We looked at a few outlines today from students gracious enough to let us learn from their process. A few things to keep in mind as you continue working:

• An outline is complex and organic; it does not come all at once, nor should it be written linearly (that is, top-to-bottom). If you get stuck, move to another point and come back after asking questions or reviewing your notes.
• Each point should contain two elements: the author’s words and the {means by which he or she makes them appealing}.
  • Initially, he demonstrates {decorum} to place himself on the level of his audience.
    • {Informal diction}
      • “bull–y” (Wallace 1)
      • “there are these two guys” (Wallace 2)
    • He {deconstructs} the genre to {demonstrate his awareness of their understanding of how “these things go”}
      • “standard requirement of . . . speeches” (Wallace 1)
      • “not the wise older fish” (Wallace 1)

In draft form this would read something like this:

By using informal diction such as “bull–y,” (Wallace 1) “there are these two guys,” (2) he speaks to his audience as “one of them” rather than a stodgy, learned academic doling out advice. He continues this with a deconstruction of the “standard requirement of . . . speeches” (1) and by assuring the students that he is “not the wise older fish” (1).

Keep up the hard work; we’ll do a run-through of your outlines in groups tomorrow and begin writing on Friday.

Tonight you are to begin writing your outline for a rhetorical analysis of David Foster Wallace’s commencement address to Kenyon College. The goal is not to churn out a perfect example of the form (b/c you’re taking the wrong course if you’re at that point) but to begin collecting your thoughts into a workable flow. Here’s a way to go about it if you’re stuck:

1. Look over your annotations of the speech. ((If you don’t have annotations, remember the small panic you’re feeling now during the next week-long discussion of a work. Now put that aside for now, take a deep breath, and read through the speech again, marking answers to the questions on our first post. Once you’ve annotated the entire speech, make an attempt at briefly summarizing his thesis. Now head to #2 above.))
2. If you notice a pattern (“jokes,” “stories,” “slang,” “syllogisms,” etc.), group them together. These will fall under the main points of your essay.
   2b. If you don’t notice any patterns, look for the three basic appeals: How does he help his audience trust him? How does he make his argument seem reasonable? How does he make his audience care? Group your answers to the last three questions together. These will make up the major points of your essay.
3. Take a step back. Whether you are organizing this by patterns or by appeals, you may have lots of evidence under one major point and little under the others. If so, consider bolstering the little ones by looking back over your annotations or dividing the larger one.
4. Write down what you believe his argument is. It doesn’t have to be worded perfectly, but it should be accurate.
5. Above each group of patterns or appeals write how the group supports the appeal of his argument. In this step you’re writing the gist of your topic sentences while preparing to show your audience how the disparate rhetorical elements of his argument tie together to make it convincing.
6. Stop. Or continue, but that is really all we need for discussion tomorrow. You can fiddle with the bullet symbols if you like. I enjoy hederas, myself.

Earlier this week you voted to write over the three short stories we’ve read so far ((“‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” and “The Greatest Man in the World”)). You’ve been working alternately solo and in groups to understand what these authors are arguing about rebellion.

As we’ve moved through this writing process I’ve asked you to keep a few things in mind. As you write your rough drafts this weekend, please make sure these haven’t disappeared from your writing:

• A thesis statement and topic sentences that are argumentative rather than descriptive. “All of the rebels died/disappeared in the end” is descriptive. “The stories demonstrate that small acts of rebellion, when just, are worth any sacrifice.”
• A body composed of paragraphs that compare/contrast the works. If your topic sentences each make an argument about a pattern within the works, you’re doing it correctly.

Email or post a comment with questions. They are due at the beginning of class on Monday.

You guys shared some additional sources in class today, so here’s an updated list:

• Arts & Letters Daily—Brilliant site bringing together articles from all over the Interwebs. Mostly scholarly, but all well-written.
• In These Times—Began as an “Independent Socialist Newspaper,” but is primarily progressive (left of center) in its leanings today. Kurt Vonnegut was a frequent contributor until 2005.
• Slate.com—Online-only news magazine. Gotta love the Explainer (not argumentative, but interesting nonetheless).
• NPR.org—Public Radio’s other online presence.
• The New Republic—Often insightful, this magazine focuses on politics and the arts.
• Time Magazine
• Bad Idea—A British magazine that publishes “young journalism.” Definitely worth checking out, as it brings a fresh face to opinion and editorials. Check out the Butcher’s Shop for an overview of the editing process articles go through before publication.
• AdBusters—Popular amongst my students for the past few years. Worth checking out.
• National Review—Very well-written conservative magazine.
• The New Yorker
• Popmatters—Articles on popular culture; music, video games, the Interwebs, and movies are all topics. Great place to find an article and a new favorite band.
• The Huffington Post
• CNN.com

Advertisements:

• Vintage Ad Browser
• I Believe in Advertising—Please note: not always “school appropriate”; browse carefully.

Video sources:

• Kickstarter.com—The videos are a bit like commercials, but often do not have the credibility ((Brand recognition)) of established companies—this changes their arguments a bit.
• TED.com—The educated person’s YouTube.
• PopTech—Like TED, but mostly devoted to STEM.

How to read online:

There are a number of programs out there that make reading online (and on your phone) a bit more comfortable; I use Pocket, but many others use Instapaper or Readability.

We looked quickly over the syllabus today, mostly focusing on my grading practices which may take some time to get used to. Please let me know if you or your parents have any questions!

We read and discussed “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktock Man” to get things rolling. As you read through your annotations tonight, try to get a clear understanding of what Ellison is trying to convey with this work. We’ll read many others with a similar theme to get a better understanding of this intertextuality thing.

If you have questions or comments please don’t hesitate to email me.