English 102-47: Intermediate College Writing
Jason Dietz
Formal Assignment 3:
Can you use what you know to enter your Discourse?
Overview:
You have now explored what your target secondary Discourse has to say on an issue, and have examined how people in
the Discourse say (and don’t say) about that issue. Additionally, you have discovered the differences between how various
members of your target secondary Discourse participate in the conversation about the issue you’ve selected. You have
also explored how you personally make meaning and knowledge. Finally, you have learned and are learning how to enter
a scholarly conversation through our discussions of They Say/I Say. In order to complete this assignment, you should
combine all of this information to enter the conversation about the issue you selected.
Purpose:
This assignment is designed to help you:
 Demonstrate your ability to combine primary and secondary research with your own ways of knowing to enter the
conversation by taking a position on an issue (synthesis).
 Demonstrate your ability to distinguish between personal preference and Discourse requirements.
 Demonstrate your ability to write from your critical reading, listening, and thinking (analysis).
 Demonstrate your ability to use rhetorical strategies important to your target secondary Discourse.
 Articulate your understanding of your lifeworld and target secondary Discourses.
What to Do:
Critical Thinking/Reading/Writing/Listening (Analysis)
1. Think now about what you would like to say about the issue you’ve been researching. How can you say it in a
way that will be recognized in your secondary Discourse (i.e. what elements of meaning- and knowledge-making
should you use and which should you avoid?) Also, what elements of your lifeworld Discourse would be
acceptable for you to use as you enter the conversation? You will report this information in part 1 below, and use
this information to generate part 2 below.
2. Think also about how you should use the secondary sources you have located. What information should you
quote? What should you paraphrase? What should you summarize? You will use this information to generate
composition 2 below.
Composition
1. Generate a 1-2 page (up to 500 words) explanation of the choices you made in writing this paper.
2. Using this information, generate an 6-9 page (1500-2250 words) paper in which you enter the conversation about
the issue you have been researching, composing in a way that would be recognized within your secondary
Discourse. Your paper should take a position on the issue you’ve researched and use the sources you’ve gathered
to support your position. Your paper should also make the opposing position(s) clear, and seriously engage with
those ideas.
Evaluation Criteria:
Your essay should fulfill the purpose of the assignment (listed above). It’s content and its organization should be
appropriate for your target secondary Discourse. It should demonstrate your understanding of the conversation
surrounding the issue you have selected. The style and conventions should be appropriate to your secondary Discourse,
based on the research you have performed.
Once again, the more completely you engage with this assignment, the more you will learn about how members of your
target secondary Discourse make meaning and knowledge and about the issue you selected which is important to your
target secondary Discourse. Again, please remember: I will evaluate what you write and offer you suggestions, but I will
not grade your writing. On this assignment, I will also do my best to secure feedback from a member of your target
secondary Discourse as well, which will help you in your revision.
Due Dates: There are multiple due dates associated with this assignment. See the daily schedule (on Blackboard) for
all due dates associated with this assignment.