English 1101
In-Class assignment, 8/29
Our goal on Thursday is to agree on a topic for the class symposium.
Just like the speakers of Plato’s Symposium agree to take turns
providing definitions of Love, you will agree on a specific topic upon
which to deliver your own arguments and opinions. How will you
come to an agreement (and also get some practice speaking in front
of a group)? By following these steps:
1. Come to class on Thursday having prepared, in writing, a brief,
informal proposal (1-3 paragraphs in length). In this proposal, you will (a) state the topic you believe the
class should choose for its symposium theme and (b) explain why you believe this topic should be
chosen.
How can you best provide this explanation? By keeping in mind the rhetorical situation. From
the WOVENText (15):
“As a writer or speaker, you must think about the topic or message you want to get
across, your relationship to the audience you are writing for, and the context you are
writing in. Context includes your values and beliefs and those of your audience; your
background knowledge and that of the audience; your time and space
limitations; your purpose; the medium and genre you are working in; your style and
level of language; and a variety of other factors. Taken together, these factors
constitute the rhetorical situation.”
Remember that your primary audience for the speech you will ultimately give at the symposium
will be made up of your peers. So you ought to choose a topic that you think will fit into the
context that you and your peers share. Pick a topic that is completely obscure, and it’s not likely
to be chosen. Pick something that is more familiar—but still provocative or tantalizing in some
way—and you’re much more likely to make a good case for your idea. In other words, you’ll
want to explain why you believe your topic is provocative or tantalizing.
Consider also the purpose you desire your symposium speech to serve. The speakers of Plato’s
Symposium are primarily trying to define Love. That’s the primary purpose: definition. For our
class symposium, you want to choose a topic that also lends itself easily to definition—to varied
definitions, actually. Big, abstract topics (define: Health) are probably more appropriate for this
assignment that super-concrete or specific ones (define: Health Care Reform).
2. Get in groups of 4-5 and take turns presenting your proposals. Each group must agree on one topic to
present to the rest of the class. Once you’ve come to a consensus as a group, one or more group
members will stand up and present a revised proposal to the rest of the class. Then … we vote.
3. When presenting your proposal, to your group or to the class, remember what is at stake. Essentially
you are being given the opportunity to help determine the rhetorical situation of the class symposium,
so do your absolute best to sell your idea.
How can you do this? By speaking loudly and confidently; by making eye contact with your
audience; by being honest and straightforward about why you believe your topic is significant
and worth exploring; by proving to your audience that your topic is relevant to them and that
information about it is easily accessible. Help them to feel confident that they can produce an
interesting speech on this topic.
You may use the board. You may use the projector to pull up a website or show a quick video, if
that’s part of you persuasive strategy. You may engage with your audience by asking direct
questions or taking a poll. And you may use notes.