Writing 102
Order Description
And now for today’s activities. Follow these steps.
1. Using Sarah Smarsh’s “Poor Teeth” article, practice the steps of “The Method” outlined in the Five Analytical Moves (last Wednesday’s reading). Complete all of the steps, including the substantial paragraph about the most significant repetitions, strands, binaries, and anomalies. Post your work in a Word document in the Discussions tab on Blackboard (there will be a forum created called “The Method”). To help identify word repetitions in a long article like this, try using this cool web feature: http://www.wordcounter.com/
2. In another Discussion forum called “Rhetorical Strategies,” compose the following two freewrites, each at least 400 words apiece.
a. Using the rhetorical terms of situated ethos and invented ethos (definitions found in the glossary of your syllabus), explain how Natasha Lennard establishes her authority and credibility in her article “Of Suicide.” [Hints: use of personal experience, allusions to substance and domestic abuse, lack of concrete conclusions, etc.] Then, explain how Lennard challenges common narratives about suicide and suicide attempts by reasoning through (logos) problematic definitions, and offering new words and metaphors in their place. [Hints: the “manslaughter” kind of suicide/attempt, “crime of passion” metaphor, questioning what “intent” really means, etc.]
b. Using the rhetorical terms of pathos and kairos (definitions found in the glossary of your syllabus), explain how Sophie Kleeman uses the graphics related to the Ebola epidemic to prompt an emotional response in her readers (check out the “About Us” on Mic.com to learn more about the site and its targeted readers). What kind of emotional responses might these graphics be looking to evoke? How so? How does Kleeman situate her claims within a particular cultural context? In other words, how does the Ebola epidemic in countries like Liberia become a timely context for discussing the prejudices and policies of the West (America and western Europe)?
