FIRST ASSIGNMENT: Choose a novella and write a thesis statement.
Choosing which material to include in a syllabus is one of the hardest things about being a teacher, and you will find strong opinions about almost every novel and short story -- whether it should be included or not. This semester, you will be writing a persuasive essay about a novella from the American Literature canon. From the point of view of a student, you will either take the position that the novella should definitely be taught in high school classrooms, or that it should be skipped. Here is a list of novellas that students frequently read in high school, from which you can choose:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Daisy Miller by Henry James (in your textbook)
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
SECOND ASSIGNMENT: Write an outline.
Take a look at plot synopses and descriptions of these four novellas, and decide which one you would like to read. Yes, you will be reading the novella you write about. Yes, on top of all your other reading. This is madness! No, this is America. Please take a look at all these and submit your novella of choice.
For next week, please develop three persuasive ideas related to your thesis. You will use three different methods of persuading your audience, to practice making an argument. To get an introduction to these three rhetorical strategies, read this article from the Purdue Writing Lab.
Logos
Ethos
Pathos
Using these four rhetorical techniques will help you to structure your paper too, although you can use them in any order. Let's take them one by one.
Logos: To create a logical argument, you must start with a premise on which everyone can agree. Then you extend that premise through logical steps until you reach your goal. You may be arguing that all high school students should read the book Ready Player One. Maybe your premise is that teenagers like games. Everyone can agree with that. Then you can argue that because Ready Player One is about a game, that teenagers will like reading this book. Now, you still have to support the idea that books should be chosen for high schoolers based on what they will like!
Ethos: To establish yourself as a credible author with a convincing argument, you will need some facts and figures and credible, reliable sources. Letting your reader know, for example, that 95% of high schoolers do not finish their reading assignments, or that only 20% of high schoolers express enjoyment about reading their assigned novels might support your case. Of course you will need to do your research and document your sources. Find facts, figures, and credible opinions to support your argument. This might include referencing existing syllabi (a syllabus is a list of assigned readings) online, or finding articles that support or attack your chosen novella's inclusion on a syllabus. If you're arguing that The Great Gatsby should be removed from high school curriculum, and can find a figure saying that most high schoolers say they didn't finish it, that would be strong evidence.
Pathos (Emotional Appeal): You can appeal to your reader's emotion in a positive or a negative way. Maybe you are arguing that high schoolers should not have to read Steinbeck'sThe Red Pony because it's sad. You can talk about how you cried when you read the story, and argue that no one should be put through that at a vulnerable time in their life. Or you could choose to appeal to a positive emotion, and paint an inspiring picture of students learning good lessons from Ethan Frome or being lead to make good life choices by Daisy Miller.
Your next job is to write your outline. It needs to be typed, and it needs to show your structure, your main ideas for logos, ethos, and pathos sections, and the ideas you're working on for your introduction and conclusion. If possible, we will schedule a Google Hangout to talk about the paper.
THIRD ASSIGNMENT: Write your rough draft.
Your final draft will be approximately 2000 words long, so your rough draft should be about this long too. You'll be submitting it for peer review, so please don't turn it in late, or your partner will be affected.
Remember to use pathos, logos, and ethos in identifiable ways to persuade your reader. Remember to make your case definitively one way or the other. Either this book should be taught in high school or it should not. If you use sources (And you should! Reliable sources generate good ethos.) you must cite them using parenthetical notation. See this explanation of parenthetical notation, and ask if you have questions.
This is the time to work out the kinks. Don't worry if there are mistakes or rough parts. That's why we call it a rough draft! Write freely and without critiquing yourself too much. Open up your brain and let the ideas flow. Use your outline to help you structure your paper, but if you think of something that's not on the outline, that's okay! Throw it in there.
On April 20, you'll email me a copy of your work, and also email a copy to your partner for peer review. Partners will be Sarah and Gerry, Zoe and Benny. We'll use our peer review form and you'll have a week to review your partner's rough draft and give helpful criticism. I'll remind you next week! Your paper should be about 2000 words long, but if your rough draft isn't that long, don't worry. Maybe your partner will have suggestions for where you can expand it.
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