1. Lists, Tricolons, and the Comma
Style Tip #1
Lists, Tricolons, and the Comma

2. The comma makes sense if it could be replaced by ‘and’ or ‘or’
Acting professionally means respecting your colleagues by not texting, doing other work on your computer, speaking when others are speaking, talking down to someone, or coming late. 
Acting professionally means respecting your colleagues by not texting or doing other work on your computer or speaking when others are speaking or talking down to someone or coming late.

3. The Oxford Comma
We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin (
I would like to thank my parents, the President and God.

4. We invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin (www.quickanddirtytips.com).
I would like to thank my parents, the President, and God.

5. The following are exempt from overtime pay: “The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3) Perishable foods.” (Kevin O’Connor vs. Oakhurst Dairy)

6. Use a comma to separate adjectives that are interchangeable and could be replaced with ‘and’ or ‘or.’
This study examines how low-income, disabled seniors interpret health information. (the seniors are low-income and disabled--the order of the two adjectives are interchangeable)
This study examines how low-income older adults interpret health information. (‘older’ must come before ‘adults’)
I like Spanish red wines.
I like Spanish, Australian, and French red wines.

7. When one item in a list already includes a comma, use a semi-colon to separate each item.
You should also participate fully in all class activities; come prepared to class with your books, assignments, and computer; contribute your fair share to all projects; keep me and your teammates informed about any constraints when necessary; and write respectful, brief s. 

8. Commas and Tricolons
I am qualified for this position due to my strong work ethic, commitment to team work, and my prior experience with marketing.
I am qualified for this position due to my strong work ethic, team commitment, and prior experience.
I am qualified for this position due to my strong work ethic, my ambitious team commitment, and ample prior experience.

9. Blog Posts Worth 1 pt. Rhetorical Situation? Must:
Demonstrate that you have done the reading
Indicate that you have thought critically about the reading
Use that week’s Style Tip somewhere in your writing (good idea to bold or underline it).

10. How do you demonstrate critical thinking?
Pose thought-provoking questions
Connect the readings to course content or projects
Provide an example or thought experiment
Argue for or against a concept from the readings
Other info:
Should be approx. 150 words
See Syllabus, p. 4

11. Sample Blog Post #1
Whether considering, mentioning, or arguing the ideas of ethics, the cycle never ends.  We must, at least, try to uncover its meaning before we can accomplish anything.  If ethics refer to moral principles, what is morality?  If morality distinguishes right from wrong, how do we determine those circumstances?  If what is “right” is what is “moral,” and if what is “wrong” is not “true”, why can’t we agree on ethics?
Steven B. Kantz, in “The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust,” explores how the modern-day society views moral good-ness.  “Virtue,” Kantz says, “is socially constructed” (262).  Expediency is interesting because people seem to naturally desire whatever is quickest and easiest, and would do what it takes to get what they deserve.  “’Pure’ expediency (undiluted and uninhibited by other ethics),” Kantz observes, “recognizes no boundaries, no degrees of morality or other ethical limits” (266).  According to this definition, then, there would be no “ethic of expediency” because it would not be bound by ethics to begin with.
But let’s say that one must know ethics in order to learn rhetoric and put it to use.  One phrase I’ve heard over the past few years is: “truth is whatever you make it.”  That sounds a lot like saying “truth is a social construct;” and, what did Kantz say about virtue and social constructs?  According to these standards, what Hitler did was virtuous.  If, however, we think what Hitler did was not “right,” we begin the cycle over again.  What is ethics? (252 words)

12. Sample #2
The opinions of Gorgias and Socrates are in opposition in this reading. Gorgias argues that rhetoric is the greatest art, allows rhetoricians influence, and is naturally independent from morality. Socrates disagrees. He believes that rhetoric alone cannot be good, but must be judged with morality to be good or bad. I think the parallels between rhetoric and morality are very intriguing; Socrates argues that a dishonest person will be inherently miserable because he is using rhetoric for selfish purposes. I think Socrates point of view connects to the idea that rhetoric is as natural part of the human experience/human nature. If rhetoric is the “fish bowl” in which we live, it interacts with everything else in our environment. Therefore using rhetoric to be deceitful would affect one’s moral compass and make them feel miserable about themselves. In this way, I agree with Socrates: you must examine rhetoric in conjunction with morality, because it is so ingrained in our lives. (159 words)