Calendar Post for November 11 + Argument Handouts Posted

• Follow steps in our Google Docs workshop handout, especially the part about creating a document and inviting raulmoreno@gmail.com as a collaborator by noon on Wednesday.

• Bring a full rough draft of your Academic Argument to class on Wednesday as a hard copy.

• Read about revising arguments and logical fallacies on PHG pages 577-582.

• Download and bring to class the following handouts (at drop.io):

- argument_appeals.pdf

- argument_fallacies.pdf

- argument_workshop.pdf

Rhetorical Analysis + Google Docs Handouts Posted

• For those attending a speaking event and drafting a rhetorical analysis that will compensate for an unexcused absence, three additional handouts at drop.io will be useful:

- handout_rhetorical_questions.pdf

- handout_soapstone.pdf

- handout_rhetorical_situation.gif

• This rhetorical analysis should be at least two pages and follow MLA guidelines. Further guidance can be found elsewhere on our blog.

• A handout discussed in class today, "Google Docs Workshop: How and When to Post Argument Drafts and Comments," has been uploaded to drop.io. Please take note of steps in the workshop due Wednesday and Friday by noon. Google Docs can be accessed via Gmail or Google Apps for Colorado State University.

Event Posted

From the Colorado State University School of Global Environmental Sustainability:

"The World Gathers in Copenhagen: What to Expect and Why it is so Critical to Us"
November 11, 2009
Avogadro's Number
5:00pm-6:30pm

Panel of Colorado State University experts on Climate Change, and what to expect at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen that will take place in December 2009.

Participants include:
Dr. Jill Baron- Research Scientist, United States Geological Survey and Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Dr. Michele Betsill- Associate Professor, Political Science
Dr. Stephen Ogle- Research Scientist, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Dr. Keith Paustian- Professor, Soil and Crop Sciences

Free and Open to the Public.

Calendar Post for November 9

• Please read about two nontraditional argument techniques on PHG pages 521-525. (And if you haven't yet debated your partner, be prepared to finish "Staking a Claim" in class.)

• As discussed on Friday, also read read and bring to class a short series of counter arguments (at drop.io) by the United Kingdom's Royal Society, a scientific body with a history that spans four centuries. Then skim five "personal opinions" on climate change written by members of the Society and choose one to read closely and discuss in class.

• On Monday and Wednesday we'll continue watching Frontline's 2008 investigation of climate change, "Heat." At Frontline's website on PBS.org, you can also access interviews with sources featured in the program. "Heat" should be useful in providing information to supplement your Academic Argument, but if you do quote from one of its sources, please choose only one.

• By Monday evening, post a thoughtful response to the following questions on a forum about Frontline's "Heat" at the Writing Studio:

What facts, ideas, or points of controversy covered by the program might become important in your Academic Argument? Does this information support your claim or a counterargument?

If you were to quote one source who appears in the program, who would that be and why?

• Looking forward, full rough drafts of the Academic Argument will be due at a workshop in class on Wednesday. Then, on Friday, we'll be meeting again in Morgan Library's Classroom One for a workshop using Google Docs. Between now and then, please familiarize yourself with this online word processor by logging into Google Apps for CSU (or Gmail) and clicking on "Documents" at the top of your inbox. The final Academic Argument is due as a hard copy on Monday, November 16.

Video Posted

"Heat," a 2008 program produced by Frontline, an investigative unit of PBS, can be viewed online.  We'll be watching and discussing excerpts in light of the Academic Argument.  Frontline describes the program this way:

Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, fires, floods and droughts. On the eve of a historic election, award-winning producer and correspondent Martin Smith investigates how the world's largest corporations and governments are responding to Earth's looming environmental disaster.

"I have reported on the Cold War, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the rise of Al Qaeda, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," says Smith. "But nothing matches climate change in scope and severity."

Calendar Post for November 6

• If you haven't yet debated your partner, prepare to finish "Staking a Claim" in class.

• Now that (most of) you have a proposed an Academic Argument, received feedback on that proposal in a conference, and begun research on behalf of the claim you will put forward, try drafting a "thesis paragraph" and bring a printout to class on Friday.

This paragraph might eventually become an early part of your argument that appears after you have introduced its context. The thesis paragraph it should both state a claim and forecast key points your argument will go on to address. Examine two paragraphs by Edward Koch on the top of PHG page 535 to get a sense for what this part of the argument looks like.

• Also look for theses and claims in five samples of the Academic Argument now available at drop.io.

• Finally, read and bring to class a short series of counter arguments (at drop.io) by the United Kingdom's Royal Society, a scientific body with a history that spans four centuries. Then for Monday, skim five "personal opinions" written by members of the Society and choose one to read and discuss in class. More reputable sources on climate change debates that might inform your own argument can be found at RealClimate.org and Grist.org.

Academic Argument/Proposal Assignment + Samples Posted

"Academic Argument: Adding Your Voice to the Conversation" has been uploaded to drop.io, where you can also find "Proposal: From Inquiry to Argument" (offered in class) and a sample proposal (available as a download only).

As discussed, please note that the sample proposal runs too long as a text and does not conform to MLA guidelines or our assignment handout. Still, it does respond to many of the same questions that serve as prompts for your proposal, and it shows a student carefully researching and designing an argument in proposal form.

Remember that proposal conferences take place in Aylesworth 268 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday instead of class.

Update: five samples of the Academic Argument are now available (as three files at drop.io). Like the sample proposal, these arguments do have weaknesses and don't always adhere to MLA guidelines or our assignment handout, but they should serve as useful models.

• argument_sample_e.pdf

• argument_sample_l.pdf

• argument_sample_xyz.pdf