English 15: Rhetoric and Composition

Instructor:
Contact:

Summer 2016 | M-F | 223 Thomas | 11:10-12:25

Sydney Doyle
Office Location: 28 Burrowes
(face library: on right)
skd@[email protected] Office Hours: M: 10:00-11:00,
12:35-1:05
T: 10:3011:00, 12:35-1:35

Websites: http://doylepsu.weebly.com
https://cms.psu.edu/
What do we do in English 15?
English 15 is an intensive, rhetorically based experience in understanding how ideas are communicated
and expressed in the world around you. Rhetoric sounds like an intimidating word, but its work is not.
Every piece of communication that you are involved with and observe, from the text messages waiting
in your pocket, to the ads you watch on TV, to the memes you share and like on Facebook, Twitter, and
Tumblr, are all forms of rhetoric.
In this class we will look at different forms of rhetoric, both formal and casual. We will read essays
written by Martin Luther King Jr and listen to presidents give speeches. But we will also watch
advertisements aired during the last Super Bowl and watch funny YouTube videos.
We will study and analyze these texts, both verbal and visual, to understand the rhetorical principals
used in creating and disseminating them. We will also take these principals and put them to use,
sharpening our rhetorical skills through writing papers, journals, and composing multimedia projects.
This class will help you become a better reader and writer. You will better understand the messages
communicated around you, and will be able to discern why and how they are composed. You will learn
how to write more clearly, how to better use your resources in crafting an argument, and how to
appropriately deliver information. You will become more aware of your audience and how your message
and position relates to them.

What textbooks do we need?

1.

The Norton Field Guide to Writing w/ Readings, 4th edition (green cover),
ISBN: 9780393264371

2. Penn Statements, Vol. 35 (2016) (white cover)

Penn Statements must be purchased from the PSU Bookstore; used or online copies are
not valid.

Recommended:

3. The Penn State Libraries Course Guide for English 15, found at
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/course/up/ah/eng015.html (recommended research resource)

What is required in the class?

To pass this course you must complete all the major assignments, submit all process work (which
includes, proposals, drafts, and peer reviews), fulfill all the weekly reading and writing assignments, and
submit assignments on time. You are expected to participate in draft workshops, in-class exercises, and
classroom discussions. All process work must be handed in on time; failure to turn in a proposal on time
or to appear at a draft workshop without a draft is equivalent to turning in an assignment late (i.e., a
penalty of one grade per late day). Final drafts of an assignment will NOT be accepted until a written
proposal has been approved and a peer-reviewed draft has been completed. Students who miss in-class
draft workshop days must seek peer-review at Penn State Learning to get credit for peer review.

Grading
ASSIGNMENT
Paper 1: Rhetorical Analysis
Paper 2: Multimedia Cultural Analysis
Paper 3: Productive Counterargument
Paper 4: Proposal Argument
Paper 5: Multimedia Rhetorical Narrative
(Memoir)
Paper 6: Journal Responses (throughout semester)
Participation*

PERCENTAGE
10%
15%
15%
20%
15%
10%
15%

*Participation includes attendance, attentiveness in class, contributions to discussions, in-class writing,

and group work.
*See the Program in Writing and Rhetoric Grade Rubric on ANGEL for how papers will be graded.

Attendance
You cant learn if you arent in class. If you come to class on time, pay attention, and participate, you
will learn a lot. This also increases your chances of writing quality papers, which are the bulk of your
grade.
Excused absences are certainly appropriate. Even if your absence is unexcused, please let me know
via email. Be aware, though, that University policy (Policies and Rules, 42-27) states that a student
whose absences are excessive may run the risk of receiving a lower grade or a failing grade, regardless
of his or her performance in the class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get the assignments,
class notes, and course changes from a classmate. In addition, if you miss class on a day that written
work is due, please email it to me directly.
You have two unexcused absences to use throughout the course. While it can be tempting to use these
on days youre tired or have a lot of other work to do, it would be wise to reserve these for days you are
sick, family emergencies, or other incidents. These other things will come up, and it is better to be
prepared for them.

Office Hours
2

If you want to talk about trouble drafting a paper, your work in the course thus far, or anything like that,
please come in to my office hours. You are required one office hours visit over the course of the
semester. I am here to help you, and I dont bite, so please feel free to come chat.
***I will not answer anything more than a yes/no question via email.***
You can also get your papers looked at by a trained writing tutor at Penn State Learning (220 Boucke,
814-863-3240). Its always good to have your writing looked at by multiple people, so I strongly
recommend taking advantage of this free service.

Formatting assignments
Choosing a format is a rhetorical decisionits all about delivery. In this class, your papers are required
to be typed (12 point, Times New Roman [TNR] font), printed in dark ink, and double-spaced,
with one-inch margins. Place your name, the date, section number, and my name in the upper left-hand
corner of the first page. Number all of the pages.
You will submit a paper copy, to be stapled or paper clipped, to me on the day an assignment is due.
You will also submit a digital copy to the appropriate ANGEL drop box at any point before class on the
due date.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the intentional act of using another persons words or ideas as your own without
attribution. It is a breach of academic integrity. The College of the Liberal Arts policy on plagiarism is
available online at: http://laus.la.psu.edu/current-students/academics/academic-integrity/college-policies.
If you have any questions about plagiarism and its consequences (or about any other feature of academic
integrity), please ask. Plagiarism indicates contempt for ethical standards, your instructor, and your
peers. If you are caught plagiarizing, you risk failing the assignment and possibly the course. You will
also be referred to the College Committee for Academic Integrity, and may be referred to the Office of
Judicial Affairs, which could result in probation, suspension, or expulsion.

Statement on Nondiscrimination
The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to
programs, facilities, admission and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to
ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federal
authorities. It is the policy of the University to maintain an academic and work environment free of
discrimination, including harassment. The Pennsylvania State University prohibits discrimination and
harassment against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin,
race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status. Discrimination or
harassment against faculty, staff, or students will not be tolerated at The Pennsylvania State University.
Note: The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in
its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have
3

questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.

Course Schedule
Key: PSPenn Statements, Spring 2016 edition. NFGWThe Norton Field Guide to Writing w/
Readings (4e).
Week 1
Date
Da
y
6/29
W
6/30

TH

7/1

Week 2
Date
Da
y
7/4
M
7/5
T

7/6

7/7

TH

7/8

Week 3
Date

Topic
Course Introduction
and Rhetorical
Situation
Rhetorical Situation;
Why Write?

Reading Due

Writing Due

Fitting Response;
Available Means

HGW Ch. 1 (Understanding the

Rhetorical Situation: 1-25) on
ANGEL
HGW Ch. 2 (Fitting Response: 2939) on ANGEL

Topic

Reading Due

Writing Due

Holiday No Class
Drafting and
Revising a
Rhetorical Analysis
& Proposal
Workshop

HGW Ch. 2 (Available Means of

Persuasion: 39-49); Rhetorical
Analysis Readings on ANGEL

..
Proposal: Rhetorical
Analysis

Style Workshop &

Rhetorical Analysis
Examples
Peer Review

Introduction to
Cultural Analysis

NFGW Purpose (55-56),

Audience (57-60),
NFGW Genre (61-63), Stance
(64-67)
NFGW (Bottom of 26 Thinking
Critically 32)
NFGW Titles, Theses, Topic
Sentences, & Transitions (344349)
NFGW Ending (338-343)
NFGW Media/Design (68-70)
NFGW Choosing Media (593596)

Journal 1 Due

Bring to Class: PS
Rough Draft: Rhetorical
Analysis

Final Draft: Rhetorical

Analysis

Topic

Reading Due

Writing Due

7/11

Da
y
M

Choosing a Medium
& Why

NFGW Designing Text (597606)

Journal 2 Due
Bring to Class: PS

7/12

The Rhetorical
Situation of Visual
Culture & Proposal

NFGW Using Visuals,

Incorporating Sound (607-615)
NFGW Writing Online (616-

Proposal: Cultural
Analysis

7/13

7/14

TH

7/15

Week 4
Date
Da
y
7/18
M

7/19

Workshop
Lab Day: iMovie
304 Patterson
Rhetorical DecisionMaking Using
Multimedia
& Storyboarding
Media Commons
Day: Library room
W140

620)

Read PS Cultural Analysis

examples not read in class (i.e. not
Boko Haram).

Bring in materials to
work on
Bring in laptops or a
pencil/colored pencils as
needed for storyboard

NFGW Finding Sources (445468)

Rough Draft: Cultural

Analysis

Topic

Reading Due

Introduction to
Productive
Counterarguments
Arguments
Introduction to
Productive
Counterarguments
Arguments (Cont.)

NFGW Quoting, Paraphrasing,

and Summarizing (478-490)
PS Productive
Counterarguments/Rebuttals (64,
75-85)

Writing Due

Final Draft: Cultural

Analysis

Recommended Example: NFGW

Position Argument: Nicholas
Kristofs Our Blind Spot about
Guns (161-164)
NFGW Arguing a Position (169- Journal 3 Due
177)
Bring to Class: PS
NFGW Convincing Readers
Youre Trustworthy & Establishing
Common Ground (367-370)

7/20

Proposal Examples
& Thinking
Rhetorically about
Research

7/21

TH

Rhetorical Fallacies
& Proposal
Workshop

NFGW Fallacies (370-373)

Proposal: Productive
Counterargument

7/22

Establishing Ethos
in an Argument &
Peer Review

NFGW Drafting a Thesis/Claim

(355-359)
NFGW Evidence (359-366)

Rough Draft: Productive

Counterargument

Topic

Reading Due

Writing Due

Introduction to
Proposal Argument
Proposals as Fitting
Responses &

NFGW Proposals (235-244)

Final Draft: Productive

Counterargument
Bring to Class: PS

Week 5
Date
Da
y
7/25
M
7/26

PS - Proposal Arguments (85-97)

6

7/27

7/28

TH

7/29

Week 6
Date
Da
y
8/1
M

8/2

8/3

8/4

TH

8/5

Week 7
Date
Da
y
8/8
M
8/9
T
8/10
W

Examples
Style Workshop &
Proposal Workshop
Proposals as Fitting
Responses Cont.
Thinking about
Feasibility & Peer
Review

NFGW Evaluating Sources

(469-472)
ANGEL Readings

Proposal: Proposal

ANGEL Readings

Journal 4 Due

Topic

Reading Due

Writing Due

Introduction to
Memoirs

EX. David Sedariss Us and

Them (849-856)
ANGEL Readings

Rough Draft: Proposal

Writing Memoirs
with Purpose &
Memoir Examples
Dialogue &
Description and
Proposal Workshop
Thinking
Rhetorically about
Presentation
Multimedia
Memoirs

PS Narrative Essays (112-124)

Final Draft: Proposal

Bring to Class: PS

Topic

Reading Due

Writing Due

Style Workshop
Course Wrap Up

SRTEs
SRTEs
SRTEs

Rough Draft: Memoir

SRTEs
Journal 6 Due

NFGW Describing(399-407)
NFGW Dialogue (408-413)
NFGW Narrating (419-427)

Proposal: Memoir

ANGEL Readings
Journal 5 Due (Sunday)

Final Draft: Memoir

Journal Assignments
Due throughout the semester
(see Course Schedule)
Throughout the semester you will write six journals. These short mini-"papers" (typically one doublespaced page) will be your responses to specific prompts. You may be asked to respond to a reading,
practice a specific rhetorical skill, engage with library resources, or develop a specific section of a paper
youre working on. The goal of these journals is to give you further opportunities to practice your
writing and to put the rhetorical concepts we study and discuss to use.
Each journal entry will be evaluated according to the following standards:
Check plus: Responds fully and thoughtfully to the prompt. Demonstrates engagement with the
relevant readings and/or writing skills. Uses fresh expression and an appropriate tone and style
for the assignment. Demonstrates both the students awareness of course lessons and material
and the students own creativity and original thinking. Meets the length requirement.
Check: Responds to the prompt, but in a more superficial way. Attempts to engage with the
relevant readings or writing skills. Uses appropriate tone and style for the assignment. Meets the
length requirement.
Check minus: Does not respond to the prompt. Does not attempt to engage with the relevant
readings and/or writing skills. Does not use fresh expressions or appropriate tone and style. Does
not meet the length requirement. (Journals that demonstrate any one of the above problems may
be scored as check minus, even if otherwise sufficiently completed.)
At the end of the semester, these individual scores will be tabulated into a letter grade that counts for
10% of your overall course grade.

Assignment 1: Rhetorical Analysis

Proposal Due: Tuesday, July 5
Rough Draft Due: Thursday, July 7
Final Draft Due: Friday, July 8
Overview: A rhetorical analysis examines how an author (or artist) attempts to reach, maybe even
influence, an audience. Rhetorical analyses use specific evidence from a text (oral, written, verbal,
visual, or multimedia) to establish a general claim (thesis) about how the text works. The text might be
traditional, like a presidential speech, or more contemporary, like a video or meme. No matter the text
you select, you will be identifying and analyzing its details to make an argument. What message does
the text present? How do you know that? For what audience(s) is that message appealing, and why?
Prompt: There is no point in analyzing the rhetorically obvious. Locate a visual/oral/verbal text that you
deem interesting (potentially persuasive) and analyze it according to the way the text uses rhetorical
effects and strategies to make its argument. Use specific textual evidence to establish a general claim (a
thesis) about how the text works. You should not simply paraphrase or summarize what the author
says or composes; rather, your goal is to provide a way of understanding the measure of persuasive
effect.
In doing this, first, you will need to identify the rhetor, intended audience, message, and intended
purpose of the text. This information will set the foundation for the rest of your analysis; every argument
you make about how the text works will depend on who is communicating, to/for whom they are
communicating, what they are communicating, and why they are communicating.
Then, you will work to explain how (and how effectively) the text:
appeals to its intended audience;
employs the available means (the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, pathos; the rhetorical
methods of development);
uses good reasons (that are ethical, practical, and aesthetic);
constitutes a fitting response (of informing, explaining, motivating, identifying, etc.);
anticipates or acknowledges counterarguments in the service of reaching its intended audience.
If you are analyzing a visual or multimedia argument, you will also need to address the specific features
of that medium. What visual and aural details contribute to the rhetorical effect of the text?
As you plan and draft your analysis, consider your classmates as your audience, who are also learning
how to conduct rhetorical analysis. Keep in mind particular ways of reaching this audience.
Process: As always, you will submit a proposal, a rough draft for peer review, and a final draft.
As part of your proposal, you will submit a copy of your text for your instructor to review. Additionally,
you will provide an explanation of what makes this text an interesting subject for a rhetorical analysis,
convincing your instructor that you are not setting out to analyze the rhetorically obvious.
As youre drafting, consider how you are supporting your claims about text. Make sure that you refer to
specific moments in the text (using quotes from the text when appropriate) as evidence for your
explanation of how the rhetor uses rhetorical effects and strategies. At the same time, consider the
9

balance between description and analysis in your writing. Youll need to describe moments in the text in
order to make your argument, but remember that your job is not to summarize the text for your readers.
Your job is to examine the text.
After drafting, youll revise and edit. Consider carefully the organization of your piece. Arrange your
analysis (perhaps according to the chronology of the text or according to particular rhetorical effects) so
that your argument comes across clearly to your readers.
Format: Your final draft should be 4-5 pages (double-spaced, 12-point, TNR font, 1 margins). When
citing your outside source(s), you will follow MLA format (see HGW Ch. 19 and/or the PSU Libraries
Citation Research Guide: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/citationstyles/MLA
_citation.html).
Grading Criteria: Your rhetorical analysis essay will be graded according to the following criteria: it
(1) makes a claim (a thesis) about an interesting, potentially persuasive text; (2) identifies the rhetor,
intended audience, message, and intended purpose of the text; (3) assesses the texts employment of
available means, good reasons, and counter arguments; and (4) evaluates the text as a fitting response. A
rhetorical analysis of a visual or multimedia text will also include analysis of the visual/aural
components and their overall effectiveness.

10

Assignment 2: Multimedia Cultural Analysis (with Cover Letter)

Proposal Due: Tuesday, July 12
Rough Draft Due: Friday, July 15
Final Draft Due: Monday, July 18
Overview: In the Rhetorical Analysis you studied a rhetors rhetorical situation and analyzed whether
his/her response to situations exigence was fitting or not. You will use these same skills when
conducting a Cultural Analysis, however, instead of determining effectiveness, you will investigate how
a current viral trend achieved mass success and what that success says about society.
A cultural analysis allows you to examine a slice of your own current culture. In todays society pretty
much anyone has the ability to go viral. This assignment will allow you to explore exactly what about
a current trend makes it so popular. You should gain an idea about how to reach your own rhetorical
audience by examining how a viral trend gains uber popularity and reaches and connects with mass
audiences.
Prompt: In this assignment you are going to teach an audience about a current trend and the trends
effects on society. You will achieve this by first, discovering a current trend, investigating its
formation and evolution, and formulating a claim about what this trend means to modern society.
Analyze how and why this trend might have achieved virality. What is it about this trend that appeals to
the audience it reached? Speculate what the popularity achieved by this trend says about modern society
and form an argument: why and how has this trend become so popular? What attitudes/beliefs/interests
of the audience did the originator appeal to and what does this say about the current
attitudes/beliefs/interests of modern society?
Write to a specific audience (of your choice) who can act upon, react to, or respond to your
analysis/investigation. And write with a specific purpose in mind: to explain why and how a trend
massively appealed to the intended audience and to encourage your own audience to understand your
chosen trend and how it became as successful as it did in todays society.
Process: As you are brainstorming, you might start on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook trending sidebar,
Buzzfeed, Vine, Know Your Meme, or Reddit. Out of what is currently trending (or has been trending in
the last year) stands out to you? As a part of your proposal, include an annotated list of five sources you
might consult for information about your topic. What scholarly or popular publications address this
topic? What pop culture sources might address this topic? Think about how you might conduct field
research or survey your peers.
As you are drafting consider the main audience of the trend as well as your own audience (who might be
interested in knowing this information? Who could use this information?).
Who has the trend specifically appealed to and how and why has that trend reached the viral level it has?
What is it about this trend that enabled it to reach virality? Youll want to examine the audience,
evolution, and positive and negative effects of the trend on modern society. What does the outrageous
popularity of this particular topic say about todays society?
As you revise and edit, consider carefully how you should refer to your viewers and your topic.
Consider the tone you should establish, background choices, prop choices, costume choices, sound
effects, music, lighting, camera angles, pictures, etc.
11

Format: Your final project should be created as a 3- to- 5-minute video made in (preferably) iMovie
plus
a 1-2 page (12 pt, TNM, double-spaced, 1 margins) cover letter.
The cover letter should include:
A brief overview (a few sentences, at most) summarizing the project and your trends rhetorical
situation;
A discussion of how your video approach suits your own audience and purpose;
Examples and an explanation of how you employed rhetorical decision making and the outcomes
of those rhetorical choices; and
A clear and detailed explanation of any attributes of the project your instructor may need more
context to understand. (For instance, maybe a musical choice you made will make better sense to
your audience than your instructor, or maybe you faced a particular challenge with iMovie that
you were unable to overcome and you want to describe the steps you took to try to resolve it).
Grading Criteria: Your video should (1) Identify and describe a current trend clearly; (2) Distinguish
the main audience the trend has reached; (3) Explain trends purpose; (4) and how it appealed to current
audience to achieve such virality; (5) Examine why the trend has reached popularity it has; (6) Fully
explore the evolution of the trend you have identified; (7) Formulate a single argument about the effects
of and/or evolution of the trend on society.

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Assignment 3: Productive Counterargument

Proposal Due: Thursday, July 21
Rough Draft Due: Friday, July 22
Final Draft Due: Monday, July 25
Overview: The Productive Counterargument essay is your chance to influence your readers to
understand your position on an issue you care about, whether or not you convince them to agree with
you. Argue a point. Clarify a position. Introduce an alternative option. Correct a misconception. Refute
an argument or belief. Take a stand. Change a behavior. Launch a manifesto! All of these stances require
you to address a position that differs from your own in some (big or small) way.
Whatever stance you take, youll engage with a larger conversation (at least one opposing or alternative
perspective) on a topic that merits your intellectual energy and your audiences attention. You will
research multiple sides of the issue, respectfully consider and address opinions you may not share, and
respond to an existing argument with your own productive counterargument.
Prompt: Identify an interesting problem or issue that affects you directly or affects a community youre
a part of and that merits your taking a stand.
First, think locally, rather than globally. You are more likely to make a strong, insightful, impassioned,
and fresh argument about issues affecting your hometown, your family, or classmates in your major than
about national or global issues like hunger, gun control, or the drinking age.
Second, be sure the issue is debatable, which means it lends itself to genuine disagreement and invites
practical resolution. If you can solve the problem with an easy change or if you cannot find an audience
who might disagree with your stance, the issue may be too simpleaim for a topic that populates
multiple concerns for different audiences.
Process: As part of your proposal, you will explain your audience, exigence, and purpose for addressing
this topic. Consider carefully what you can accomplish with this particular group of readers at this time.
Additionally, you will identify three research questions that will help you to better understand the factors
involved in the issue and three library resources that will help you to research articulated, published
positions on the topic and/or to learn more about the complexity of the issue. You may need to reach
beyond your local context to find appropriate resources, just be sure the resources you find will provide
relevant, useful context.
After submitting your proposal, you will select an existing argument on the topic to which you will be
respondingperhaps it will come from one of the library resources you identified in your proposal, or
perhaps you will need to do some additional digging. The existing position should be reasonable and
argumentative (it should strike a clear position), though it may have some flaws you would like to
explore or expose. This argument provides your exigence for writing: You are responding directly to this
argument with your own productive counterargument. You do not have to disagree with the existing
argument 100%, but you should have a distinct, original position to present to your audience in order to
achieve a clear purpose.
As youre drafting, be sure to define the situation or problem that calls for your attention. Consider the
character of your audiencefriendly? hostile? mixed?and how best you can address them. Consider
how your readers will respond to the existing argument and to your counterargument. Consider what
facets of the problem or the existing argument you may need to summarize. Consider how you might
13

establish common ground and build consensus with the opposition, even as you use refutation and
rebuttal to distinguish your own position. Consider what persuasive arguments, examples, reasoning,
and rhetorical appeals will best achieve your purpose.
After drafting, youll revise and edit. Consider carefully how you should refer to your readers and your
topic. Consider the tone you should establish. Consider the best rhetorical uses of sentence structure.
Format: Your final draft should be 4-6 pages (double-spaced, 12-point, TNR font, 1 margins). When
citing your outside source(s), you will follow MLA format (see HGW Ch. 19 and/or the PSU Libraries
Citation Research Guide: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/citationstyles/MLA
_citation.html).
Grading Criteria: Your essay should (1) define a debatable issue clearly; (2) address a specific
audience; (3) identify and summarize an existing position; (4) respond to an existing argument with a
convincing, rhetorically effective counterargument; (5) support your claims with examples, details, and
reasoning; (6) use outside research that is credible and appropriate, as well as properly cited following
MLA guidelines; and (7) demonstrate the potential to influence your audience toward your purpose.

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Assignment 4: Proposal Argument

Proposal Due: Wednesday, July 27
Rough Draft Due: Friday, July 29
Final Draft Due: Monday, August 1
Overview: In the Productive Counterargument essay, you engaged with a larger conversation and
clearly expressed your position on an issue. In this Proposal Argument essay, you will build from those
skills as you identify a problem and advocate for a way to address, solve, or resolve that problem. A
proposal might begin from questions such as, what is wrong and right here? How might this situation be
improved? What are some good solutions to this problem? In developing your proposal, then, you will
identify a problematic item, policy, or object, make an evaluative judgment, and move forward from
there to suggest an alternative or a solution to that problem.
Prompt: Identify a problem and advocate for a way to address, solve, or resolve that problem. First,
youll want identify an audience who can benefit from and participate in the solution your proposal
addresses. You may also need to convince your audience that a problem does, indeed, exist, if that is not
obvious. In most cases, it is helpful to explain not just the problem but also the way that you understand
the stakes of the problem. Your starting point, then, is to identify something that bothers you
something you feel should be changed.
Then youll argue that a certain action should be taken to respond to or resolve that problem. Your
proposed plan of action should be both possible and desirable. You will need to explore the costs and
benefits (the feasibility) of your solution. Most of the paper should be devoted to advocating for your
proposed plan for addressing/ resolving that problem.
Process: As you are brainstorming, explore your local communities, practices, and investments.
(National or international problems may be tough to address in the space of this essay.) What real-life
problem might benefit from a concrete solution you can identify?
As a part of your proposal, you will include a list of five sources you might consult for information
about your topic (these can be specific articles or books, titles of relevant publications, names of
individuals you could interview, etc.). What scholarly or popular publications address this topic? What
local, national, or international contexts could you research with published resources? What local people
or organizations could you contact for further information? Where might you find proposals of a similar
scale that you could use as a model for your own? What kind of field research could you do to collect
your own information?
As youre drafting, carefully consider issues of feasibility. Think about how you are explaining the time,
money, labor, resources, etc. that would be necessary to put your solution into action. Consider how you
might establish common ground and build consensus with the opposition. Consider how you will
address competing solutions and do not assume that everyone will agree that your plan is best. Consider
any concessions your audience might need to make and do your best to convince them that your solution
is the most effective.
After drafting, youll revise and edit. Consider carefully how you should refer to your readers and your
topic. Consider the tone you should establish. Consider the best rhetorical uses of sentence structure.
Format: Your final draft should be 4-6 pages (double-spaced, 12-point, TNR font, 1 margins). When
citing your outside source(s), you will follow MLA format (see HGW Ch. 19 and/or the PSU Libraries
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Citation Research Guide: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/citationstyles/MLA

_citation.html).
Grading Criteria: Your proposal essay will be graded according to the following criteria. Your essay
should: (1) identify and describe the problem clearly; (2) address a limited audience who can help you
achieve and/or benefit from your proposed solution; (3) present a concrete proposal for change; (4)
explain how and why your solution will address the problem you have identified; (5) fairly assess and
fully explore the possible costs and benefits of your proposed solution; (6) use outside research that is
credible and appropriate, as well as properly cited following MLA guidelines.

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Assignment 5: Multimedia Rhetorical Narrative (Memoir) and Cover Letter

Proposal Due: Thursday, August 4
Rough Draft Due: Friday, August 8
Final Draft Due: Wednesday, August 10
Prompt: In this assignment, you will have a chance to apply your new understanding of rhetoric to your
life by identifying and then narrating a moment where you demonstrated rhetorical awareness or
linguistic prowess. With this assignment, you will narrate a memorable moment to an audience with a
clear rhetorical purpose through a carefully selected sequence of events, vivid sensory details,
characters, scenery, dialogue, and personal reflection. You will choose an appropriate medium to deliver
this story that considers the best available means for your rhetorical situation and combines any two or
more media, including text, images, audio, and, if you choose, video. This means that your final
multimedia narrative might be an audiovisual production (video, Twitter, Blog, slideshow, or scripted
podcast), but it just as easily could be a composition that combines images and text (like a magazine
article, blog post, or photo essay with extensive captions and an introduction). You will also submit a
cover letter that explains the thinking that guided both your rhetorical choices and your use of
multimedia.
Process: As you brainstorm, you will think of a variety of significantor insignificantexperiences in
your life as a rhetor. You should analyze each of these options for your rhetorical purpose, their value to
a particular audience, and how they can be delivered through a specific medium to fit that audience and
purpose. While there isnt an expectation for your project to be ready for network TV, you do need to
demonstrate an effort to make thoughtful and rhetorically-minded production choices that will help you
influence your audience. As you write your proposal, you will articulate your exigence, audience, mode
of delivery, and the carefully chosen sequence of events that support your purpose. In your proposal, you
may also indicate important details, scenes, characters, or dialogue you plan to include.
The process of drafting will involve a storyboard and rough draft delivered within the chosen medium.
Be sure to leave plenty of time for editing and revision. Multimedia editing can be time-consuming. In
addition to checking for smooth and effective use of your chosen media, you will also need to pay
attention to language and style, demonstrating purposeful use of sentence variety for emphasis.
Additionally, you will spend some time composing a cover letter to support your instructor in evaluating
your multimedia project. The cover letter should explain how your project constitutes a fitting response
to your chosen rhetorical situation and include the following: (1) a brief overview of your rhetorical
situation and an explanation of how you demonstrated rhetorical significance; (2) a discussion of
how your multimedia delivery suits the audience and purpose; and (3) several supporting examples
of how you employed rhetorical decision making and analysis of the outcomes of those rhetorical
choices.
Format: Length and format are determined by the task you set for yourself. Your instructor will discuss
requirement details for your multimedia project in more detail. Your explanatory cover letter should be
1-2 pages (double-spaced, TNR font, 1 margins). All copyrighted content should be properly cited.
Grading Criteria: Your assignment should
(1) narrate a specific memorable moment that demonstrates your efficacy as a rhetor;
(2) develop a clear narrative purpose with a selection of supporting details, characters, scenery,
and reflection;
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(3) address a distinct audience who will respond to that purpose;

(4) deliver your narrative clearly through purposeful use of your mediums available means; and
(5) explain and defend your rhetorical choices in a cover letter.

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