Week 5/Day 12 – Monday, September 22, 2014
Due today
Homework due Monday, September 22:
 Critically read the UC Student Investment Proposal (pp. 117-122 in EHE). After reading it:
o Make a list of the stakeholders you believe have a stake/interest in the issue, based on our
definition of the term during class, and explain what their stake is – that is, what they have
to gain or lose in the context of the issue.
o Come to class ready to discuss the stakeholders and their stake in the issue.
 Critically read pp. 328-329 in JTC about writing to solve problems and pp. 336-341 about proposals.
 Critically read the introductions to each chapter in EHE:
o Chapter 1 intro (pp. 7-9); chapter 2 intro (pp. 107-110); chapter 3 intro (pp. 193-194);
chapter 4 intro (pp. 271-273.) Based on your reading, start making a list of ideas, issues, or
controversies that interest you that are discussed in the introductions and think about why
they interest you. You’ll be adding to and expanding on this list in upcoming days and it will
eventually become Forum #3 (more info on this in class.)
Lesson Objectives



Make connections between stakeholders and potential audiences;
Learn about synthesis as a way of offering something new to a conversation on an issue;
Consider the important link between purpose and audience when writing.
Prep
Re-read the UC Student Investment Proposal from the EHE reader and be sure you have drafted your
own list of potential stakeholders for the issue. Review chapter 9 in JTC (for homework your students
read some specific pages, as listed on the homework, though you may want to peruse the entire chapter
just so you’re familiar with it. You can also refer to the JTC instructor’s manual to further “prep” yourself
for the upcoming unit.) Though you’re not formally introducing P2 until later in the week, it could also
be helpful to review it just so you better understand what today’s lesson is leading up to. For homework
students were also asked to read the introductions to each chapter in EHE and begin brainstorming
issues or debates that interest them, so you, also, will want to read/review the intros to each chapter to
get a sense of the many issues that might pique students’ interest within our course theme.
Materials
o
o
WTL questions overhead/slide
Materials for the “practicing problem-solving” activity (varies, depending on your use of
technology. See below for more info.)
Lead-In
Today’s class focuses heavily on introducing some rhetorical vocabulary that will be essential
throughout the rest of the semester (including “synthesis” and “exigency”), as well as establishing the
important link between purpose and audience in writing rhetorically. In a problem-solving proposal, as
students will be doing for P2, it’s important for them to understand the way the audience will shape the
proposed solution (since the solution they propose must be logical and able to be implemented by the
audience they’ve chosen as a stakeholder.) The purpose of today’s lesson is to help students understand
that an audience cannot be chosen without also thinking of the purpose of the writing, since one will
heavily influence the other.
ACTIVITIES
Attendance (1 minute)
Transition: On Friday in class we turned in P1 and began talking and thinking about stakeholders
and for homework you read “UC Student Investment Proposal” from the reader and thought about
the stakeholders who have an interest in the issue. We’re going to start today by doing a bit of
writing about the things you read for today.
WTL: Identifying Stakeholders and Emerging Issues (10-15 minutes)

Based on your reading of the UC Student Investment Proposal, explain two stakeholders in the issue
and what their stake in the issue is (i.e., what they have to gain or lose.) Be sure to be clear and
write in complete sentences. Also be thorough and specific (since part of your purpose here is to
demonstrate your close and critical reading of the text).
After students are done writing, lead a brief discussion of the students’ responses. What stakeholders
did they identify? What is their stake in the issue?
(As you discuss the stakeholders, be sure to eventually lead students to this question): Of the many
groups who have a stake in the issue, which one is the audience for the proposal? How do you know?
Transition: Explain that when you’re going to write about an issue, as we’re doing for P2,
identifying stakeholders is a first step in choosing an audience. After all, if the person/group to
whom you’re writing doesn’t care and has no stake in the issue, they’re unlikely to read what you’ve
written.
Understanding the Link between Purpose and Audience, Defining Important Terms (15 minutes)
o
Draw the rhetorical situation model on the board and have students help you label it. Explain that
as we embark on the second unit, we’re going to develop some important skills and better
understand writing as a rhetorical practice.
o Point out TEXT/GENRE: This is something we’ll focus on in P2 since we’ll be writing in the
genre of a proposal for Project 2. (You may want to point out that students read two
different proposals for homework last night to help them connect the homework reading to
the day’s lesson.)
o Point out AUDIENCE: an important focus for our second unit since we’ll be choosing a
stakeholder to be the audience for our project and we’ll have to consider their needs, values,
and knowledge as we write for this audience;
o Point out PURPOSE: also something we’ll emphasize over the course of this unit. We’ll have
a few purposes with this assignment: identify a problem and explain why its exigency, as
well as synthesizing multiple sources to offer something new to the conversation.
 Define exigency. First you may see if any students are familiar with the term; if not,
offer the following definition: “something that is necessary in any particular

situation” (Merriam-Webster.com); “the state or quality of requiring much effort or
immediate action; a pressing or urgent situation” (thefreedictionary.com).
Define synthesis. Here, too, you may want to see if students are familiar with the
term, and then elaborate on any answer they offer: “something that is made by
combining different things (such as ideas, styles, etc.) (Merriam-Webster.com). In
our class, specifically, synthesis refers to bringing multiple sources together and,
through combining them along with your own unique insights, offering something
new to the conversation on an issue.
 PUT CONVERSATION MODEL on the board. Have students help you label
the parts. Focus on step 2, “expanding the conversation.”
o In addition to solving a problem, which is an important purpose of
P2, another important purpose is synthesis: that is, bringing
together multiple sources through our reading, filtering them
through our own ideas, thoughts, values, and creativity, and offering
something new to the conversation.
 Synthesis is vital for helping us contribute in a new way and
not just repeating what someone else has already said.
 (You could draw or project the image below to help some of your students
better understand what you mean by “synthesis” – that is, bringing together
sources and the unique, creative ideas of the individual writer to offer
something new to the conversation.)
Source
Source
Offering
something
new
Source
Your ideas,
creativity,
and values
o
Also explain that a major focus of today’s lesson is on purpose and its relationship to audience.
o Ask: Why did the students who wrote the UC Student Investment Proposal – out of all the
stakeholders in the issue – choose the audience they did to direct their proposal towards?
 Because that stakeholder has the power to make the change they advocate.
 Because our purpose with P2 is identifying and explaining a problem and offering a
solution, we have to make sure that we choose an audience who is logical for the
purpose. After all, proposing a solution to an audience who has no power to
implement that solution isn’t logical and could frustrate an audience and keep you
from achieving your purpose.
Practice Choosing and Audience for a Specific Purpose (15-20 minutes)
Transition: In order to better understand how important it is to consider purpose and audience
simultaneously, we’re going to spend some time practicing this skill.
Tip: Before showing the video and “diving in” to the activity, preview the entire activity by
explaining what will happen and what they’ll do after watching the video.
Explain to your students that you’re first going to watch a brief video to learn about a serious problem in
our world, then:
 Your purpose with this activity is to come up with a creative solution to the problem.
 Work with your group members to choose an audience to “pitch” your solution to. Be sure your
audience is logical for your purpose. Does this audience have the power and resources to
implement this solution?
 Explain why this issue is exigent for the audience. In other words, why is this issue urgent or timely
for this particular stakeholder? Why should they care? What’s their stake in the issue?
 At the end of class your group will turn in:
o An explanation of your solution to the problem;
o Which audience you chose to direct your ideas towards and why they’re a logical audience,
given your purpose;
o An explanation of why this issue is exigent for the audience.
Tip: The video you use for this activity can vary widely. One that is fun and funny (but still gets the
point of the activity across) is from The Onion, “Bratz Dolls May Give Young Girls Unrealistic
Expectations of Head Size” (a quick Google search will find the video for you). Other videos from
The Onion could work, also, as could a number of their print articles (if you don’t feel comfortable
showing videos or can’t show videos due to technology limitations in your classroom.)
Alternatively, you could show a video (or have students read a short article) about a more serious
problem in higher education or American culture or politics. Whatever video or article you choose,
keep in mind: it should be relatively short (a video should be under 5 minutes, an article only a
page or two) and it should discuss a problem that students can brainstorm a solution to in their
groups.
Watch the video (or read the article) and give students some time to think creatively to solve the
problem. As students work, move around the room listening in to their solutions and the audience
they’ve chosen. Be sure to help them understand that the stakeholder audience must be logical for the
purpose and have the power to implement the solution.
 For example, if using the clip about the Bratz dolls, a group may want to solve the problem by
shrinking the heads of the Bratz dolls to be in better proportion to their bodies and want to
“pitch” that solution to an audience of parents. Help them understand that parents don’t have
the power to implement that change (meaning the purpose doesn’t match the audience) and
lead them to understanding that the manufacturers of the Bratz dolls would be a better audience
for that solution.
Save some time at the end to hear a few ideas (depending on what problem you want to solve, this can
be hilarious!) but make sure that you do a “big picture” connection before showing the homework for
next time. Make the point that we’re practicing serious skills. Purpose and audience are at the top of
our hierarchy of rhetorical concerns: if the purpose and audience don’t fit together logically, everything
else suffers. It’s vital to think of them together and make sure the audience is logical for the purpose.
Assign homework (2 minutes)
Homework due Wednesday, September 24:
 Critically read “Higher Education: Not What it Used to Be” on pp. 111-116 in EHE. After reading it:
o Examine how the author uses audience appeals (logos, ethos, pathos). Find at least two
different appeals used in the text and be ready to talk about how those appeals are used.
(You may want to review pp. 414-417 in JTC if you need a refresher on audience appeals.)
 Review the list you made previously of ideas, issues, or controversies discussed in the intros to each
chapter in EHE. Choose one issue that seems to intrigue you most and read two articles in EHE
about that issue (use the Table of Contents to help you locate the articles – they’re organized by
chapter and sub-topic.) As you read those articles, consider what problems are arising within that
issue and who the stakeholders are. Again, hold onto these ideas – they’ll become Forum #3 and
help you prepare to write P2.
Conclude Class
Next time, we’ll build more skills to help us prepare for P2 and spend some more time thinking about
analyzing and appealing to specific audiences in our writing.
Connection to Next Class
Today you’ve emphasized the relationship between purpose and audience and you’ve introduced some
fundamental vocabulary that your students will be using with increasing frequency throughout the
semester. Next time you’ll expand on the rhetorical concept of audience and help students understand
the various ways they as writers can appeal to an audience (through logos, ethos, and pathos.)