Wednesday, January 21 2009

Today’s Agenda:

For today, you completed your précis and wrote a blog post on the following topic:

i.     Clearly identify and describe in detail an ethos-based argument that you have encountered recently. What was the argument? How was the argument designed to appeal to an understanding of character? Did this appeal work? If so, why? If not, why not? (1.5 for credit, anything less – no credit)

b.     For the next 10 minutes, I want you to write a journal response to the following question:

Now that you have identified an ethos-based argument in your own life, I want you to identify and describe other kinds of ethos-based arguments you MIGHT or COULD encounter on a day-to-day basis. What is it about these arguments that would qualify them as being pathos-based?  Explain in SIGNIFICANT DETAIL.

Class Discussion (5-7 mins)

Now I want you to get out your précis and, on the back, write two paragraphs. One describing what you like about this document, and one describing what it is about this document that you would still like to improve.

Class Discussion (5-7 mins)

Now that we have read one short academic argument and have turned it into a précis, we are ready to put together a slightly more complex work.

On page 1015 of your book, you will find an article entitled “The Oblivious Empire” by Mark Hertsgaard. In class, you are going to read this document and begin to collect the information you will need to write a précis for it.

While we now all know what goes into the individual sections of a précis, I am going to give you six basic question groups to consider as you read. By answering these questions in your in-class reading, you will build a very strong foundation for yourself for the first draft of your précis. The questions are as follows:

1) Who is writing this article? What is his or her name and profession? Who are they writing to? Is there an event that this article is written in response to? If so, what was it?

2) Does the author use any technical jargon or academic lingo that an average reader may not be familiar with? If so, what are these words and phrases, and what do you think their definitions are?

3) What are the basic questions that the author addresses in this piece?

4) What is the fundamental question this author addresses?

5) What is the author’s thesis?

6) What are the author’s basic claims, and what is the evidence the author uses to back up those claims?

Homework: Complete a draft of the précis for “The Oblivious Empire.” 1015 – 1025. Bring three copies of this document with you to class on Friday.

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