Assignment Two

Purpose 

The evaluation of your work in this course will initiate you to the competitive, hierarchically structured job market you will confront eventually.  This assignment will familiarize you with several aspects of the job-search process. 

Process 

First, you must construct a portfolio with specific works.  Second, you will compose a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) based on the work you completed for this class.  Third, you will write a cover letter that explains more fully your resume or CV.  Finally, in a mock interview, you will convince me to give you the grade you desire. 

Particulars 

Your portfolio must contain the following works.

1. Freewrite and more for assignment one
2. First version of assignment one with "My Critique"
3. Final version of assignment one
4. First version of group project one with my "Peer Critique of Group Project One"
5. Final version of group project one
6. My "Peer Evaluation of Presentation"
7. Your "Evaluation of Group"
8. First version of group project two or academic essay with "My Critique II"
9. Final version of group project two or academic essay
10. Resume or CV
11. Cover letter

You may want to read pages 845--849 in The Little, Brown Handbook.  You will want to consider not only the contents of your portfolio, but also other work, attendance, et cetera.  You may include information not pertinent to this course in your resume or CV. 

In the cover letter, you will request a grade for the course and elaborate on the information you provide in the resume or CV.  You also must address the objectives I list in "Overview of Course" and the goals you established in the first assignment.  In other words, which objectives and goals did you accomplish? 

The mock interview is when you will entreat me for the grade in the course.  You must convince me, via persuasion and argumentation, that your portfolio exhibits improvement in writing.  I will examine your portfolio, resume or CV, and cover letter.  Then, I will ask some questions, all of them designed to undermine your request for a specific grade.  The interview will occur in our classroom on the day of the final exam.

Peer Evaluation of Presentation

Name of evaluator:_______________________________________

Names of presenters:______________________________________

On a scale from 0 (poor) to 5 (excellent), rate the following.

1. Clarity of thesis _____
2. Organization of information _____
3. Persuasiveness of argument _____
4. Logicalness of argument _____
5. Quality of information _____
6. Quality of diction _____
7. Enthusiasm of presenters _____
8. Directness of presenters _____
9. Spontaneity of presenters _____
10. Creativeness of presenters _____
11. Credibility of presenters _____
12. Style of presentation _____
13. Ability of presenters to answer questions _____

Do you accept or reject their argument and why?

Public Speaking

Public speaking is important because it forces you to become cognizant of the concept of audience and of the rhetorical means to influence an audience.  Determine the purpose of your presentation, the response you want from your audience.  Analyze both the occasion and the audience, and select a specific topic.  Gather and evaluate the information you will use in the speech.  Organize the information, creating an outline of the speech.  Carefully choose the diction of primary points and supportive information.  Practice the delivery of your speech.  Effective speaking requires enthusiastic, direct and spontaneous delivery. 

The following are some fundamental principles of effective speaking.

• Effective speaking begins with a specific goal adapted to an occasion and to an audience.
• Effective speaking requires quality information.
• Effective speaking occurs when material is organized and developed well.
• Effective speaking is a product of clear, vivid, emphatic and appropriate diction.
• Effective speaking requires enthusiastic, direct and spontaneous delivery.

The following are some fundamental principles of informative speaking.

• Audiences are more likely to show interest in, to understand, and to remember information that is presented creatively.
• Audiences are more likely to attend to your speech if they like and trust you.
• Audiences are more likely to listen to information they perceive to be new.
• Audiences are more likely to listen to and to understand information they perceive to be relevant.
• Audiences are more likely to understand and to remember information that you emphasize.

The following are some fundamental principles of persuasive speaking.

• You are more likely to persuade an audience when your goal is clear.
• You are more likely to determine the most effective strategy when you understand your audience's interest, level of knowledge, and attitude toward your goal.
• You are more likely to persuade an audience when your speech contains logical grounds and solid backing that support your goal.
• You are more likely to persuade an audience when you organize your material according to the audience's reactions.
• You are more likely to persuade your listeners when your language arouses their emotions.
• You are more likely to persuade your listeners when they think you are credible.
• You are more likely to persuade an audience if you have an effective style of presentation.

Feeling nervous is normal.  You can harness nervous energy to help you do your best work.  To calm your nerves before you speak, arrive at the occasion prepared, ingest only your usual amount of caffeine, and avoid alcoholic beverages.  Immediately before your presentation, consciously contract then relax parts of your body and deeply breathe from your diaphragm.  While you are speaking, pause occasionally, look at the audience, concentrate on communicating well, make eye contact, and make gestures.  Prepare for questions by listing every fact or opinion you can think of that challenges your position.  Treat each objection seriously, and try to think of a way to deal with each.  If you are presenting a controversial issue, you may want to save a point for the question period, rather than making it during your speech.

Communication: The Basis of Life

Although it is difficult to define life--partly because animate objects are diverse and partly because inanimate objects are sometimes lifelike--one can describe some characteristics of living things that nonliving things do not share.  Two such qualities are the ability to respond to stimuli and the capacity to evolve.

Organisms detect and respond to external and internal stimuli from their environments.  Animals have complex sensory organs and muscular systems that allow them to perceive and react to light, sound, chemicals and other stimuli from their surroundings.  Furthermore, receptors in their brains perceive internal stimuli.  For example, when I feel hungry, I am perceiving contractions of my empty stomach and low levels of sugars and fats in my blood.  I react to external stimuli by choosing an appropriate object to eat, such as a piece of blackberry pie rather than a ceramic plate.

Animals, with their elaborate nervous systems and motile bodies, are not the only organisms to detect and respond to stimuli.  The plant in my kitchen grows toward a window, and the bacteria in my intestine manufacture different digestive enzymes, depending on whether I eat a piece of pie, drink a glass of milk, or do both.

If one argues that a stimulus is something that evokes a response, then the basis of the relationship between stimulus and organism is communication.  Minimally, communication requires a sender, a medium, and a receiver.  With respect to the plant in my kitchen, the sender is our sun, the medium is light, and the receiver is my plant, Fetus.  Internally the sender is a leaf, the medium is mesophyll, and the receiver is the leaf's chloroplasts.  We can continue to the subatomic level, but let us conclude with the fact that, biologically, communication is the transmission of information from one organism to another.

If nonverbal and verbal communication is the foundation of life, then without it species would become extinct.  Although the genetic makeup of a single organism remains the same in its lifetime, the genetic composition of a species as a whole changes over many lifetimes.  Mutations and variable offspring (Reproduction requires communication.) provide diversity in the genetic material of a species.  In other words, the species evolves.

The evolutionary process has led to our ability to question reality, which separates us from other species.  Furthermore, societies have been evolving because humans have been addressing such fundamental questions as: who are we, and why are we here?  The answers to those two questions are complex, and they vary from one society to another.  Simply, the answers help create a national or communal identity.  On an individual level (Who am I, and why am I here?), the answers help create a personal identity, a reason to live in a society.  For example, I am Stephen Anderson Tulloh, and I am a writer and an educator.

Creative people, such as writers, and critical people, such as educators, develop their minds via continual questioning.  It is important that you realize the extraordinary power of questions--who, what, when, where, why and how--their ability to elicit ideas and information.  Certainly people will disagree with your answers, for they have their own ideas and information.  Thus, you must logically, emotionally and ethically persuade them that your answers are worthy of careful consideration.

People walk and talk persuasively as much as they breathe.  All language--nonverbal and verbal, objective and symbolic--is persuasive, points in a direction and asks for a response.  From a nod to this morning's news, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the American flag: texts everywhere beg for responses.  Everything is an argument.  Read me, texts claim.  To persuade, to argue is as natural and everyday as breathing.  It is something we do from the moment we are born; an infant's initial cry is a claim: I have arrived!

Components of an Academic Argument

Introduction

Toulmin's scheme may seem complex--too many concepts, too many terms--but it is a powerfully creative and critical tool.  My experience has been that a student's writing improves when he/she commits himself/herself to understanding and using Toulmin's scheme.  Such students begin to use evidence effectively, and they write papers with greater sensitivity to audience.  Toulmin's scheme holds students accountable for every part of their arguments, forcing them to question the foundations (assumptions) that underlie their claims.

Although Toulmin's scheme may be difficult initially, the effort it takes to learn it will be beneficial to you in the future.  Think: you work hard in other courses to learn complex systems--accounting, biology, calculus, physics--and each of those disciplines has a terminology and a taxonomy that requires time to learn.  Hence, my enthymeme: if you work hard to learn difficult material in other courses, then you can work hard to learn Toulmin's scheme.

Explanation and Example

What is an enthymeme?  An enthymeme is a claim with grounds.  A claim is an assertion (a declaration or a statement) open to question.  In an argument a person states his/her position in the form of a claim, which functions as the thesis of the argument.  In other words, a claim is an answer to a topical question.  An example of a topical question is: who will be our next chairperson?  A relevant claim: we must not choose Stephen as our chairperson.  Grounds (reasons and evidence) support a claim.  Words such as because, thus, since, consequently and therefore underscore the logical connection between claims and grounds.  To expand the aforementioned example into a framework for an argument: we must not choose Stephen as our next chairperson because he is too bossy.  It is better to list multiple reasons and/or evidence in order to make your argument stronger and to divide your persuasive task into a series of more manageable tasks.  Thus, some other reasons: he is mean, lazy, dumb, et cetera.  I may select several of the traits (reasons) or all of them, depending on which will persuade my audience.  Each line of reasoning needs a distinct section in my argument.  Furthermore, I must provide evidence that he is bossy (et cetera), asking those who work with him to offer testimony about his bossiness (et cetera).  In other words, certain evidence must support each reason.

To render my enthymeme logically complete--that is, to begin to build an effective argument--I must provide an assumption (a warrant)--a general, hypothetical statement--linking the claim with the grounds.  An example of a warrant: bossy people are bad committee chairs.  Because a warrant is also debatable (is also a claim), I must provide backing--justifications (moral principles, testimony of experts, references to texts, or empirical justifications) for the statement.  Thus, I need to explain that bossy people tend to bring out the worst, rather than the best, in those around them; that bossy people tend not to ask advice; that bossy people make bad decisions; et cetera.

Stephen may have some supporters on the committee, so I must prepare for possible rebuttals of grounds (counterevidence of his cooperativeness and kindness, for examples) and/or backing (counterevidence of the necessity of a bossy person who can make decisions, for example).  After I address such rebuttals, I must qualify my claim, depending on its strength.  Words and phrases such as few, rarely, some, sometimes, in some cases, often, it is possible, perhaps, possibly, et cetera make claims more precise and honest.  With respect to my argument, I will qualify my warrant (claim) as follows.  In most circumstances bossy people are bad committee chairs.

Remember: you must rhetorically appeal to your audience--to inform them, to persuade them, and/or to motivate them.  Your argument needs to be logical, emotional and ethical.

Advice

Initially formulating a list of grounds will break your argumentative task into a series of more manageable subtasks.  The framework (working thesis) of an argument consists of a claim and at least one reason.  However, a sequence of reasons and/or evidence will make your working thesis more informative, persuasive and/or motivational.  Remember, though, that each line of reasoning will need a distinct section in an argument.

A warrant is an assumption (often regularly evident in essays but not in speeches) that links a claim with grounds.  A warrant is a principle, value or belief an audience shares with you, guaranteeing the soundness of your argument.  Although an audience may agree with your warrant, you must provide backing--specific information that supports your grounds, each item in your sequence of reasons and/or evidence.  There are some general principles for the persuasive use of data.  I suggest you apply the STAR criteria to your data: sufficiency (Is there enough evidence?), typicality (Are the data representative and typical--that is, not extreme?), accuracy (Are the data accurate and current?), and relevance (Are the data relevant to the claim?).  Writers and speakers have numerous options for the kinds of evidence they can use in an argument: data from personal experience; data from interviews, questionnaires and/or surveys; data from research; statistical data; and hypothetical examples, cases and/or scenarios.  Each kind of evidence has strengths and weaknesses.

Before you present an argument to an audience, you must consider how your audience may refute it.  An adversarial audience may challenge your grounds, backing or both.  After such considerations, you must qualify your claim to limit its force and to indicate the degree of its probable truth.  When you qualify your claim, you transform it from a working thesis into a thesis.  The qualifier will remind you that real-world arguments almost never completely prove a claim.  Add words such as likely and probably to modify the strength of your claim.

Toulmin's Scheme for Argumentation

A graphic representation of Stephen Toulmin's scheme for argumentation follows.
     Qualifiers                                                Reasons
                    \                                                /
                Claims                                   Grounds
                    /     \                                   /      \
     Rebuttals       \                                /      Evidence
                              \                            /
                                     Warrants
                                          /
                                    Backing

An example of an academic argument follows.  We must not choose Stephen as our chairperson (a claim) because he is too bossy (a reason).  His subordinates say such (evidence).  Bossy people are bad committee chairs (a warrant).  A study conducted in 2006 by psychologists from the University of South Carolina concludes that bossy people tend to bring out the worst, rather than the best, in those around them; that bossy people tend not to ask for advice; and that bossy people make bad decisions (backing, if provide documentation).  Although Stephen is bossy, he has been kind to those on the committee (a rebuttal).  Stephen may be kind to us, but some psychologists consider bossiness a sign of insecurity, which is a trait committee chairs should not have.  Thus, we must not choose Stephen as our chairperson because, in most cases, bossy people are bad committee chairs (a qualifier).  (Please refer to "The Components of an Academic Argument.")

Below are the five categories of arguments.

An example of a definitional claim (a question of definition) follows.  Pluto is a planet and not an asteroid.  (Is Pluto a planet or an asteroid?)  To construct a definitional argument, you must define the second term--in this case planet and asteroid--and argue whether the first term--Pluto--meets or does not meet the definition(s).

An example of a categorical claim (a question of fact) follows.  Constantly surfing the Internet is a new form of addiction.  (Is constantly surfing the Internet a new form of addiction?)  What makes it categorical, not definitional?  The writer or speaker and his/her audience agree on the meaning of addiction. 

An example of an evaluative claim (a question of evaluation) follows.  Acquiring a job between college and graduate school is a good career plan.  (Is acquiring a job between college and graduate school a good career plan?)  To construct an evaluative argument, you must establish your criteria for good, or bad, and explain the ways your first term meets, or does not meet, the criteria.

An example of a causal claim (a question of cause and effect) follows.  Legislative control of guns will reduce violent crimes.  (Will legislative control of guns reduce violent crimes?)  To construct a cause and consequence argument, you must describe the chain of events that lead from X to Y, from legislative control to a reduction in violent crimes.  If you cannot directly establish a causal chain, then argue indirectly, using inductive logic, statistical analyses, and/or analogies.

An example of a proposal (a question of policy) follows.  Homosexual marriage  must be made legal.  (Must homosexual marriage be legal?)  To construct a proposal, you must convince the audience that a problem exists.  Second, you must propose a solution.  Third, you must justify the solution by demonstrating that the benefits outweigh the costs or that the rightness of the solution, on moral grounds, compels action.

Group Project Two

Purpose

The purposes of this assignment are multifold.  First, it will engage you in the process of writing.  Second, it will introduce you to discipline-specific research principles and strategies.  Third, it will involve you in argumentation.  Fourth, the assignment will foster collaborative learning, for you will learn how to write and to present a formal, extended argument with others.

Process

This project has numerous stages.  You may want to read chapter 42 ("Planning a Research Project") of The Little, Brown Handbook.  First, you will freely write about something relative to your discipline--languages (English and foreign), humanities (art, dance, film, history, music, philosophy, religion and theater), social sciences (anthropology, business, economics, education, law, political science, psychology, and sociology), or applied sciences (astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, environmental science, geology, health sciences, mathematics, and physics).  Discuss your ideas with the other members of your group.  Your group must quickly decide on a general topic because, second, your group will need to review resources relative to y'all's discipline.  Each member must examine at least one book, one journal, and one website.  As you analyze those sources, look for a specific topic.  Critique the content of the journal and website.  Notice the publisher and the frequency of publication.  What types of people write for the journal?  With respect to the website, examine it for accuracy, objectivity, currency, frequency of updates, coverage, and administrative and quality controls.  You may want to read chapter 43 ("Finding Sources") and chapter 44 ("Working with Sources") of The Little, Brown Handbook for more information.  Your search for a topic and sources will lead to a proposal.

 

Third, your group will need to agree on a specific topic, for your group must convince me via a proposal (an abstract and an annotative bibliography) that the topic is researchable in our primary library and that it will allow your group to analyze facts and opinions en route to an original, interesting and informative argument.  You may want to read chapter 49 ("Working with the Goals and Requirements of the Disciplines") of The Little, Brown Handbook for more information.  The proposal must be in the form of an abstract and must include an annotative bibliography in the proper format: MLA for languages, CMS for humanities, APA for social sciences, or CSE for applied sciences.  You will need to refer to either chapter 47, 51, 52 or 53, respectively, for information on the proper format relative to your discipline.  The abstract must describe the situation or problem and contain your group's position.  Your group will meet with me briefly to discuss the proposal.

Fourth, your group will compose, revise and edit an academic essay, an extended argument, using Track Changes to collaboratively do such.  Your essay must contain at least four of the following types of arguments: definitional, categorical, evaluative or ethical, causal, and propositional.  We will discuss each type of argument before your group creates each type.

Fifth, your group will orally present the extended argument to the class.  The only stipulation is that the speech must not exceed 15 minutes.  The basic purposes of oral presentations are the same as those of written documents: to inform, to persuade, or to move an audience to act.  Informative presentations teach the audience.  Persuasive presentations induce the audience to embrace a point of view.  Motivational presentations provide the audience with an incentive to act.  Make your group's purpose as specific as possible.

Sixth, all members of the audience, including myself, will evaluate your group's presentation.  I will average the scores to determine your group's grade.  However, if the average is well above or below my score, I will raise or lower the grade accordingly, averaging your peers' mean score and my score.

Seventh, after the delivery of the speech and while the audience is evaluating your group's presentation, each member of your group will evaluate his/her roles in the project as well as the roles of the other members.  If you think you deserve a higher or lower grade, then you must convince me of such.  If you think another member deserves a higher or lower grade, then you must convince me of such.

Particulars

Our next meting will occur in the library, where your group will hunt for particular items, familiarizing yourselves with the library's resources.  Your proposal will be due several meetings after that.  I will evaluate both the library hunt and the proposal.  Bring your group's sources to every meeting in our classroom so that your group can work on the essay.  Only one copy of the essay will be due the day of our final exam.  I will evaluate it in accordance with the standards I specify in "Criteria for Evaluating Essays."  I also will evaluate your group's Works Cited, Notes, or References page(s); your group's footnotes; and/or your group's bibliography.  If there are more than a few mistakes, then your group will lose points.

Academic Essay

Purpose

The purposes of this assignment are multifold.  First, it will engage you in the process of writing.  Second, the assignment will introduce you to discipline-specific research principles and strategies.  Third, it will involve you in argumentation.

Process

This assignment has some stages.  First, you will need to generate a topic that is relative to your discipline--languages (English and foreign), humanities (art, dance, film, history, music, philosophy, religion and theater), social sciences (anthropology, business, economics, education, law, political science, psychology, and sociology), or applied sciences (astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, environmental science, geology, health sciences, mathematics, and physics).  You may want to read chapter 42 ("Planning a Research Project") of The Little, Brown Handbook.  Second, you will need to search for sources of information relative to your topic, to your discipline.  You must examine books, journals and websites.  As you analyze sources, look for alternative topics.  Critique the content of the journals and websites.  Notice the publishers and the frequencies of publication.  What types of people write for the journal?  With respect to the websites, examine them for accuracy, objectivity, currency, frequency of updates, coverage, and administrative and quality controls.  You may want to read chapter 43 ("Finding Sources") and chapter 44 ("Working with Sources") of The Little, Brown Handbook for more information.  Your search for sources will lead to a proposal.

Third, you must convince me via a proposal (an abstract and an annotative bibliography) that the topic is researchable in our primary library and that it will allow you to analyze facts and opinions en route to an original, interesting and informative extended argument.  You may want to read chapter 49 ("Working with the Goals and Requirements of the Disciplines") of The Little, Brown Handbook for more information.  The proposal must be in the form of an abstract and must include an annotative bibliography in the proper format: MLA for languages, CMS for humanities, APA for social sciences, or CSE for applied sciences.  You will need to refer to either chapter 47, 51, 52 or 53, respectively, for more information on the proper format relative to your discipline.  The abstract must describe the situation or problem and contain your position.

Fourth, you will compose, revise and edit an academic essay, an extended argument.  You will do such gradually, for we will discuss each type of argument--definitional, categorical, evaluative or ethical, causal, and propositional--before you create each type.  Your essay will be a combination of the aforementioned arguments.

Particulars

Our next meeting will occur in the library, where you will hunt for particular items, familiarizing yourself with the library's resources.  Your proposal will be due several meetings after that.  I will evaluate both the library hunt and the proposal.  Bring your sources to every meeting in our classroom so that you can work on your essay.  Your essay will be due the day of our final exam.  I will evaluate it in accordance with the standards I specify in "Criteria for Evaluating Essays."  I also will evaluate your Works Cited, Notes, or References page(s); your footnotes; and/or your bibliography.  If there are more than a few mistakes, then you will lose points.