In class today we went over our homework assignment (answer all the questions about our partners editorial). Then we went over our midterm memo and a few things that we could put in our memo, although there is nothing specific, there are some useful tips on pages 145 and 169 in the JAC. Finally we got into out peer conference groups, exchanged papers, talked about how we felt about our papers, our strong and weak points, and got out of class about 15 minutes early.


Homework
Complete peer review reading exercise (handout given to us in class)
1. What is the writer's claim or thesis?

• What claim is being asserted?
• What assumptions are being made - and are they acceptable?
• Are important terms satisfactorily defined?

2. What support (evidence) is offered on behalf of the claim?

• Are the examples relevant, and are they convincing?
• Are the statistics relevant, accurate, and complete? Do they allow only the interpretation that is offered in the argument?
• If authorities are cited, are they indeed authorities on this topic, and can they be regarded as impartial?
• Is the logic - deductive and inductive - valid?
• If there is an appeal to ethos, pathos, logos on the writer's behalf - is the appeal acceptable?

3. Does the writer seem to you to be fair? Ask yourself?

• Are counterarguments adequately considered?
• Is there any evidence of dishonesty or of discreditable attempt to manipulate the reader?
• How does the writer establish the image of himeslf or herself that we sense in the essay? What is the writer's tone, and is it appropriate?

Other reminders

• Midterm portfolios are due Friday October 1st
• Editorial analysis final for now is also due Friday October 1st
• There is no class on Monday

Wednesday September 22

TODAY IN CLASS:

A few housekeeping things...

1. We do not have class on Monday due to our conferences for our editorial analysis paper.

2. If you have not yet given your availability for Monday for your conference, email her by tonight!

3. We will be going over our midterm portfolio on Friday, which is going to be due Friday October 1st.

During class we talked about intergrading secondary sources which for our paper we should have at least 2 of them. These sources should provide us with more information on the given topic of your editorial. It should help you see if your editorial topic is positively or negatively argued. These should primarily be longer than your actual editorial.

Lindsey shared with us an outline of how our papers should flow.

Paragraphs:

1.) Should introduce the issue.

2.) Should introduce the editorial, provide a summary, and state your thesis.

3.) Claim should be tied to your thesis. - Editorial is successful or not because______.

A.) Evidence for editorial (Quote, paraphrase, summary) Will need to use Citations!

B.) Analyze evidence to show HOW it does what you say it does.

(This is where your secondary sources will come in)

i.) Evidence from secondary source to support your analysis.

ii.) Analysis of secondary source to show how it supports overall claim.

*ALWAYS END PARAGRAPH WITH YOUR OWN VOICE!*

Some examples of transitionary sentences that can be used to bring in your secondary sources.

- "X" matters/is important because____.

- Although "X" may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today's concern over _____.

- Ultimately what is at stake here is _____.

- These findings have important consequences for the broader claim of ____.

- Although "X" may seem of concern only to a small group of _____, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about _____.

We also went over some MLA and a few things to keep in mind, and also received a worksheet:

1.) Make sure your works cited is in alphabetical order by last name, or which ever should come first.

2.) NO website links! *Keep track of the date that you accessed the website to cover you in case it has been edited after you were there.

3.) Examples and help in Easy Writer starting on page 222.

HOMEWORK:

- Continue to work on editorial analysis. Print enough copies for your group for Friday. It should be about 3 to 4 pages long.

- Complete MLA handout to go over in class on Friday.

In class today we went over a checklist of analyzing an argument critically. The checklist included the following steps:

1. who is the author?
2. is the piece aimed at a particular audience? A neutral audience? A sympathetic audience? a hostile audience?
3. what is the author's thesis?
4. what assumptions does the author make? Do I share them? if not, why not?
5. does the author ever confuse facts with beliefs or opinions?
6. what appeals does the author make? (ethos, pathos, logos)
7. how convincing is the evidence?
8. are significant objections and counter-evidence adequately discussed?
9. how is the text organized and is the organization effective?
10.if visual materials such as graphs, pie charts, or pictures are used, how persuasive are they?
11. what is the author's tone? is it appropriate?
12. to what extent has the author convinced me? Why?

We also paired up and did a writers workshop with the first three paragraphs of our Editorial Analysis using page 55 in the JAC

Homework:
1. continue working on our editorial analysis which is due for peer exchange on Friday

1. if you weren't in class, e-mail Lindsey your availability for conference sessions (next Monday and Tuesday from 9:30-4:30).

Friday, September 17

Today, Friday, September 17th, we had a shortened English class. First, Professor Joyce assigned the homework on the chalkboard like she always does, and it is due for Monday's class. First, we have to read Chapter 10 of Everything's an Argument. Second, we have to write the first three paragraphs of our editorial analysis. Finally, we have to complete the fallacies worksheet that was handed out in class.
Since the class was shortened today, we only did one activity. We were divided into four groups, and had to make an advertisement for a product of our choice, using as many fallacies as possible. This was to help us become familiar with the different fallacies when they are used in text. Then, each group shared their advertisement. After that, we were dismissed.

Class on Wednesday, 15th September

Our homework for tonight is as follows:
1. Reading: JAC pages 102-106 (about locating) secondary sources).
2. Reading: EA Chapter. 20
3. Find 2 secondary sources and create a works cited page for them to bring in Friday.

In class today we Professor Joyce brought in a "good" editorial analysis done by a student in the past, who earned a "B" grade for that particular draft. We discussed some shortcomings in the paper, some of which were, a vague thesis statement, missing in-text citations, and kind of choppy. Professor Joyce explained the importance of in-text citations, and most importantly whether you paraphrase, quote, or summarize, an in-text citation should be present at the end of the sentence, or the author must be mentioned by name in the sentence, in order to give him due credit for the information. The thesis statement should be very precise and clear, and it should tell a general idea of what will be discussed in the body paragraphs of the paper. It is not okay to identify the thesis statement by writing something like "My thesis statement for the essay is.....", it should be written in such a way that it encompasses all the ideas being discussed in the paper in a precise sentence which can easily be identified by the reader without being very direct.
Professor Joyce also explained 3 important things that should be present in the body paragraphs of the paper being written:

1. Claim, the argument being made by the author of the editorial, article, etc.
2. Evidence, which is given by paraphrasing, summarizing, or direct quoting.
3. Analysis, by taking into consideration both the claim, and the evidence and evaluating their effectiveness.

Professor Joyce told us that in the news article analysis we submitted this Friday, in some papers, claim and evidence were present but the analysis was missing, or the claim and analysis were present but there was no evidence. It is important to include all three in the paper, because that is what makes a strong argument. We also submitted the identification of logical fallacies and short write C today. Well that is all what happened in class today and all that we discussed, enjoy studying!!
Ameena Syed

Class on Monday, Sep 13th

Today in class Mrs. Joyce talked about logical fallacies on JAC page 43-44. She taught us the fallacies and gave us examples of each.

The homework was to find an editorial article and examine it for logical fallacies. The article could be the same as the one we used for short write C. So, just print the article , find and underline the fallacies and identify the type of fallacy in the margin.You need to bring two copies of this to class.

We did not turn the short write C in, because we could use it for the homework. So next week, bring your short write C with you.

Next week we are going to be working more on MLA.We are also going to compare two boarderline excellent papers to see why one is better than the other.

Good Luck

Class on Friday

Sept 10

Today in class:

• We turned in our News Analysis papers which had to be about 4 full pages.

• We spoke about our new assignment and also received short write .

Our homework was a little different than the Syllabus;


We must Read Chapter 6 in Everything's an Argument


Also short write C requires us to find an editorial and fill out the sheet provided.

Our new writing assignment is called the editorial analysis and the info on it can be found on page 156 in your JAC.