ENGL1301 – Week 2
Reading Rhetorically
Quick Tips for Your RaiderWriter
Assignments…

1. No Names – Keeping it Anonymous

2. Formal, not colloquial (no idioms, keep it academic.)

3. Quotations are support, which means they are evidence – not argument

We will address this more formally later.
Quick Reading Quiz!
 In
your own words, write out the
differences between Summary,
Paraphrase, and Direct Quotation.
Reading Rhetorically: The Goals
 1.
Learning conceptual knowledge.
 The
Norman Conquest occurred in 1066.
 Cardinality
 2.
of numbers.
Learning procedural knowledge.
A
language shift in Britain occurred because of the
Norman Conquest.
 How
to count.
Joining the Conversation

1.
Consider a community that you belong to where you feel that you can
quickly catch the drift of an in-progress conversation (e.g., other triathlon
athletes, or regulars on Farmville). What are some “hot topics” of
conversation in these communities? What might exclude someone from these
conversations? If you wanted to address a general audience about this issue,
how much background information would you need to supply?

2.
Now let’s reverse the situation. Have you ever listened to a conversation
in which you were a baffled outsider rather than insider? Describe an
experience where you had to work hard to get inside an ongoing conversation.
Then consider how that experience might be an appropriate analogy for a
time when you were frustrated by trying to read a book or article addressed
to an insider audience rather than to someone in your background.

(Source: First-Year Writing, p. 8)
Reading Rhetorically in the Academic
Setting…

What is the Author’s Purpose?

Think persuasion and discovery.

What is the Your Purpose as an active Reader/Writer?!

See FYW p. 11 – “Questions Rhetorical Readers Ask”.

Car Ad 1

Car Ad 2
“Toys” by Roland Barthes

Answer at least 3 questions from p. 11 of FYW.

Toys for Boys

Toys for Girls
Writing Prompt

How do you define good college writing? Make a list of the
characteristics you come up with. Then make a list of
what you think your instructors’ expectations are for good
college writing, and note how they may differ from
yours. (Research suggests that many students today define
good writing as “writing that makes something happen in
the world.” Would that match your definition or that of
your instructors?) What might account for the
differences—and the similarities—in the definitions and
lists? Do you need to alter your ideas about good college
writing to meet your instructors’ expectations? Why, or
why not?

(Bedford St. Martin’s Handbook, Ch. 1 – last section)
The BA2 – Summary & Paraphrase

Decide which essay you’re going to use. (Steele, Dewey,
or Emerson)

Read that essay CAREFULLY. Annotate as necessary.

Start drafting your BA now!

https://raiderwriter.engl.ttu.edu/
Additional Assignments for Next Week

First, remember to check RaiderWriter for assigned readings!

Additional assignment: TED Talk: Eli Pariser: “Beware online “filter
bubbles””

Written Response (300 words): What questions does Pariser address, explicitly or
implicitly? Who is his intended audience? What reasons and evidence does Pariser
give to support his argument? Summarize his talk and paraphrase at least two key
examples used by Pariser.