writing

 

[The following original plan was revised with student input on 9/16]

OVERVIEW

This writing course is organized around the theme of environmental catastrophe. We’ll focus on complicated cultural/environmental questions that include (but are not limited to) the following: A. What is nature and how do we read and write about it? B. Who owns natural processes and what does a person or community do when their water, land, seed is corporatized? C. What is environmental racism? and D. How best do we represent the environment, and can or does it ever represent us? For this course, you will keep an environmental journal/group blog. We will take fieldtrips. We will read and write, and make reading and writing fun, creative, interactive, and hopefully locally and globally meaningful. You’ll come away from the course having learned something about what it means to be human and what responsibilities and quandaries your generation will run into as pertains life on this planet. You’ll also come away having learned something about writing and what writing can do. We will function as a community, write collaboratively, and engage our senses toward defining what environmental quandary most demands our attention. One of your individual challenges will be to undo much of what you have learned about how to learn, and to embrace a new pedagogy. As a group, we will decide how best to relate to the environment around us, and how best to read and write about it. I believe that grade-based learning is not a communal endeavor; it sets one against others, and has little to do with what writing might be achieved, should a group decide to pool resources, draft and revise, and produce a final product, process, invention, seed bank, etc... , so I find myself less inclined to generously reward those who write solely for a grade and more likely to reward those who participate fully. (Worriers, please see my rationale for grading below.) Of course, some of your work will be done alone. You will be asked to write both critical and creative reading responses, respond rhetorically, research and document and verify sources. Ultimately the class will produce a public exhibit of some kind. At the end of the semester, you will each compile your work (some of it individual, some of it communal) into a 20-page document, and be asked to contemplate both your own and its existence.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS

Balog, James, and Terry Tempest Williams. Ice: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers. New York:

Rizzoli International Publications, 2012.

Hahn, Kimiko. Toxic Flora. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.

Rock, Peter. My Abandonment. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008.

Shiva, Vandana. Making Peace with the Earth. London: Pluto Books, 2013.

• Flashdrive

• Two-pocket folder for end-of-semester portfolio

 

REQUIRED WORK

Additional details and expectations for each project will be provided before they are due.

• Rhetorical and creative reading and annotated notes: 20%

• Group field research, blog journal, project completion: 50%

• Attendance and participation: 10%

• Final portfolio + SAQ: 15%

• Final exam: 5%

 

OVERVIEW

What does it mean to really think about what is happening now? What most catches our collective interest and what is our response to current events? What do we do with news? Throughout this writing course you will track various current events of your choosing, as well as comment on your peers’ event selections, on a group blog. Beyond questions like, what is news and how do we read and write about it, and who owns the news and how does this affect what is reported, as well as how do issues of diversity affect our reading and reactions, we will also investigate how we consume media, and ask how best we might represent, comment upon, and produce news. Ultimately, you’ll come away from the course having learned something about what responsibilities and quandaries your generation now faces. You’ll also come away having learned something about writing and what writing can do. As a group, we will decide upon the class’ trajectory. Perhaps we will create our own independent news organization and broadcast and upload our own news on YouTube weekly; or maybe we will work independently, writing in depth on the event that most consumes our individual interests. Whatever we end up doing, we will write about the process of what it means to immerse ourselves in the contemporary landscape made available to us via various media sources. At the end of the semester, you will each compile your work into a 20-page portfolio and be asked to contemplate both your own and its existence.

 

REQUIRED WORK

Additional details and expectations for each project will be provided before they are due.

• Rhetorical, creative, and annotated reading responses (5 pages of blog journal writing): 20%

• Cultural Analysis paper (5 pages): 25%

• Researched News Article (3 pages): 15%

• Fictionalizing the opposite viewpoint (3 pages): 10%

• Attendance and participation: 10%

• Final portfolio + SAQ: 15%

• Final exam (4 pages): 5%

 

CLASS POLICIES

Attendance and Participation

Absences in this class not only mean you miss crucial discussions, lectures on writing style and techniques you need to succeed in college, they are an insult to class community. We rely on one another for more than half of our grade, and for this reason it is imperative that you attend class, and that you arrive with work prepared and in hand. That said, only three absences of any kind are permitted. Serious medical situations or emergencies are considered exceptions to this rule, and if you find yourself in such a situation, it is your responsibility to contact the Office of Judicial Affairs and Student Assistance at 610-436-3511. Too many missed classes can seriously affect your final grade. The Office of Judicial Affairs and Student Assistance provides a notification service on behalf of students who missed classes for an extended period of time (three days or more) due to a medical situation or a significant family emergency. This notification does not serve as an “excused absence,” it simply alerts me as to why you have been absent. If you are absent for a period longer than a week, please know that passing this course will be extremely challenging for you, and that you must call (610) 436-3511 to request assistance from the Office of Judicial Affairs and Student Assistance.

 

Absences Policy for University-Sanctioned Events

You are advised to carefully read and comply with the excused absences policy for university-sanctioned events contained in the WCU Undergraduate Catalog. I will require a “fair alternative” to attendance on those days that you must be absent from class. I will designate such alternatives and their due dates prior to the event. This means that you must submit original documentation on university letterhead signed by the activity director, coach, or adviser detailing the specifics of the event in advance. You are also expected to turn in assignments due on days of the event prior to their due dates.

 

Diversity Fair Language

The writing for this course should not assume the gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability status, or sexual orientation of a person is a known.

 

Final Exam

There will be a final exam. This exam is worth 5% of your final grade.

 

Grades

The goal here is to fall in love with writing and to write as if your life and the lives of others depended on it (and you and they do!). To achieve this aim, I will give you as much feedback and attention as I can. I will conference with you throughout the semester to discuss your writing and class progress.

Half of your grade in this course is dependent upon communal work. Communal work will be graded P/F. Pass means that everyone worked together and succeeded in examining, writing, and producing a meaningful project. Fail means that one person shouldered other persons’ work, and that relatively little or nothing meaningful was experienced or produced. Should a class fail, your final individual grade (based on the 50% of your individual work) will be dropped one letter grade. I expect no class to fail.

Final and individual grades will be based on traditional standards:

• A (93-100), A- (90-92)—Excellent: Work that presents original thinking or insight that is clearly, correctly, and gracefully written. The piece reflects a sophisticated voice, rhetoric, analysis, and language.

• B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82)—Good: Work that fully satisfies an assignment’s expectations with clear competence. The level of sophistication of thought and writing that represents an A is absent, but the piece is well written in terms of argument, mechanics, support and structure, and choice of details.

• C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72)—Fair: An adequate piece of work that minimally meets an assignment’s specifications and is generally correct in terms of mechanics and structure, but one that lacks thorough analysis or elaboration and sharp focus.

• D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62)—Poor: Work that is inadequate in at least one way, including failure to maintain focus, skimpy or illogical development, and significant errors in writing mechanics.

• F range (0-59)—Failure: Work that fails to respond acceptably to an assignment or that fails to be submitted on time.

 

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Plagiarism—passing off the work of another person’s as your own—is a serious offense. In the academic world, plagiarism is theft (and punishable). Information from sources, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, must be given credit through citations. It is especially important that paraphrase be both cited and put into your own words. Merely rearranging a sentence or changing a few words is not sufficient. It is your responsibility to adhere to the university’s standards for academic integrity. Violations of academic integrity include any act that violates the rights of another student in academic work, that involves misrepresentation of your own work, or that disrupts the instruction of the course. In addition to plagiarizing, other violations include (but are not limited to): cheating on assignments or examinations; selling, purchasing, or exchanging of term papers; falsifying of information; and using your own work from one class to fulfill the assignment for another class without significant modification. Proof of academic misconduct can result in the automatic failure and removal from this course. For questions, refer to the English Department’s Undergraduate Handbook, the Undergraduate Catalogue, the Ram’s Eye View, and the University website.

 

No Grade, Violation of Academic Integrity, and Violation of Student Code of Conduct

For questions regarding Academic Dishonesty, the No-Grade Policy, Sexual Harassment, or the Student Code of Conduct, refer to the English Department’s Undergraduate Handbook, the Undergraduate Catalogue, the Ram’s Eye View, and the University website. Please understand that improper conduct in any of these areas will not be tolerated and may result in immediate ejection from the class.

 

Z Grade Policy

The ‘Z’ Grade designation will be given to a student who stops attending class, does not complete assignments, and fails to officially withdraw from a course by the 9th week of the semester. This grade has the same value as an F for all academic purposes, including computation of the cumulative average.

 

Informal Assignments

These will include keeping field notes, annotated bibliographies, and writing the Reflective Letter. Note that these minor assignments collectively will be worth more than 25% of your final grade.

 

Papers

You will draft and complete a number of formal writing assignments, totaling 20 pages of finished writing. These assignments will give you the opportunity to write in several different genres. You will be given opportunities to revise your writing with the benefit of feedback from the instructor and peers.

 

Paper Format

Always include your name, the date, and course number and section on the top right corner of the page. Number your pages. Double space the lines. Staple multiple pages. Use 12-pt Times New Roman font.

 

Assignment Policy

I will accept NO late papers. (The only papers that are handed in post-deadline that I may award passing grades to will be written by students with documented, excused absences.) Papers must arrive in class on the day they are due, typed, and in paper form.

 

Portfolio

All students taking any level WRT course will complete a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), which asks questions about what you learned in the WRT writing class. All students taking any level WRT course will also compile a portfolio of formal writing completed in the course this semester. The portfolio will contain a portfolio checklist. The SAQ and portfolio help the Composition Program assess the effectiveness of our courses at meeting specific general education goals. In order to pass the course, this portfolio must be correctly assembled and submitted on time.

 

Writing Center

Visit the University Writing Center! Lawrence 214: 610-436-2121.

 

Library Support

FHG Library offers services to help students, including advice on locating traditional and electronic sources, and interlibrary loan (free of charge). Approach a reference librarian for assistance or visit the library web site for additional information.

 

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability that requires accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please present your letter of accommodations and meet with me as soon as possible so that I can support your success. If you would like to know more about West Chester University’s Services for Students with Disabilities (OSSD), please contact the OSSD which is located at 223 Lawrence Center. OSSD hours of Operation are Monday – Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm. Phone number: 610-436-2564. Fax number: 610-430-5860. Email address: ossd@wcupa.edu Web address: http://www.wcupa.edu/ussss/ossd/

 

APSCUF

I am a member of APSCUF, the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. We uphold the highest standards of teaching, scholarly inquiry, and service. We are an organization that is committed to promoting excellence in all that we do to ensure that our students receive the highest quality education. For more on our organization, see www.apscuf.org.

 

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

You are encouraged to sign up for the University’s free WCU ALERT service, which delivers official WCU emergency text messages directly to your cell phone. For more information and to sign up, visit www.wcupa.edu/wcualert. To report an emergency, call the Department of Public Safety at 610-436-3311.

 

SCHEDULE


Week One: WARMING UP & CHASING ICE

Aug 26 Introduction to course and each other. Chasing Ice showing.

Aug 28 Chasing Ice showing cont. Discussion. Introduction to rhetorical analysis.

Homework for Aug 30: Rhetorically analyze the film Chasing Ice. Follow “Paper Format” directions in syllabus.

Aug 30 Weathering Ice. Homework for Sept 4: continue to work on your weathering a photograph and upload your best work (take picture/scan/etc…) to the class blog. (VERY IMPORTANT: When blogging now and in the future, always print out copy for your portfolio. Keep the copy in your folder—proof of your work, especially if the class decides to edit the blog).

Last Day to Drop: Saturday August 31

Last Day to Add/Course Withdraw: Begins Sunday September 1


Week Two: BLOGGING DISASTER

Labor Day - No Classes: Monday September 2

Sept 4 Analyzing visual work. Discussion concerning differences in filmic and photographic genres. Homework for Sept 6: Read “Climate Wars and Climate Peace” (pages 98-110) in Making Peace with the Earth. Rhetorically analyze. Include bibliographic citation.

Sept 6 Genres: blogging, nonfiction, film, photography. What is nature and how do we best

read and write about/document it? Homework for Sept 9: Environmental journal entry (any genre): blog it. Read first chapter of My Abandonment, pages 3-48. Come prepared to discuss text in class.


Week Three: HOW BEST TO REPRESENT THE ENVIRONMENT?

Sept 9 Rhetorically analyzing the first chapter of My Abandonment. Discussing fictional responses to the environment. Homework for Sept 11: Read “Icebreaker” (page 113) and “A Meditation on Magnetic Fields” (p. 114-115) in Toxic Flora.

Sept 11 Rhetorically analyzing last two poems from Toxic Flora. Comparing to Terry

Tempest Williams’ “prose poem” epilogue to Ice. Poetic responses to the

environment. Homework for Sept 13: Read an environmental article and write a poem inspired by the reading: blog it.

Sept 13 Class discussion. We decide on this day to change the syllabus; students aren’t invested in the texts I’ve selected or the course theme.


Week Four: CURRENT EVENTS (WHO OWNS THE NEWS?)

Sept 16 Rhetorically and culturally analyze your found articles. Homework for Sept 18: annotated current event blog entry; must analyze or critique news producer and/or author, as well as comment upon cultural information found within the text. Also: respond to another student’s blog entry.

Sept 18 Discussion. Homework for Sept 20: annotated current event blog entry; must analyze or critique news producer and/or author, as well as comment upon cultural information found within the text. Also: respond to another student’s blog entry.

Sept 20 Producing the news. Real analysis (knowing the difference between observation and inference) versus clichéd conclusion. Homework for Sept 23: annotated current event blog entry; must analyze or critique news producer and/or author, as well as comment upon cultural information found within the text. Also: respond to another student’s blog entry.

 

Week Five: DIVERSITY IN THE MEDIA

Sept 23 Showing of Control Room. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmPUx7OH1T8

Homework for Sept 25: Research one of your topics from last week in greater depth; search in particular for another news article on the same topic but written/produced from a differing cultural standpoint. What do you discover? 1 page freewrite (post on blog). Also: respond to another student’s blog entry. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Sept 25 Annotated Bibliography (Assignment #1) due. Ascertaining how our identity affects how we read. Homework for Sept 27: Reflect on how your own subject position affects how you read media sources. 1 page freewrite (post on blog). Also: respond to another student’s blog entry. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Sept 27 Listen to a journalist who follows stories via Twitter: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/31/170765393/distant-witness-social-medias-journalism-revolution

Consider composing your own news story using Twitter, blogs, Instagram, and/or other social media. Filming our ten-minute weekly news show. Homework for Sept 30: Brainstorm ideas for your own news story. 1 page (post on blog). Also: respond to another student’s blog entry. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

 

Week Six: CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Sept 30 Writing the Cultural Analysis Essay, Assignment #2 overview. Coming up with a thesis. Homework: work on draft. Complete at least two pages and bring them to conference. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 2 Conference. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 4 Conference. Filming our ten-minute weekly news show. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

 

Week Seven: PEER REVIEW

Fall Break - No Classes: Monday - Tuesday October 7-8

Oct 9 Peer Review.

Oct 11 Peer Review. Filming our ten-minute weekly news show. Homework for Oct 14: Complete Assignment #2. Work Cited page mandatory.

 

Week Eight: GENRE

Oct 14 Assignment #2 due. Writing the news; brainstorming what makes a good news story. Homework for Oct 16: Begin researching and interviewing for your news story. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 16: For class on Oct 16, bring in copies of first drafts of your news stories. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 18: Peer Review. Filming our ten-minute weekly news show. Homework for Oct 21: Revise your story. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

 

Week Nine: AUTHORING THE NEWS

Oct 21 Conferences. Bring your folder with all your writings thus far. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 23 Conferences. Bring your folder with all your writings thus far. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 25 Questions? Use of images, and/or social media, video, etc… Filming our ten-minute weekly news show. Homework for Oct 21: Complete your news story. What have you noticed about how news gets created and the decisions made as you’ve become involved in the process of its composition? 1 page freewrite (blog). Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

End of course withdrawal period: Friday October 25

Last day to submit work for NG grades and arrange for P/F or Audit: Friday October 25

 

Week Ten: ASSUMING OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS

Oct 28 Assignment #3 due. Taking on the opposing viewpoint as your own. What is objectivity? Homework for Oct 30: Begin rewriting a news story from a perspective opposite your own. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Oct 30 Fieldtrip to a newsroom. Homework for Nov 1: Continue to write your “fictional” news story. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Nov 1 Discussing the difference between academic, journalistic, videographic, and creative approaches. Filming our ten-minute weekly news show. Homework for Nov. 4: Continue drafting your fictional news story. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

 

Week Eleven

Nov 4 Peer Review. Homework for Nov 6: Complete your “fictional” news story. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Nov 6 Assignment #4 due. Continue to post whenever you come across an intriguing news story.

Nov 8 Portfolio composition. Writing the SAQ as the introduction to your portfolio. News show.

 

Week Twelve

Nov 11 Choosing selections from the “best of” our news show. Homework for Nov 13: Begin to revise your writing for your portfolio.

Nov 13 Choosing selections from the “best of” our news show. Homework for Nov 15: Continue to revise your writing for your portfolio.

Nov 15 Filming, and dividing up editorial tasks for editing, producing, and distribution for the “best of.”

 

Week Thirteen

Nov 18 Presentations.

Nov 20 Presentations.

Nov 22 Presentations.


Week Fourteen

Nov 25 Last questions about portfolios, checklist, and SAQ, and prep for final exam.

Homework for Dec 2: Portfolio construction, SAQ drafting.

Thanksgiving Break - No Classes: Wed. - Friday November 27-29

 

Week Fifteen

End of term withdrawal period: Monday December 2

Dec 2 Questions, celebration. Homework for Dec 4: Finish readying portfolio.

Dec 4 Portfolio Due. Drawing names for goodbye gifts. Homework: Make gift.

Dec 6 Gift exchange. Last questions, remarks.

 

Reading Days: Saturday - Sunday December 7-8

Final Examinations: Tuesday - Saturday December 10-14

FINAL for this class: TBA (Letter to me about what you’ve taken away from this course about the process of analyzing, writing, and producing news, not to mention how cultural and structural discrepancies and inequalities, not to mention understandings of genre impacts the “truth” as reported to and by us.)

 

 

 

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

 

Assignment #1: Annotated Bibliography

Blog is rough draft. Final draft will include suggested grammar revisions from your peers.

5 pages (double-spaced)

You are currently blogging about current events. Step 1. Copy your blogs—you must include at least 5—(including, if you’d like, your analyses on Balog and Shiva simply transformed into an annotated entry: see the steps of this assignment for information as to how to do this) into a word document and format it correctly (according to the paper format subheading in the syllabus). Step 2. Write a MLA-style citation for each website address you’ve visited while writing these blog entries, citing the authors, title of the articles, etc… (Sample: Harris, Robert. “Evaluating Internet Research Sources.” VirtualSalt. 15 June 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2009. <http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm>.) Step 3. Alphabetically order each of your entries. (Author’s last name beginning with ‘A’ would be placed first, for example; if no author exists, than the first letter of the title is the letter to use). Step 4. Add summaries and opinions that you’ve published on the class blog for each story beneath the corresponding alphabetical citation information; include at least one paragraph of summary and one paragraph of opinion (which MUST demonstrate your understanding and use of rhetorical analysis; in other words, your opinion should comment upon the author’s background, and/or the intended audience, and/or the publisher and why this particular story has been published, etc…)

 

Assignment #2: Cultural Analysis

Rough Draft, Peer Review, Final Draft Required

5 pages (double-spaced)

Step 1. Using your annotated bibliography and the articles you’ve begun to analyze, study the articles and your responses to them for cultural information. Come up with a list of observations and another list of the inferences you draw from these observations. Step 2. Choose one particular article and look for the same news, but reported upon from a different cultural perspective; for instance, you might have initially found an article on Syria in The New York Times, but then you look for a very similar article reported from a very different cultural context published on the same day or during the same week in Al Jazeera. Or, to give another example, you might find mainstream news about the new Miss America of Indian origin, and then find a paper that is published in India that is also reporting about this event. Or, perhaps you might compare something you read in a predominantly black publication and compare it to a more white publication reporting on the same issue. Or perhaps one article is written by a man, and you find another about the same topic written by a woman that’s noticeably different… Etc… Step 3. Ask yourself in both cases rhetorical questions: what contexts made the various interpretations of this news item possible? Who are the publishers of this news and who are their audiences? What values, beliefs, or ideologies are reinforced or reflected or hidden within the articles? What values, beliefs, or ideologies are disrupted or resisted by them? What values, beliefs, or ideologies are produced as a result of the publication of this news? Really, what you are trying to pinpoint is how each article interprets the same news differently and how and why. Freewrite your responses to these questions. Step 4. How does your culture effect how you read these texts? Interrogate your own cultural blind spots, privileges, etc... Step 5. Come up with a strong thesis, such as “Although the context surrounding the murder of [name of victim in article] in [title of article #1] is undeniably outrageous, [name of author] chooses to veil questions of racial and sexual identity, yet hints at these things through the quoted dialect and by describing the victim in a sexually explicit way. Whereas in [title of article #2] the author plainly reveals the [name of victim]’s race and gender and then offers an in-depth analysis of the relevance of victim’s culture to the crime committed. [Title of article #2] holds my attention, because I am a white woman who has survived such a crime. I believe that [author #1] is purposely withholding information because [whatever reason].” Remember: your analysis (close reading of the article in question) will be focused and incisive, thus also opening up space for your larger philosophical/cultural/ideological reflections. Please include your cultural background, but don’t make the essay about you. It is an essay about how you’ve analyzed and interpreted two news articles with differing takes on the same item of concern. Step 6. Back up your claim with supporting information and analysis. Synthesize multiple critical viewpoints into a new interpretation of the issue at hand. Step 7. Restate your thesis and make sure it is complicated by a summary of all the supporting evidence you’ve gathered and included, and then offer your new look at the news item to conclude. You are welcome to conclude with a question, as not all theses are 100% defendable.

 

Assignment #3: Write Your Own News Story

Rough Draft, Final Draft Required.

4 pages (double-spaced), option to include your own photographs (two at most).

 

Assignment #4: Fictionalize Your News Story by Writing from an “Opposing” or Radically Different Viewpoint

Rough Draft, Peer Review, Final Draft Required

3 pages (double-spaced)

 

 

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