Required Assignment Sequence

PWR 1 (4 units): Focus on Analysis and Argument

The following may be the basis of individual assignments, linked assignments, or combined as elements of a single larger assignment. However they are employed in the actual construction of essay assignments, these modes of writing/analysis are core curricular elements of PWR 1 as approved by the Writing and Rhetoric Governance Board.

Assignment Sequence for PWR 1 (Minimum of four assignments. The oral presentation can be deferred to PWR 2):

1. Rhetorical Analysis: Rhetorical analysis will introduce students to basic rhetorical principles, including the elements of the rhetorical situation (purpose, audience, writer’s stance, topic, genre) and the range of appeals (ethos, pathos, logos). The assignment will present students with a well defined project for using these principles to analyze how a particular text makes an argument.
   
   Goals: to practice close rhetorical reading, to establish the relationship between appropriate and convincing details and general conclusions, and to demonstrate the basic concepts of academic argument.
   
   
2. Contextual Analysis: Contextual analysis will introduce students to methods for analyzing rhetoric in particular conceptual, situational, or historical contexts. This may be a stand-alone assignment, a linked assignment leading up to the research-based argument, or it may be re-cast as one of the elements of the research-based argument project, such as a major annotated bibliography or a popular article.
   
   Goals: to begin working creatively with sources and to practice linking the sources to arguments of their own.
   
   
3. Research-Based Argument: Students will write a well-supported, focused argument drawing on library and Web-based research that accomplishes the following goals:
   
   • It demonstrates a clear understanding of the problem it addresses.
   • It engages successfully with realistically portrayed opposing views or multiple
   perspectives.
   • It incorporates appropriate material from well-chosen sources purposefully, gracefully, and ethically.
   • It exhibits reasonable and appropriate rhetorical choices based on the writer’s
   purpose.

   The research-based argument assignment may include some, but not all, of the following:
   • Research proposal
   • Annotated bibliography
   • Oral presentation (keeping in mind that substantial work on oral presentations will be reserved for PWR 2)
   • Peer review
   • Popular article/op ed/satire/yes-yes paper
   • Memo/ reflection on student’s writing
   • Outline
   • Library workshop
   • Research log
   • Draft
   • Research-based argument final draft
   • CWP portfolio

   Since the research-based argument has multiple parts, the overall process must be carefully planned and scheduled (in the syllabus as well as in class) in order to avoid overwhelming the students.
   
   Goals: to demonstrate the ability to use rhetorical appeals effectively; to integrate sources effectively into the student's own argument; to structure an argument effectively; and to carry out an analysis of the argument.
   

This sequence will be most effective if the assignments are linked to a topic the student identifies early on and investigates throughout the term. Examples of specific assignments that instructors have carried out for this sequence are provided in the Showcase of Instructor Syllabi.

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