Monday, February 9 2009!

Today’s Agenda:

Last time, we began working towards out next major assignment:

A 3-5 page argument, using a variety of sources as material.  In the argument, you will analyze and evaluate the source material and synthesize it into a coherent whole.

We talked about what it means to analyze something:

Analyze: to separate into constituent parts or elements; determine the elements or essential features of

And we talked about how précis for “The Oblivious Empire” was essentially your initial analysis of the piece.

What was new last time was our discussion of EVALUATION

Evaluation: to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of something.

Your job this weekend was to Evaluate “The Oblivious Empire.”

You were to identify the thesis, and then explain whether or not – and how – A) the evidence the author presents supports this thesis (either through pathos, ethos, or logos), then explain whether or not the structure and order of this information is reasonable, and how or if it contributes to the strength of the argument.

You have now written that evaluation and posted it.

To begin class today, I would like you to write a journal entry on what you discovered in your evaluation: Did you learn or discover anything about the piece that surprised you?

Journal Work

Group Work

Class Discussion

Our work for today is as follows:

Your argument paper is going to essentially have three sections, though you will not need to title them as such, as we did in the Précis. You will need to analyze, evaluate, and eventually synthesize this material.  Now, the good news is that, for most of you, the foundation for the first two sections of this paper have already been established. Your précis represents your analysis of “The Oblivious Empire” and your work for today represents your first shot at evaluation.

You are going to have to find a way to CONDENSE your précis into about a page and a page and a half of material, and this will constitute the beginning of your paper.

How can we condense this materials?

Journal

Group work

Discussion

Next, we will have to revise out evaluation into a page or a page and a half’s worth of materials.

How are we going to do this?

Your homework for next time is to revise these two documents into the first two parts of your argument. Print off and bring three copies with you to class.

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