There are 2 major projects in this course as well as regular web postings and a portfolio at the end of the term. The projects are both completed in pairs. You may change partners for the second project, if you wish. Both partners will receive the same grade for the project. A detailed description of the projects and evaluation components are given below.

• 2 major projects, including two papers of 6-10 pages and two 8-10 minute presentations. Each paper and oral presentation includes one draft as well as a final revision of the draft.
• 6 Web posts.
• Class discussions.
• 1 portfolio and portfolio review.

Major Project Due Dates

The numbers listed in the table refer to course sessions.

Project 1: Rhetorical Analysis of Public Discourse

Article selection

Working either alone or, preferably, with a partner, bring in an article presenting an argument on some political topic. The best length would be 5-20 pages and it can be on any topic. Good sources for such articles are magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly or more partisan magazines.

Proposal

Submit a 200-word proposal along with a copy of the article you will analyze. The proposal should identify which rhetorical approaches you will take in identifying the article along with any possible problems. (Listing possible problems is important, because such listing gives me a chance to help.)

Oral Presentation

The purpose of the oral presentation is help you with your public speaking abilities and help you learn how to tailor a presentation to certain time constraints and still meet audience expectations.

An 8-minute to 10-minute oral presentation is actually a rather short presentation, especially when you have to spend 3-4 minutes explaining to the audience the purpose of your project, background of the article, and choice of analysis method used. The last half of your presentation should be one or two examples from your sample text. Give the audience a sample snippet of text (or a visual) and then lead the audience through your analysis. Conclude your presentation by explaining the larger impact of the writers' rhetorical moves on the audience. You may also tell us about unanswered questions. You will have an opportunity to practice your presentation and receive comments before the final presentations.

Paper

The paper should be 1500 to 2500 words long or around 6 to 10 double-spaced pages. You will submit a draft, a final paper, and a revision of the final paper.

Project 2: Persuasive Text or Texts and Speech to a Specific Audience about a Specific Problem

We will have spent the semester studying persuasion. Now it is your chance to be persuasive about something you care about.

Proposal

Identify a problem and an audience that could act on the problem. Choose about 3 texts to aid you in your persuasive essay. Submit a 200-word proposal that outlines your topic and how you plan to use the texts. Schedule a conference to discuss the project.

Oral Presentation

Your oral presentation will follow the same format as used in Project 1.

Paper

The paper should be 1500 to 2500 words long or around 6 to 10 double-spaced pages. You will submit a draft, and a revision of the draft as the final paper.

Web Posts

In this class we will create an archive of rhetorical samples. As noted in the calendar, 6 times during the semester you are to find material based on the Web Post assignment and then write a 250-500 word mini-analysis of the sample. The repeated postings are meant to give you practice in using methods of rhetorical analysis. You will be asked to post different kinds of discourse, including a speech or video.

Experiment using the rhetorical concepts from the readings to analyze your sample. The postings are a place for your brainstorms and experiments with using rhetorical analysis. I will give you feedback on your postings.

Class Participation

You will be evaluated by what you contribute to class discussions of the readings and by how well you participate in collegial peer and group work. Other factors are your performance in in-class workshops and 3 conferences (2 partner, 1 individual). Lastly, regular attendance is required.

Portfolio and Portfolio Review

Due at the Final Conference

This project is completed individually and will contain all the materials accumulated over the semester plus a 500-750 portfolio review (2 to 3 double-spaced pages) that satisfies the description below.

At the end of the semester, you will assemble all your materials from this course into a portfolio. Assemble your Web Posts, notes, and papers into an organized folio of your work (please put in some folder and make sure the pages are not loose). Reviewing those materials, what can you say about how your understanding of rhetoric has changed over the semester? What questions about rhetoric do you have now? How can rhetoric (if at all) contribute to a better understanding of science? What does it miss? What else would you like to know or study? I also welcome observations about how your own ability to do rhetorical analyses may have changed over the semester. You are also welcome to talk about how the class activities and/or projects contributed to that understanding.

At your final conference, we will discuss your portfolio and your observations about the class.