To continue careful examination and analysis of the advertisements students brought in. To discuss the importance of purpose, thesis and support and to get students thinking about how to analyze these elements in sample papers and address these elements with their own writing.
Analyzing ads provides students with the practice they need to succeed with Portfolio I – Part C; it also serves the larger course goal of encouraging close examination of texts. The discussion regarding purpose, thesis and support helps students see their writing as a situated rhetorical act and something worth reading beyond our class context.
Again, pass around the conference sign up sheet for any students who may have been absent last class. Remind students of the conference expectations and requirements you have already covered. If you are asking students to bring their drafts to this conference, please remind them again. The more progress they have made on this assignment, the more helpful you can be during the conference.
Field questions about the assignment and their concerns. Starting with a five minute WTL will get more responses than simply asking students if they have any questions. The WTL question might be, "State the main purpose of this assignment and then list two questions you have about completing the assignment.
Ask students to read the sample essay they printed off and brought to class today. As they read, they should respond to the following questions:
After students have read the sample and responded to the above questions, discuss the effectiveness of the essay. How well does it achieve its purpose? How clear is the focus? How well is it supported?
If you finish this activity early, you may wish to move to one of the professional essays in the PHG--especially if you assigned it the previous period.
Write a conclusion for today’s class.
1.) Read two more sample analysis essays: Adam Forest’s “Beauty and Violence” on pgs. 174 – 175 in the PHG and Karyn Lewis’ “Some Don’t Like Their Blues At All” on pgs. 176 – 178 in the PHG. Consider: What is each author’s purpose? How do they support their points?
2.) Choose the ad you’d like to work with for Portfolio I –Part C (this can be an ad you’ve already examined previously in class or for homework). Spend some time analyzing the ad and write a draft of your Portfolio I – Part C essay.
3.) Prepare for your conference on Friday by reading over the assignment sheet and writing down the questions and concerns you have for this paper. What would you like to discuss during the conference?
