Day 29: Critical and Logical Thinking

Short List

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up
2. Example of Critical Thinking
3. What We Are Doing and the Chess Example
4. What the Author Did, What We Do, and Problems Along the Way
5. Practice Outthinking the Author

Homework:
Add these analyses to your own articles.  This is not something I am checking but will make the task easier when we are writing the essay.

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. [5 minutes] Attendance Check and Warm-up:
Define "critical thinking" and say one reason why it is so important.

2. [10 minutes] Example of Critical Thinking:
First, we are going to start by looking at a video in which critical thinking happens.  What do you notice about their critical thinking; what process are they following.  

3. [10 minutes] What We Are Doing and the Chess Example:
We are writing a rhetorical analysis in which we will examine closely and critique.  We are trying to outthink the writers.

Now, before continuing on, we will watch a short presentation on chess that will help us get a better understanding of the task that is before us.

4. [5 minutes] What the Author Did, What We Do, and Problems Along the Way
For just a few minutes, we will take a look at this short presentation about various arguments that authors might use, the critical thinking the author does, the critical thinking that we will do in analyzing, and problems that both the author and we might experience.

5. [20 minutes] Practice Outthinking the Author
Read this fun article asking these questions:

1. What arguments does the author use?
• Common sense? 
• Solid outside sources?
• Logic?
• Something else?
2. Are there logical fallacies? 
3. What kind of logical fallacies? 

Write your answers here:

Homework:
Add these analyses to your own articles.  This is not something I am checking but will make the task easier when we are writing the essay.

Attribution: This lesson is from Mien-Jen Wu's 2014 original. I have adapted it to fit my teaching style and classroom atmosphere.

Day 28: How to Do a Rhetorical Analysis

Short List

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up
2. Discovering 3 Rhetorical Appeals
3. Proof that we know it!
4. Explanation of the Homework 

Homework:

TONIGHT, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics, essay will be due. Please do not forget the late policy and save your grade--turn it in by midnight on Compass2G.

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. [10 minutes] Attendance Check and Warm-up:
Here are two slides from a PowerPoint on Analysis.  We know that we are going to write a rhetorical analysis essay, and we even know what rhetoric and the rhetorical situation are.  But how do we analyze the rhetoric well?

1. What is Analysis?

2. What does analysis take?

3. If you were a teacher assigning an analysis, what would you tell your students to do?

2. [15-20 minutes] Good and Bad Analyses
Look at these four analyses of the Mona Lisa.  Choose the best one and explain why it is the best here.  Please be as specific and as thorough as possible.

Artwork being analyzed:

Analysis 1:

Leonardo used a pyramid design to place the woman simply and calmly in the space of the painting. Her folded hands form the front corner of the pyramid. Her breast, neck and face glow in the same light that models her hands. The light gives the variety of living surfaces an underlying geometry of spheres and circles. Leonardo referred to a seemingly simple formula for seated female figure: the images of seated Madonna, which were widespread at the time. This formula was modified in order to create the visual impression of distance between the sitter and the observer. The armrest of the chair functions as a dividing element between Mona Lisa and the viewer.

Analysis 2:

The Mona Lisa deserves to be in a great museum because the painting is beautiful and you can easily say this painting is very successful.

Analysis 3:

I find this artwork valuable because the artist put his feelings and emotions in to this portrait. He shows in this painting how dull, worried, or bothered he seems.

Analysis 4:

Painting the Mona Lisa, Leonardo elevated himself into another station of artist, those that create new forms and perspectives. The relatively small painting of Mona Lisa manages to craft one of the most intense and effective art experience into a compact 30" by 20 ½" frame. As for what kind of paint Mona Lisa was originally envisioned with, oils were used on poplar wood panel and have been restored numerous times. In recent years, curators at the Louvre have begun to worry that the painting appears to be breaking down more rapidly than in the past.

Leonardo places his model in the midst of the painting, using a pyramid design to center her. The fold of her hands forms the front of the pyramid and he uses the same glowing light for her breast, neck and face. His lighting is important as he uses it to create many of the geometric shapes - circles and spheres - that compose the painting. The form of the painting itself is very simple, a modification of the Seated Madonna, a form very popular during the 15th and 16th centuries for portraits.

When everyone has submitted what they said, we will discuss and look for trends.  What are things that make an analysis well done.

3. [20 minutes] Preparing to Write our Own
For the next step, we will need to break into small groups based on the set of articles that we read for today.  Then, once we are in small groups, we will need to:

1. Open our homework document for today
2. Compare with our group members:
• What did we disagree on? 
• Why?
• What did we agree on?
• Why?
• Is there anything we can add or change based on what our partners observed? 
3. Look at our documents compared to this document that adds some elements of what we learned on Monday and today.  
4. Decide on some points that you might consider as strong points in these arguments and some points that you might consider as weak points in these arguments.  

Homework:
To be explained in person in class.

Attribution: This lesson is from Jin Kim's 2013 original. I have adapted it to fit my teaching style and classroom atmosphere.

Day 27: Discovering Rhetorical Appeals

Short List

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up
2. Discovering 3 Rhetorical Appeals
3. Proof that we know it!
4. Explanation of the Homework 

Homework:TONIGHT, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics, essay will be due. Please do not forget the late policy and save your grade--turn it in by midnight on Compass2G.

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. [10 minutes] Attendance Check and Warm-up:
Today, we're going to start class off with a little acting.  I know it's early on a Monday morning, but I need 4 people who can be loud and expressive in their acting.  Who knows?  This might be your Hollywood debut!

Follow-up Question:
Which "child" was more effective in getting what he or she wanted?
Why?

2. [20 minutes] Discovering 3 Rhetorical Appeals
Who do think in the world is an expert at getting what they want--convincing people to do something?

Let's look at what these "experts" do with these three examples:

Example 1	Example 2	Example 3

What do you think are the strengths of each kind of appeal?  When do you think each would be the most appropriate? Please share the strengths and 1 example of a good time to use these here:

Example 1	Example 2	Example 3

Then, we'll take a minute and read what everyone has posted and see more examples.

3. [15 minutes] Proof that we know it!
Sometimes, though, it's easy to understand something but hard to put it into practice.  Look at this document either independently or with a partner and try to decide which rhetorical appeal each is using most.  In addition to using the Lino It boards we just added to, you can use this resource to help you.

Before moving on, we'll stop and review what our answers are and what the right answers should be.

4. [5 minutes] Explanation of the Homework
You will need this document.

And, you have a choice about the reading:

Option 1	Option 2
Single-Sex Schooling is Good for Girls	Reality TV is Bad
Pro- Article Where the girl's aren't	Pro- Article Reality TV: Rewarding bad behavior
Anti- Article Don't segregate boys and girls in classrooms	Anti- Article Why reality TV is good for us

Homework:
Please read the two articles of one of the options by Wednesday and fill out the Rhetorical Analysis Chart that I have provided.

Attribution: This lesson is from Jin Kim's 2013 original, with parts from Cassandra Rosado's from 2010.  I have adapted it to fit my teaching style and classroom atmosphere.

Day 26: Understanding Rhetorical Situations

Short List

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up
2. Rhetorical Situations and the Rhetorical Triangle
3. Presentations of What You've Learned
4. You're a Rhetorical Analyzer Now!
5. Last minute explanation of Essay Basics 

Homework:
TONIGHT, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics, essay will be due. Please do not forget the late policy and save your grade--turn it in by midnight on Compass2G.

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. [10 minutes] Attendance Check and Warm-up: 
In pairs (that I will describe in class) look at these work at these online stations together:

Pair 1	Pair 2	Pair 3	Pair 4	Pair 5	Pair 6

1. List three different examples of your own writing,
2. List all of the reasons why they are similar and all of the reasons why they are different,
3. and
4. Compare with your partner: did they not think of some reasons, were you inspired of some that you had not thought of until looking at theirs? Tell them.

2. [15 minutes] Rhetorical Situations and the Rhetorical Triangle
We understand the idea of different writing serving different purposes and, therefore, working in different ways.  It is obvious that a text to our boyfriend, girlfriend, or, for me, my wife, is very different in format, style, content, and vocabulary than an academic research paper in chemistry.  But what about the details?


Look at this triangle.  This triangle attempts to explain how text and the writers/speakers influence and affect one another.  You are writing to affect other people.  If it doesn't affect them, it is probably boring them (which is affecting them negatively).

Retrieved from: http://blogs.longwood.edu/jeb27/2013/02/04/communication-reasons-to-write-telling-our-own-stories/  

Pair 1	Pair 2	Pair 3	Pair 4	Pair 5	Pair 6
Context	Purpose	Audience	Topic	Writer

1. Study this PPT from the Purdue OWL,
2. Try to define and be able to present/teach this to the rest of the class,
3. and
4. Understand (and be able to explain) how it relates to the rest of the triangle.
5. Please take notes on what you guys discover and plan on your pair's Lino It board linked above.

3. [10 minutes] Presentations of What You've Learned.  
Now, it's time for you to be the teachers.  Divvy up who will talk about which part, and then stand up and show us! :)

4. [10 minutes] You're a Rhetorical Analyzer Now! 
Now, you are about ready to actually begin doing rhetorical analysis.

You will need this document.

And, you have a choice:

Option 1	Option 2
Single-Sex Schooling is Good for Girls	Reality TV is Bad
Pro- Article Where the girl's aren't	Pro- Article Reality TV: Rewarding bad behavior
Anti- Article Don't segregate boys and girls in classrooms	Anti- Article Why reality TV is good for us

5. [Remaining Time] Last minute explanation of Essay Basics

Homework:
TONIGHT, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics, essay will be due. Please do not forget the late policy and save your grade--turn it in by midnight on Compass2G.

Please read the two articles of one of the options by Wednesday and fill out the Rhetorical Analysis Chart that I have provided.

Attribution: Sections 3 and 4 have been based and adapted on Jin Kim's 2013 lesson, making use of her ideas and materials, but also adapting it to fit my own class schedule and teaching style.

Day 25: Introduction to Rhetorical Situations

Short List

1. Attendance Check
2. Community Circle
3. Overview of Unit 3
4. Rhetoric--What is it?
5. Final Thoughts

Homework:

This Friday, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics, essay will be due. Please look at this prompt and grading rubric. 

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. Attendance Check

2. [10-15 minutes] Community Circle
This time of the semester, especially for brand-new freshmen, I like to stop and see how everyone is doing.

3. [10-15 minutes] Overview of Unit 3
We have made it.  Unit 1... check.  Unit 2... check.  Now, onto Unit 3.

So, it's time to stop, slow down, and figure out where we have been and where we are going.

1. Where we have been. 
2. Where we are going: 

Look at this Unit 3 Assignment Prompt and Rubric.

4. [15-20 minutes] Rhetoric--what is it? 
Does anyone know what rhetoric is? **Hint: This is what we haven't really talked about much in this class so far but is what we will talk about soon!**

Check this out and this one and this one too! 

If we know __________________ from studying in ESL 111 so far, and we know that we will study ________________ /rhetoric and do rhetorical analysis in the rest of the class, what do you think constitutes rhetoric?  What things would you look for in writing if you were to analyze it and its rhetorical elements?  

Maybe looking at this sample will help.  As you look at this set of real language use, what do you notice:

• What kinds of differences do you notice in terms of language (and formatting)?
• Why do you think there are such differences?  

5. Final Thoughts
Today, is just an introduction to the Rhetorical Analysis Unit, and with that in mind, we just want to start training our minds to think in a new way.  As you go, think about what types of writing you have done.  What writing have you commonly or frequently done over the course of your life or your career learning English and what have you rarely or never done?

 This Friday, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics, essay will be due. Please look at this prompt and grading rubric.

Attribution: Sections 3 and 4 have been based and adapted on Jin Kim's 2013 lesson, making use of her ideas and materials, but also adapting it to fit my own class schedule and teaching style.  

Day 24: Peer Review

Where are you at in the essay-writing process? 
Short List

1. Attendance Check
2. The Assignment
3. Self-Review/Independent Work
4. Peer Review

Homework:
This Friday, the entire Unit 2, Essay Basics essay will be due.  Please look at this prompt and grading rubric.

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. Attendance Check

2. [10 minutes] The Assignment
We have talked a lot about this essay, but we have not talked about the details of what you should be doing enough for my own satisfaction.

You will respond to this prompt:
Should schools monitor student activities on the Internet at all times, even outside of school? What are the potential beneficial or negative effects that would be caused by monitoring student activities?

• At least 5 paragraphs
• 1 Microsoft Word Document
• Margins = 1 inch (2.5cm) on all sides
• 1 References Page
• 1 Title Page
• All sources used must appear correctly cited on the References Page
• Font = Times New Roman, size 12
• Double spaced

Don't forget to use the resources we made on Friday! :) 

3. [25-30 minutes] Self-Review
You are going to (1) analyze your work--you know what is good and you know what could be better if you are honest about it, (2) compare and contrast what you have written with what is expected of you and your work, and (3) document your observations all before helping your partner do the same.

Before we start the real "steps" of this activity, think very, very carefully about who you want to partner with. I will not assign partners, because I want you to choose for yourself who would be the best partner for you. This is something that you should not feel offended by or be afraid of offending someone else based on who you choose or do not choose; instead, this is all about choosing to make a partnership that will result in the best work done by both people in the partnership. You grade literally depends on it!

Step 1:
Get out (1) your drafts of your paragraph portfolio if you have them and (2) your current draft for the essay.  If you do not, try and remember what comments I made.  What things did you not do as well on according to my comments and your grade on the rubric?  Have you improved those things in this writing assignment?

Step 2:
Look at all three of your drafts and compare them with these resources while taking notes (see Step 3 directions):

Resource 1	Resource 2	Resource 3	Resource 4
This is the unit prompt and grading rubric. One of the wisest things to do when preparing for a large, important assignment is to compare what you have done against the "standard" that the instructor is grading your work against.	This resource is simpler and more straight-forward, but not as complete as Resource 3	On the homepage, once you log in, you should see some useful "Assigned Links" in yellow on the middle of the page. Some of these are the same as for paper 1, but that is because they are still just as useful.	While this resource from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is long and wordy, it provides a great set of questions to use when proofreading your own work. If you do not really know where to start in looking at your writing, this is a great resource to help you make the most of this time.

Ask yourself about these key points:

• If I have body paragraphs, can I identify PIE in each body paragraph?
• Is my thesis clear, concise, but specific enough, giving a preview of the main points?
• Do the body paragraphs support the thesis? 
• Is the Point clear?
• Are there Illustrations that support the Point?
• Are the Illustrations clearly connected to the Point by Explanations?
• Did I do an adequate job avoiding plagiarism?
• Are all of my quotations appropriately marked with quotation marks, in-text citation, and signal phrases?
• Are all of my paraphrases and summaries appropriately marked with in-text citation and signal phrases?

Step 3:
I would recommend doing steps 2 and 3 simultaneously, writing your observations as you make them.

Write down your observations clearly and with enough explanation for your partner to understand. If possible, write them down as "Action Steps," or things that you can "assign" for yourself to do between now and Friday to fix and better your essay.

Partnership 1	Partnership 2	Partnership 3	Partnership 4	Partnership 5	Partnership 6
Your self-assessment	Your self-assessment	Your self-assessment	Your self-assessment	Your self-assessment	Your self-assessment

Now, you will (1) read your partner's observations, (2) read your partner's papers, and (3) give them your feedback and comments.

Steps 1 and 2 are understandable enough from the sentence before, so I will only explain Step 3:

• Tell them some of their strengths and some of the things you like about their essay draft.
• Comment on some of their observations, agreeing with what they said, disagreeing with what they said, etc.
• Offer some ways they could make their essay and the parts of the essay even better that they had not already thought of.
• Offer some practical ways they could implement some changes based on both their own and your observations.
• Answer any questions your partner might have.

5. [no time--only an option for partners who may finish early] Make the Changes
If you and your partners are especially fast, use the remaining time to implement the changes that you and your partner have agreed upon for your paper.

Homework:
This Friday, revisions of all three paragraphs will be due. Take a look at this prompt and grading rubric.

Attribution: This lesson is entirely my own creation, but some of the material has been borrowed from other lessons by other instructors. Their attribution is on each piece of borrowed material.

For further resources:
Our class is very short.  All there is to know about writing is very large.  And on top of that, actually being a good writer takes even longer than learning all there is to know.  I try to pick the most important and useful things within the context of the ESL 111 curriculum so that we make the most of our time.  However, I understand that you might want to learn more than I can teach in the class time, especially if you find challenges as you work on your assignments.  

Please come to my office hours.  I will be in FLB 3050 (my office) today from 10-11 and on Thursdays  from 2-3.  I am actually in there much more often than just those times.  Please set up times to come in, and you will find that I will work with you one-on-one, answering questions, reading your paper, and giving you feedback and suggestions.  

For those of you wanting to learn about integrating opposing arguments and ideas, here is a lesson I taught last spring in ESL 112 that walks through some ways and reasons why bringing in opposing ideas to support your point.  I will also gladly walk through this with you.  (Please be aware that my site was much less complete in the past than it is now!)

Day 23: Cohesive Devices

Short List

1. Attendance Check and Warm-up
2. Review from Friday
3. Introduction to Thesis Statements
4. Testing Out What You Think Know About Thesis Statements
5. Review of the "Rules" of Thesis Statements
6. Returning Paragraph Portfolios and Midterm Grade Reports

Homework:

By TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, write a 300-word self-reflective paragraph/essay responding to one of these prompts. Please do not rush through it, but take your time to write something thoughtful to help yourself grow in your writing and learning:

• How you have seen areas needing improvement that you did not previously know you had. 
• How you have seen specifically seen yourself grow as a writer in ESL 111. 
• The most useful assignment/project/lesson/activity to you personally and why it was so useful. 
• A review of the goals you set at the beginning of the semester and your progress on meeting them--both your successes and failures. 
• The most important thing to know about ESL 111 and academic writing and why it is the most important. 
• Advice you would give a new student about to come to the U.S. for the first time from your country who is going to take my section of ESL 111. 

Please leave these in your Google Drive folder and name them anything you like so long as the word "Reflection" is somewhere in the title.

Looking ahead: Your essay is due, next Friday, 24 October. I would start thinking ahead on this so that your weekend and next week won't be as full. Here's a guide (the required dates are in red):

Today, 17 October -- Rough draft of introduction and conclusion, outline of body paragraphs
Monday, 20 October -- Rough draft of the entire essay
Monday, 20 October -- Rough draft of introduction and conclusion, outline of body paragraphs

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The Details
Schedule of events:

1. Attendance Check 

2. [5 minutes] 3 Puzzles
Let's look at these three pictures together.

What are we looking at here?

And how about this one? 

Sometimes, you have really great ideas, but your ideas are like the first picture--we can't tell what your ideas are because they aren't in the right places and aren't cohesive.

3. [15 minutes] Identifying Cohesive Devices
What cohesive devices do you already know? (I won't give you any hints if you are right or wrong--I can't give away the answers yet!)

In this class, we are going to learn just six cohesive devices.  Be careful not to overuse any nor to neglect any.  They will dramatically improve your writing if they are used tastefully.

Look at this document and try to figure out what the six are.
*Lately, we've been finishing things at different times, and that is completely fine.  Different people work at different speeds.  But we are also a team of learners in here.  When you are done, please get up and help another person who has not yet finished, but help them--don't do it for them!

When everyone's done, we'll briefly review what we've learned.  :)

4. [15 minutes] Applying these Cohesive Devices
None of this matters if you cannot apply these cohesive devices to your writing.  Again, either independently or with classmates, try working on this sample paragraph.

First, you will need to identify 4 different cohesive devices, and then you will need to revise and add cohesive devices to this paragraph or your own.

5. [10 minutes] Review
What about Conclusions?  How do we write a successful conclusion?  What goes into a good conclusion paragraph.

Jot down your answers here.  The more you can say and the more detailed, the better.

Homework:

By TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, write a 300-word self-reflective paragraph/essay responding to one of these prompts. Please do not rush through it, but take your time to write something thoughtful to help yourself grow in your writing and learning:

• How you have seen areas needing improvement that you did not previously know you had. 
• How you have seen specifically seen yourself grow as a writer in ESL 111. 
• The most useful assignment/project/lesson/activity to you personally and why it was so useful. 
• A review of the goals you set at the beginning of the semester and your progress on meeting them--both your successes and failures. 
• The most important thing to know about ESL 111 and academic writing and why it is the most important. 
• Advice you would give a new student about to come to the U.S. for the first time from your country who is going to take my section of ESL 111. 

Please leave these in your Google Drive folder and name them anything you like so long as the word "Reflection" is somewhere in the title.

Looking ahead: Your essay is due, next Friday, 24 October. I would start thinking ahead on this so that your weekend and next week won't be as full. Here's a guide (the required dates are in red): 

Today, 17 October -- Rough draft of introduction and conclusion, outline of body paragraphs
Monday, 20 October -- Rough draft of the entire essay 
Monday, 20 October -- Rough draft of introduction and conclusion, outline of body paragraphs