Assignment # 1 – Articulating the Argument
RWS 280/Section 3
Assignment # 1 – Articulating the Argument
Write an account of Science Shows No Link Between Games and Violence by Karen Sternheimer and Michael D. Gallagher, focusing on the rhetorical situation — context, purpose, primary claim, evidence, audience, and authors, as well as on the appeals used.
Write an approximately 3-page long paper, double-spaced, typed, and edited in normal font (12). Use M.L.A. formatting style.Papers with too many elementary spelling and grammar mistakes will be returned as incomplete. Late papers will be penalized. Papers are considered late if they are not in my possession or my mailbox.
Please also print the grade slip, and place it on the top of your paper, as a cover sheet.
In case you have a serious excuse for your absence or a previous arrangement with me, you will email me your assignment on the due date and also bring me a hard copy for grading the next time you come to class.
You are to respect the university rules regarding plagiarism. Anybody who will be found guilty of plagiarizing will absolutely fail the class.
Steps to follow:
- Start with setting the stage for the discussion and reveal the context of this argument.
- Provide a short summary of the reading. Identify the claims of the article and present them in the order of their importance. You can explain some of these and provide quotations to illustrate them. However, avoid irrelevant details.
- Introduce the authors as they appear from the text and context.
- Identify the targeted audience.
- Identify the purpose of the article.
- Conclude with a short evaluation of the effectiveness of the argument. Is the argument effective or ineffective? How entertaining, convincing, or informative is the whole piece? (Do not answer these questions directly; integrate them into your brief evaluation.)
Key outcomes met with this assignment:
- Recognize that writing is a process of inquiry used both to discover and communicate ideas;
- Understand the rhetorical situation of a text – author, audience, purpose, context, evidence;
- Extract main ideas from texts and reorganize them;
- Analyze an author’s specific rhetorical moves in a given text;
- Summarize and paraphrase texts, and incorporate them into own writing to support and extend own ideas;
- Evaluate the arguments/claims and supporting material in written texts;
- Use collaborative and social aspects of the writing process by critiquing peer’s texts and discussing own writing;
- Format simple manuscripts, and cite sources accurately;
- Understand the consequences of plagiarism;
- Edit own writing for grammar, mechanics, and usage.
