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RWS 101 Handbook

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RWS 101 Handbook
RWS 100 Table of Contents

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Reading and Writing Arguments
Rhetoric, Writing, and Argument
Key Rhetorical Terms and Concepts
PACES: Project • Argument • Claims • Evidence • Strategies
Questions to Ask the Text BEFORE You Read
Mortimer Adler, “How to Mark a Book”
Charting a Text
Rhetorical Précis: description and examples
I know what it says, but what does it do?
Paraphrasing
Quotations
Some Questions to Ask Any Text
Evaluating Evidence

Short Texts
Vince Parry, “The Art of Branding a Condition”
Jeremy Rifkin, “A Change of Heart About Animals”
Nicholas Kristof, “War and Wisdom”
Nicholas Kristof, “Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?”
Brooks, “Poetry for Everyday Life”

Long Texts
Thompson, “Public Thinking”
Carey, “Why Do You Think They’re Called “For-Profit Colleges?”
Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

Analyzing Arguments
Aristotelian Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos
Introduction to Rhetorical Strategies
Sample Rhetorical Strategy Papers
The Rhetorical Strategy of Metadiscourse
Describing relationships between texts

Appendix
Classmate Contact Info
Agreement on Plagiarism/Use of Student Work

The material in this reader was prepared by Erin Flewelling, Chris Werry, Rose Burt, Alicia Upano, Melissa Watson and Jamie Madden, and draws from/remixes/takes inspiration from work done by many members of the RWS department.

Rhetoric, Writing & Argument

This is not a literature class, and it’s probably different from all the English classes you’ve taken.
This semester, you will be studying rhetoric, writing, and argument.

Before we begin, it’s probably a good idea to establish some definitions and goals, just so we’re all on the same page.

What is rhetoric?

Rhetoric began in ancient Greece. Citizens studied rhetoric to learn how to argue, communicate and reason, mostly so they could use these skills to participate in public life. Rhetorical education was especially

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