Blogging for the Public Good Editorial Plan

Get into your blogging groups and talk about (or revisit) the issues you want your blog to focus on. By the end of the first hour of class, you will need to post your editorial plan for your blog to our course blog. In this post, you will need to write (together) a short proposal for your blog, and here’s what you need to include:

First, describe the overall topic or issue that you will all write about in some way and explain why it is an important issue and one that you should address now. (That is, think about this issue’s kairos.) Why is this issue timely? Why is it important for you and your peers to generate persuasive arguments about this issue in this particular moment? What kinds of arguments are appropriate or even possible to make at this point in time? What kinds of readers will be interested in your blog’s focus? Describe as many kinds of readers as you possibly can who might turn to your blog for insight on this issue. Overall, how will you appeal to these readers and write in a way that is appropriate for them?

Second, describe each individual writer’s post. How will each of you contribute to a discussion on this issue in a meaningful and unique way? What argument do you think you will put forth about this issue? Which sub-set of readers will you appeal to most directly? How will you appeal to them in an effective way? What gives you the authority to write about this issue? What questions do you have about this topic? What kind of extrinsic evidence do you need to support your claims about the argument you think you’ll make about it?

Your favorite blog ...

Before class on Monday, please comment on a blog (or a specific blog post) from Time's top 25 blogs that you especially enjoyed reading. First, tell us a bit about the blog. What issue does it focus on? What kind of reader does it appeal to? Then, describe or summarize the post that you enjoyed and tell us what it was about. Conclude by telling us why you liked it and how it effectively communicated with its audience (you individually, but also its intended readership).

Reflecting on your rhetorical analysis essay

Now that you’ve completed your rhetorical analysis essay, I would like to reflect on what you learned from writing it. That is, what was the most significant thing you learned about rhetoric by analyzing another writer’s persuasive strategies? More specifically, what did you do in your essay to demonstrate this knowledge? (Discuss a specific example.) Last, if you had to identify rhetorical strategy or term that you would like to learn more about or that still confuses you, what would it be?

Appeals to pathos and an update on your current essay

In lieu of class today, I would like you to respond to this blog post. First, tell the rest of class how you would define or describe an appeal to pathos. That is, in your own words, how does connecting with readers on an emotional level enhance a persuasive argument? (If it helps to explain this appeal by discussing an example from any op-ed piece you’ve read in the past few weeks, then please do so.)

Then, I would like you to give us a brief update on how your paper is coming along. Where are you at in the drafting process? What are you focusing on? What is the main point of your paper, or what would you say the main claim is? (If you’re doing option three, this is less relevant.) What questions do you have about this project as you continue working on it?

Rhetor's Notebook Post #6: Ethical Proofs

After you read the chapter on “Ethical Proof” in Ancient Rhetorics for Wednesday, I’d like you to pick one of the regular columnists from the Denver Post and read three or four pieces by this writer. (Note: You can do this instead of reading all of the op-ed pages.) Feel free to choose from any of the regular columnists from the opinion section, including Dan Haley, Vincent Carroll, David Harsanyi, Ed Quillen, Mike Rose, John Andrews, Susan Barnes-Gelt, Fred Brown, Joanne Ditmer, Tom Noel, or Susan Thorton. You can also choose to explore pieces by the local news columnists, too, like Susan Greene, Tina Griego, or Mike Littwin, or Bill Johnson. You can find links to their columns through our Blackboard page if you look under “Course Documents.”

Once you’ve read their columns, write one paragraph in which you describe the writer’s invented ethos or the persona that this writer cultivates in his or her column. How does this writer establish his or her expertise and credibility? What kind of values does he or she stand for? How do they secure the goodwill of his or her readers?

In a second paragraph present three brief quotations—a sentence or so—that offer evidence for the discussion in your first paragraph. Explain how these quotes support your ideas.

Please post your response as a comment to this post on our course blog before class on Wednesday, February 3.