“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

I’ll show you the wonders of the research log and then small groups will nominate someone to be ready to come up and…

1) Show a good persuasive prompt

2) Explain thoughts on how to do each of the 5 steps of persuasion: Hook, establish problem, explain solution, answer critics, and call to action.

3) Show 3 sources and talk about aspects of reliability, bias, and authority with them.

Then, you’ll get to work.  We should have completed research logs by next Wednesday.

Here is an alternative source: CQ Researcher

Take a look at this example to give you an idea of a strong persuasive essay.

After we turn in our college essays, I wanted to take one last look at some examples from The Daily Beast. I’ll probably split them to different groups.

Then, we’re going to analyze some Malcolm X. Each small group will be  responsible for creating a short presentation that analyzes, compares, and contrasts one aspect of Malcolm’s rhetorical strategies in both “The Ballot or the Bullet” and “Learning to Read.” Here are the topics:

1. Sound-based rhetorical figures (alliteration, anaphora, etc.)
2. Persona
3. Kairos
4. Implied and explicit assumptions
5. Logical Argumentation
6. Framing, metaphors, and allusions

Then, we’ll start a new phase.  I’ll show you what a pecha kucha is and ask you to take a look at OpposingViews.com and look around for some good topics for pair debates.

HW: Choose topics. Use the Opposing Viewpoints database

To start, let’s look at the winner of the 2007-2008 Kaplan contest

1) Look at the 1st paragraph. How does the author try to hook us? What works and what doesn’t?

.2) Look at the 2nd paragraph. Quote 3 segments where the author uses sensory detail to explain what is happening. What works/doesn’t?

3) What does the Mozart practice segment show us about the author? Why is it there?

4) Analyze the ending. How does the writer bring it all together? What does she tell us here?

5) Why do you think this won 5k? Did it deserve it? Explain.

Then, we’ll take some time to work on our own personal essays.

Finally, I want to take a look at Poetry Out Loud and choose our own poems.  Here’s the site and here are the qualifications. Choose a poem that is at least 14 lines long with extra credit for any choice over 25 lines. There is even a keyword search.  We’ll bust out the note cards in class to start the memorizing process.

HW: Finish the Personal Essay. Print it!

So, we’re going to talk a bit about persuasive and biased websites today.

Persuasive essays are organized like this:

1. Hook the reader
2. Set-up the problem
3. Explain your solution
4. Defend it against critics
5. End with a call to action

I’ll talk about the best way to evaluate websites. What about Wikipedia?  Is it trustworthy?

Then, we’ll talk about research.  Here is a research log that can help you get started. Also, see this post about good alternatives to Googling. Also see this.

See this persuasive map that might help you get your ideas in order.

The rest of the class is dedicated to giving you time to find out the information (start with Opposing Viewpoints) that you need.

HW: Choose a topic and have at least 3 sources with an analysis of their trustworthiness and reliability for Friday