Week 2: Jan. 23 rd

1. Week 2: Jan. 23rd Intro to rhetoric, metaphor, & “rhetorical reading”

2. Logistics • New students – proof of late add after Monday • Raider Writer • Logistics and late work… not my problem • Syllabus contract • Books • Participation “sheet” + discussion • Office hours today • Other questions?

3. Diagnostic & BA 1 • Thoughts on Diagnostic? • BA 1 • 1. Please begin by telling readers what your score was on the diagnostic. • 2. Then, write a few sentences in which you tell us what problems you've had with grammar in the past and what questions about grammar you'd like answered. Also, please write a few sentences in which you tell readers whether or not the score was higher or lower than you expected. After reviewing your results, and based on your previous writing experiences, which particular grammar elements would you like to focus on this semester? • 3. Conclude this first assignment by telling readers a little about the writing you did in high school. Roughly how many papers did you write? What kinds of papers were they? Research-based, argumentative, analytical? What do you think your strengths are as a writer? Your weaknesses?

4. Define rhetoric

5. Rhetoric… • “Refers to ways in which people use language to accomplish things in the world” (Donald McCloskey). • “Is the use of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that respond to symbols” (Kenneth Burke). • “Is that discipline which studies all of the ways in which men may influence each other’s thinking and behavior through the strategic use of symbols” (Douglas Ehninger). • “Is the art, practice, and study of human communication” (Andrea Lunsford).

6. A very, very brief history of rhetoric • Ancient Greece • Plato – Dialectic (truth) versus Rhetoric (persuasion) • Aristotle – Who cares? • Rome • Cicero – “A good man speaking well” • Middle Ages • The “trivium” – logic, grammar, rhetoric • ‘Contemporary’ times • Alex Baine, Ken Burke, Wayne Booth, many others

7. Appeals and devices: Metaphor Rhetorical appeals • Logos – appeal to logic • Ethos – appeal to reputation • Pathos – appeal to emotion • A rhetorical device is a specific tool used to make such appeals… • Metaphor is one kind of rhetorical device • How does a metaphor ‘work’? Examples? • Group activity • Metaphors that are examples of logos, pathos, ethos? • In the context of a current political debate and in a current popular culture debate. • A) discuss and decide on a current political debate • B) discuss the various positions/perspectives evident in that debate • C) identify a commonly (or maybe just once-used) metaphor used rhetorically—one that is an appeal to logos, one that is an appeal to ethos, one that is an appeal to pathos • D) repeat with current event

8. Personal Metaphor Come up with and write a metaphor that represents either you as a person or you as a student How if, at all, are metaphors rhetorical? How are metaphors used in society for rhetorical purposes? Is language itself simply metaphor?

9. Beginning Article Discussions • In same groups… • Discuss questions like: • Who was the intended audience for a specific article? • How was the piece rhetorical, if at all? • What metaphors, if any, were used rhetorically? Were they appeals to logos, pathos, ethos? • Did you like/enjoy the piece? Why, why not?

10. For next week… Read First-year Writing: Chapter One, pp. 3-24. St. Martin's Handbook: Section 1, “Expectations for College Writing” and DiYanni, "Developing a College Vocabulary" (available in the final part of the handbook, "WID/Critical Reading Skills") On your way out: Hand in your signed syllabus (just that page) And your “participation sheet”