1. Session 1: Welcome 9.00: Intro to RWS100 and the lower division writing program TA Introductions; photo session ( program of assimilation and mind control revealed)

2. Session 2 9.30: Introduction to the Lower Division Writing Program & RWS 100

3. RWS 100 and the lower division writing program Argument is at the center of the program and 100. We mostly focus on non fiction, argumentative texts. We ask students to interpret, analyze, and produce written arguments, because this is central to academic literacy, critical thinking, and civic life -Lasch: “argument is the essence of education,” and central to democratic culture; - Universities are “houses of argument.” - Graff: “Argument literacy” is key to higher education.

4. We want students to be able to identify claims, evaluate evidence and reasons, locate assumptions, identify argumentative moves, pose critical questions, produce sophisticated arguments, etc. We do this not just because we think it’s good for their souls, critical thinking, ability to reason, deliberate, be engaged citizens, etc. But also because it’s key to their professional futures – every gateway requires it.

5. Why We Fight! (4 your right to write, argue & analyze well) The ability to interpret arguments, locate claims and evidence, analyze moves and strategies, and evaluate arguments are crucial skills. They are central to business, law, professional life, and to academic study (including graduate school). You will be tested for these skills in the WPA, the LSAT, GMAT, and GRE – all the gateways to professional life. Consider the GRE…

6. Analytical Writing Tasks Present Your Views on an Issue (45 minutes, choice of 2 topics) Analyze an Argument (30 minutes) Each essay is scored on a 0-6 scale using holistic scoring Two scores for each essay GRE Website presents directions, actual topics, scoring guide, and sample essays for both the Issue and Argument tasks (www.gre.org/gentest.html)www.gre.org/gentest.html

7. Rhetorical self-consciousness & understanding of moves = academic literacy We aim to improve academic literacy – equip students with transferable skills that will help them in the disciplinary communities they are part of; help students become more rhetorically sophisticated and self reflective producers and consumers of texts, help students become critical, engaged writers. We want to help students read and interpret texts rhetorically, to develop rhetorical self consciousness – to look “at” as well as through language. So we also focus on moves, strategies and choices – what the author is doing with words, how she is doing it, and why. Revealing the rhetorical moves that writers make is an important part of achieving academic literacy, and of acculturation into disciplinary communities. When you recognize the moves, you not only understand the disciplinary conversation better, you are better equipped to join it.

8. Expectations ITC = an important part of your work. You are expected to attend. You get credit for it More importantly, it’s part of collaboration, professional development, and networking. The dialogue matters. Modest home work is assigned but it’s all to prepare for your class. Your contribution is important and most welcome. We provide a lot of support, but you are welcome to adapt & remix, or add your own materials. We encourage you to suggest new ideas/ways of teaching the course

9. This semester will be different… I flooded you with information over summer, put a lot more material online than is usual, and asked you to prepare early for several reasons. We can't provide quite as much support as usual You may well have to teach 200 next semester, where learning curve is steeper. The assignment sequence is “new.” So using ITC and your fellow TAs is especially important this semester.

10. This semester will be different… Class sizes will very likely be 32. Most major academic organizations (including the WPA) have concluded that university writing classes should have 20 students. Our pedagogies aren’t really designed for classes this big. We may wish to share coping strategies. In fact, we may want to “jigsaw” the work of preparing class plans, etc.

11. Meet your audience Fall semester students are often quite well prepared Some may be quite sophisticated readers and writers, but you’ll be presenting them with a very different way of approaching texts, and they will find this challenging at first. NOTE: you may have some 3 rd semester students who have come through 92a and 92b. You’ll be able to tell if you have them (roster will say level “1,” as opposed to “0”). They register late, tend to come in clusters, will be weaker writers; many will be ESL. About 400 students will have just done 92a/b over summer as college prep. They tend to be very serious, hard working students.

12. The “R” in RWS = Rhetoric Many students will assume they are in an English class, and will bring expectations from high school English. E.g. when you say “claim” or “argument,” they may think “thesis” and/or “opinion.” You may need to remind them this is a Rhetoric and Writing class so they don't keep reaching for familiar strategies from high school English class.

13. Fall 2009 Course theme Arguments about “evolution, competition, ethics” (a nice broad catch-all, in part to manage the common book).

14. 10.00 Session 3: Blackboard

15. 3. Blackboard & Tech Tools The order of things (in a hierarchical, inflexible, old “new media” warehouse/content management system). At first it will seem like a black hole. After a while it’s merely confusing. But it’s where everything is. How to contribute (you have the power – use it carefully!! Don’t delete things) How to copy things to your course Making your Blackboard class visible to your students How to post on the discussion board in order to hand in homework Exercise: post a bio sketch to the TA discussion board.

16. Blackboard's SafeAssign SafeAssign Tutorial in Blackboard - UNC demonstrates how an instructor creates a SafeAssign Assignment, interprets the SA report, and how students submit their papers to SA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gWf3pPVJ3k Blackboard SafeAssign Tutorial – presentation on the use of Blackboard's new Safe Assign - drag the timeline bar to 30 minutes to start the section on SA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLMGP6rlOj0&feature=related ITS has a page on SafeAssign and plagiarism http://its.sdsu.edu/tech/plagiarism/ http://its.sdsu.edu/tech/plagiarism/

17. Blackboard & Technology Tools If you feel ambitious, consider alternatives – wikis, CSMs, hosted sites, etc. I suggest we use the wiki this semester for planning. Raimes comes with Eduspace – online resources for teaching writing (the publishers will demonstrate Thursday @ 10.00).

18. Overview of RWS100 11.00: Overview of RWS100 Assignments, texts, schedule, class activities, etc.

19. Overview of RWS100 Sample syllabi and schedules

20. Assignment Sequence 1. produce an account and analysis of a single argument (Pinker) 2. gather sources, situate an argument within a field of other texts, map out and analyze relationships between them (extend, complicate, illustrate, etc.) (de Waal) 3. identify, analyze and evaluate rhetorical strategies (Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room) 4. a flexible “portfolio” assignment in place of (or incorporating) the “lens” assignment.

21. Managing the Final Paper Section 4: Portfolio/Lens/Student Writing Assignments For the final assignment, you can select from a number of options. We recommend one of the following, although you are welcome to suggest alternatives: 1. Group projects/presentations where students get to make an argument that draws from one of the issues raised in the class, or which focuses on one of the texts covered. If you choose this option, we suggest you construct a group assignment with clearly defined roles for each student, so that individual grades can be assigned and you minimize “free riding” and conflict. 2. Portfolio: Students have done small writing assignments over the semester. You can assign further short writing assignments in the final part of the course, and give students an aggregate grade for the completed portfolio.

22. Managing the Final Paper 3. Reflection essay – have students write a paper that asks them to reflect on the writing work they have done, what they have learned, the way they approach writing, the things they still need to work on, etc. 4. Lens paper: if you would like to stick to “traditional” way in the 4th assignment has been taught, you can use the “lens assignment” (see past 100 syllabi, assignments, materials etc. for details. This paper involves taking one of the texts we’ve read and using it as a “lens” through which to analyze another text or a contemporary issue. The student can present an original argument, interpretation or analysis.

23. The Readings Custom reader You should have Raimes and They Say/I Say (if not, can get a loaner from bookstore). Raimes comes with Eduspace – online resources for teaching writing (the publishers will demonstrate Thursday @ 10.00).

24. Main Texts 1. Pinker, “The Morality Instinct” 2. De Waal, The Ape & The Sushi Master 3. Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room 4. Various short texts you can select, esp. at start and end of semester (E.g. for strategies section, may wish to consider Parry’s “The Art of Branding a Condition,” or texts related to current economic crisis) BUT - in a sense the “central” text in the class = the students’ texts. (Your fabulous teaching performance vs. their written performance) You may want to be brilliant, and may be tempted to model your teaching on the last class you took (a grad class). New teachers tend to prepare to teach the classes they’ve just been in, just as armies prepare to fight the last war. Try to resist too much of this. ]

25. Supplementary texts For the 4 th assignment, you can assign no text, select your own text, or let students choose a text(s), but you’ll need to work with them and provide guidance.

26. Learning Outcomes: What they are, why they matter, how to use them to your advantage. Outcomes should be listed on your syllabus, and it’s useful to include them in your assignments (see p. 21, 23-4 of handout). They can be used as part of student reflections, and to help prime students for evaluations. If things get ugly, the outcomes and syllabus provide you with backup. In disputes, they matter. Recent change: our outcomes are now explicitly framed in terms of the general education program and its “capacities” and goals (meta-outcomes) This new language adds a certain amount of institutional authority to our courses. You can point students to the section that states how important our courses and outcomes are to the educational mission of the university (then go back to berating them for sending text messages in class). If questioned, you can also say, “look, the course goals aren’t my arbitrary whim designed to torture you, but the university’s carefully researched conclusion as to what constitutes essential undergraduate academic skills.”

27. Common Class Activities & Patterns [See p. 3 of handout] Pre-reading and “pre-discussion” work (questionnaires to get at assumptions, surveys, etc) “Jig saw” work (students share researching key parts of text and share in class) Class discussion, group work Critical reading/rhetorical reading – posing questions, interrogating assumptions, reading actively and critically (modeling qns to ask) Charting – what is the text doing; what/how/why moves are made PACES (project, argument, claims, evidence, strategies) Pre-writing exercises Templates, rhetorical precis, metadiscourse, transitions, mechanics Drafting, peer review, student “read alouds,” conferencing Assessment and response Analysis (single argument, relationship between texts, strategies, “lens” work) and presentation of student argument Reflection and reflective practice (applying concepts to students own writing – e.g. charting, analyzing students’ moves and strategies, etc.)

28. Example: pre-reading exercises 1. In Class test “Careful, you might run out of planet: SUVs and the exploitation of the American myth,” by David Goewey. Questions: 1. Is Goewey critical or complimentary of SUVs? 2. Does the author believe that there is time to make a change? 3. Does the author put more emphasis on car quality or social issues in assessing the value of SUVs? 4. Is the author likely to be a supporter of major oil companies? 5. Was this essay written in 1979, 1989, or 1999? 2. Examining Titles Carefully: Chua Chua’s article “A World on the edge” became part of her book World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability. 3. Similarly, you can find out a lot by going through the section and chapter headings in Pinker and De Waal. Morality Quiz = useful for Pinker.

29. Survey/discussion questions before reading Pinker Our moral sense is best described as coming from a) our upbringing, b) society, c) religious texts and teachings, d) other. Moral laws are universal Strongly DisagreeModerately DisagreeModerately Agree Strongly Agree What are the most important moral laws – and where do they come from? Morality is a product of our evolutionary pre-history: Strongly DisagreeModerately Disagree Moderately Agree Strongly Agree To what extent is our moral sense shared by other animals?

30. See page 3 of the handout for a detailed account of each of these major activities. There are handouts, class exercises, and class plans based on each of these key activities (see wiki or Blackboard).

31. Some Roadmaps for RWS100 Overview of RWS100 Overview of RWS 100, Assignments, Classroom Activities, Coursework, and Detailed Description of First 3 Weeks Overview of RWS100 Gives you multiple views – broad overview, to detailed description of 4 units, to class-by-class description of first three weeks.

32. 12.00 Go see Jo Serrano and Claire Crierie in AH3138 for office info, keys, etc.

33. 1.00 p.m. Session 6 Introducing rhetoric, short texts, & argument

34. Introducing rhetoric We ask that you tell students that RWS 100 is a rhetoric class. Many will base their expectations on high school English classes – literary texts and writing assignments, etc. You’ll need to emphasize that the interpretation, analysis and production of argument is central, that they will be reading non-fiction texts, and producing a lot of analysis. You may find “Content is king” - locate, remember and deliver content. You may encounter a “textbook mentality” in the reading practices of many of your students, and an “information processor” model of writing. Textbooks are often “anti-rhetorical” - presenting knowledge in terms of a decontextualized, disembodied voice of authority, a “view from nowhere,” and of knowledge as “settled,” unified and authoritative The contested, contingent, contextual, community-centered, argument-driven…in short, the RHETORICAL dimensions of knowledge – of academic discourse, are largely absent.

35. Nudging students toward a rhetorical stance… We want to move students from a focus on what texts say (content) to what they do and how they do it (rhetoric). Rhetorical self consciousness = achieving a kind of double vision – of looking “at” as well as through language. Rhetorical self consciousness – understanding what texts do - is an important skill for students. Revealing the rhetorical moves that writers make, the strategies they draw on, is part of achieving academic literacy, and of acculturation into disciplinary communities. When you recognize the moves you not only understand the disciplinary conversation better, you are better equipped to join it. In the first week of class we’d like you to introduce key concepts through the analysis of some short texts. There is a folder on Blackboard to help you with this. Focusing on strategies and what texts do = good ways of introducing rhetoric.

36. Basic Rhetorical Strategies How do texts position readers? What point of view do they adopt? From what perspective do they invite us to view the world? Consider these chewing gum ads:

40. Rhetoric Is “Everywhere” & an “Everyday” Thing When a politician tries to get you to vote for them, they are using rhetoric. When a lawyer tries to move a jury, they are using rhetoric. When a government produces propaganda, they are using rhetoric. When an advertisement tries to get you to buy something, it is using rhetoric. When the president gives a speech, he is using rhetoric. But rhetoric can be much subtler (and quite positive) as well: When someone writes an office memo, they are using rhetoric. When a newspaper offers their depiction of what happened last night, they are using rhetoric. When a scientist presents theories or results, they are using rhetoric. When you write your mom or dad an email, you are using rhetoric. Thought itself is rhetorical - when you think, you engage in “inner argument,” or “inner persuasion” in order to reach a decision or act.

41. HEADLINES DESCRIBING MEDICAL MARIJUANA DECISION Salon Magazine “Court rules against pot for sick people” New York Times: “High Court Allows Prosecution of Medical Marijuana Users” USA Today: “MEDICAL MARIJUANA BAN UPHELD” San Diego Union Tribune: “Court OKs Marijuana Crackdown” L.A. Times: “Justices Give Feds Last Word on Medical Marijuana” Christian Science Monitor: “US Court Rules Against Pot For Sick People” Christian News Source: “Medical Marijuana Laws Don't Shield Users From Prosecution”

42. Telemarketing Strategies Script Pre-introduction: (Ask to speak to the decision-maker) Introduction: (Introduce yourself and the reason for your call) Attention Getter: (Mention the key features of the offer and qualify them for eligibility) Probing Questions: (Always ask for information that will be useful for rebuttals) Offer: (Explain the product/service and terms of commitment) Close: (ALWAYS ASK FOR THE SALE) Rebuttal (deal with objections) Sales Continuation: (Agree, use rebuttals, sell benefits, CLOSE) Up/down/cross-sell: (If there is another product of less-price this is the time to sell it.) Confirmation Close: (Review the terms of the offer to reduce buyer remorse) Final Close: (End on a positive note. Thank the customer and leave a dial free number for customer support)

43. Everyday words, names, definitions, categories – how they are selected or constructed = rhetorical. Consider: “War on terror,” vs. “war against Islamic extremists,” vs. “fight against Al Queda” (scope, agents involved, action) “War on drugs”’ “Axis of Evil”; “Body bags” vs. “transfer tubes” “Doctor assisted suicide” vs. “death with dignity” “Defense of marriage” vs. “marriage equality” “French Fries/Freedom fries” “Death Tax/Estate Tax” “Habit forming” vs. “addictive” “Erectile dysfunction” vs. “impotence” “Halitosis” vs. “bad breath” “Male pattern baldness” vs. “losing your hair” “Viagra!”

44. Introducing rhetoric You may wish to use short texts, visual texts, advertisements, op-eds and other texts that students are probably familiar with in order to introduce rhetoric. Email communication is a good place to start – students are familiar with the genre, and may find it easier to recognize strategies, acts of persuasion, positioning, performance, etc. This YouTube animation is a good text to start a discussion about rhetoric – about audience, purpose, persuasion, strategies, genre, ethos, rhetorical situation, etc.

45. Using a YouTube Animation to introduce rhetorical concepts

46. SubText – animation showing a guy composing an email to a girl he likes. The man “thinks aloud” as he writes, and we glimpse what goes on “in his head” as he composes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=400w4XnjElI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=400w4XnjElI Examine how this trivial act is full of rhetorical issues. The character is asking, how does this language present me? What persona does it construct? What tactic will be most effective? What moves should I make, how will this make me seem? How should I think of my audience? What is my purpose? How do I avoid embarrassment? Have students take the concepts of rhetorical situation, persuasion, construction of ethos, strategies, etc., and apply to this visual text.

47. The controversial New Yorker cover, “politics of fear.”

48. When ads used a lot of logos

49. Today’s ads often use different appeals

50. WE CAN READ MATERIAL CULTURE RHETORICALLY “By reading…we mean something more than simply lifting information out of books and articles. To read a text or event is to do something to it, to make sense out of its signals and clues…Reading is thus not something we do to books alone. Or, to put it another way, books and other printed surfaces are not the only texts we read. Rather, a ‘text’ is anything that can be interpreted, that we can make meaning out of or assign value to. In this sense, all culture is a text and all culture can be read.” Joseph Harris and Jay Rosen.

51. Strategies in Sculpture: Maya Lin’s Vietnam War Memorial

52. Why these choices for a memorial – what strategies might they represent? The Vietnam war memorial is black It is made of reflective black granite. When a visitor looks at the wall, she will see the engraved names and her own reflection The monument is built along a pathway that requires people to move along the small corridor of space Unlike many monuments, it lists all the names of U.S. soldiers who died, and it does so in chronological rather than alphabetic order (Lin has she wanted the wall to read “‘like an epic Greek poem’ and ‘return the vets to the time frame of the war’) Information about rank, unit, and decorations are not given The wall is V-shaped, with one side pointing to the Lincoln Memorial and the other to the Washington Monument. Lin's conception was to create an opening or a wound in the earth to symbolize the gravity of the loss of the soldiers

53. The rise of the “bum-proof” bench in Los Angeles "One of the most common, but mind- numbing, of these deterrents is the [L.A.] Rapid Transit District’s new barrelshaped bus bench that offers a minimal surface for uncomfortable sitting, while making sleeping utterly impossible. Such ‘bumproof’ benches are being widely introduced on the periphery of Skid Row. Another invention...is the aggressive deployment of outdoor sprinklers. Several years ago the city opened a ‘Skid Row Park’ along lower Fifth Street, on a corner of Hell. To ensure that the park was not used for sleeping--that is, to guarantee that it was mainly utilized for drug dealing and prostitution--the city installed an elaborate overhead sprinkler system programmed to drench unsuspecting sleepers at random times during the night. The system was immediately copied by some local businessmen in order to drive the homeless away from adjacent public sidewalks.“Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles, p. 233.

54. 2003: One of the greatest acts of “political stagecraft” “Going far beyond the foundations in stagecraft set by the Reagan White House, [the Bush administration] is using the powers of television and technology to promote a presidency like never before.” ELISABETH BUMILLER, NYT, 2003. For more on the history of political image making see http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/index.html http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/index.html

56. Political Imagery & Rhetorical Strategy “George W. Bush's ‘Top Gun’ landing on the deck of the carrier Abraham Lincoln will be remembered as one of the most audacious moments of presidential theater in American history. But it was only the latest example of how the Bush administration, going far beyond the foundations in stagecraft set by the Reagan White House, is using the powers of television and technology to promote a presidency like never before.” (“Keepers of Bush Image Lift Stagecraft to New Heights” Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, May 16, 2003) The photos took place in San Diego Bay, and required a lot of maneuvering to get shots that did not include the San Diego skyline or city – and thus appeared far out at sea.

57. 3.00 Syllabus Workshop Glen McClish

58. Pre-reading Discussion starters (freewriting, group work, bboard, etc.)

59. Discussion & Participation Prime with a questionnaire, survey or questions Call by name Put in groups and assign responsibility Jig saw work “Pyramids” (alone, in pairs, 4s, etc.) Freewrite (give students time to assemble thoughts, so they feel more confidant contributing Wait….at least 7 seconds. Try not to get stuck in the habit of answering your own questions. Have students post responses and homework to Blackboard, so you can bring to class and use to get discussion going.

60. Author Interview, Panel or Role-Playing One student assumes the role of the writer and answers question from the audience about the article’s main claim, choices regarding supporting evidence, and the writer’s view of his/her audience at the time of writing. Students assigned to play role of author for 10-15 minutes. You may choose to let that student greet the class “in character,” and provide a brief summary of the argument that he/she wrote, which everyone else in class has read. After that, the exercise consists of class members asking the “writer” questions about the argument itself. CAN ALSO be used with assignment 2 (sources) in which students are responsible to assume the role of different authors, and you can set up a debate with Chua.

61. Seth Taylor: Seven Tips for Discussion (RWS 296) 1)Beware of cold starts. Consider directed freewriting, journaling, or the “Brain Dump” at the start of class. Quick responses can both kickstart discussions, and eventually help students question where their responses come from.

62. Seth Taylor: Seven Tips for Discussion (RWS 296) 2)Be wary of asking the BIG questions first: “So… what do you think about the reading?” “So what’s the point of the chapter?”

63. Active Learning: Seven Tips for Discussion 3)Let your first question be easy, possibly about their reading process: “How long did it take to read this?” “Where does it get interesting (or boring)?” Were there any passages you found difficult, interesting or unusual? 4)Open-ended questions will require students to think. Yes/No questions require very little of them, and can often shut down discussion before it starts.

64. Active Learning: Seven Tips for Discussion 5)Encourage students to explain, support, their responses to a text. Almost every answer can be followed up with a “Why?” question from the instructor.

65. Active Learning: Seven Tips for Discussion 6)Encourage students to talk to each other, rather than simply fire answers back to you: Re-directing students to respond to each others ideas Group breakout exercises Let students teach

66. Active Learning: Seven Tips for Discussion 7)At the end of class, try to re-cap or summarize the ground that was covered. You do not need the discussion to come to a grand conclusion, but some sort of review will help increase retention.