ENGLISH COMPOSTION II
2 IN A HALF PGS EACH WEEK.
WEEK 1
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any additional recommended resources. Some answers may require you to do additional research on the Internet or in other reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the discussion and the any insights you gained from it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.
Assignment:
1. Identify a social issue you are strongly opposed to. Then use the 4 stasis questions on page 22 of the textbook to dive deeper into the topic in a way that builds a solid argument.
2. Think about a time when you believed an emotional appeal put forth by a political party, company, marketing campaign, or piece of advertising only to find out that you were not quite told the truth. Explain the situation, what was told to you, what the truth was, how you uncovered it, and how finding out that you were misled made you feel. Also explain if, or how, this experience changed how you view arguments put in front of you.
3. Imagine you are the marketing director for a company that makes fruit snacks for kids. The snacks aren’t so much fruit as they are sugar, water, and artificial dyes; but kids love them and they are individually wrapped for ease of use by busy parents. Your company needs to increase sales by 50% in the next quarter and your boss has put this burden on you. Write copy for a print ad to run in “Mom’s World” magazine that uses an emotional appeal to get busy moms to buy your product and give it to their children.
4. Select someone from the entertainment industry who is famous on an international scale. Then find a charity with characteristics that match that person’s character and ethos. Write text for a print ad that would feature the performer talking about why the charity is important. Also include why you chose the person and charity you did, and why you feel they share an ethos.
WEEK 2
Assignment:
1. Find a credible news story from the past 3 months that employs one of the fallacies of emotional argument. Explain which argument is used, how it’s used, and whether it’s effective.
2. Find a credible news story from the past 3 months that employs one of the fallacies of ethical argument. Explain which argument is used, how it’s used, and whether it’s effective.
3. Find a credible news story from the past 3 months that employs one of the fallacies of logical argument. Explain which argument is used, how it’s used, and whether it’s effective.
4. Find an op-ed piece in credible newspaper or website, preferably on a topic on which you disagree, and write a rhetorical analysis following the Guide to Writing a Rhetorical Analysis in Chapter 6 of the textbook.
WEEK 3
Assignment:
1. Find a letter to the editor in the New Yo ...
Presentation by Andreas Schleicher Tackling the School Absenteeism Crisis 30 ...
ENGLISH COMPOSTION II2 IN A HALF PGS EACH WEEK.WEEK 1Start b.docx
1. ENGLISH COMPOSTION II
2 IN A HALF PGS EACH WEEK.
WEEK 1
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the
assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any
additional recommended resources. Some answers may require
you to do additional research on the Internet or in other
reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the discussion and the any insights you gained from
it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your
sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.
Assignment:
1. Identify a social issue you are strongly opposed to. Then use
the 4 stasis questions on page 22 of the textbook to dive deeper
into the topic in a way that builds a solid argument.
2. Think about a time when you believed an emotional appeal
put forth by a political party, company, marketing campaign, or
piece of advertising only to find out that you were not quite told
the truth. Explain the situation, what was told to you, what the
truth was, how you uncovered it, and how finding out that you
were misled made you feel. Also explain if, or how, this
experience changed how you view arguments put in front of
you.
3. Imagine you are the marketing director for a company that
makes fruit snacks for kids. The snacks aren’t so much fruit as
they are sugar, water, and artificial dyes; but kids love them and
they are individually wrapped for ease of use by busy parents.
Your company needs to increase sales by 50% in the next
quarter and your boss has put this burden on you. Write copy
for a print ad to run in “Mom’s World” magazine that uses an
emotional appeal to get busy moms to buy your product and
2. give it to their children.
4. Select someone from the entertainment industry who is
famous on an international scale. Then find a charity with
characteristics that match that person’s character and ethos.
Write text for a print ad that would feature the performer
talking about why the charity is important. Also include why
you chose the person and charity you did, and why you feel they
share an ethos.
WEEK 2
Assignment:
1. Find a credible news story from the past 3 months that
employs one of the fallacies of emotional argument. Explain
which argument is used, how it’s used, and whether it’s
effective.
2. Find a credible news story from the past 3 months that
employs one of the fallacies of ethical argument. Explain which
argument is used, how it’s used, and whether it’s effective.
3. Find a credible news story from the past 3 months that
employs one of the fallacies of logical argument. Explain which
argument is used, how it’s used, and whether it’s effective.
4. Find an op-ed piece in credible newspaper or website,
preferably on a topic on which you disagree, and write a
rhetorical analysis following the Guide to Writing a Rhetorical
Analysis in Chapter 6 of the textbook.
WEEK 3
Assignment:
1. Find a letter to the editor in the New York Times, LA Times,
or Wall Street Journal. Use the Toulmin Argument to analysis
the letter. Suggest revisions and offer additional evidence
2. Perform the exercise on page 169 of the textbook that centers
on Factcheck.org. In addition to the activity, be sure to explain
why you chose the topic you did and whether what you believed
3. to be accurate about that topic turned out to be proven true or
false.
3. Create a list of 3 commonly believed conspiracy theories.
Following the examples on page 172 of the textbook, create
three versions of each claim in which each version offers more
information to help readers judge the merit of the claim.
4. Write an argument of definition about a term that has
suddenly become culturally significant or recently changed in
some important way. Either defend the way the term has come
to be defined or raise questions about its appropriateness,
offensiveness, inaccuracy, and so one.
WEEK 4
Assignment:
1. Choose one item from the following list that you understand
well enough to evaluate. Develop several criteria of evaluation
that you could defend to distinguish excellence from
meritocracy in the area. Then choose an item you don’t know
much about and explain the research you might perform to
discover reasonable criteria of evaluation for it. Smart phones,
NFL quarterbacks, fashion designers, Navajo rugs, UN secretary
generals, contemporary painters, hip-hop bands, organic
vegetables, athletic shoes, historic U.S. battlegrounds, breeds of
dogs, former British prime ministers.
2. Find an obituary or eulogy of a famous person who died in
the past 6 months. Analyze the types of claims the document
makes about the accomplishments of the deceased. Explain what
types of criteria of evaluation hold the article together. Also
explain why the person should be respected or admired.
3. Find a topic of social responsibility that is of interest to
today’s university students. Write up a plan of how you’d
prepare a proposal to deal with the topic.
4. Find a hot issue proposal in the news today that you
REALLY disagree with. It may be a political initiative, cultural
innovation, technological advancement, or lifestyle change.
4. Study the idea more deeply than you have to date then compose
a proposal argument based on your deeper understanding of the
proposal. You may take a stance either for or against the issue.
WEEK 5
Assignment:
1. Write a review of a recent movie you’ve seen. Experiment
with punctuation as a way to create an effective style. Try using
a series of questions to see if they add value, use exclamation
points to see if they detract from your message, or use
interesting language. Then find another review of the same
movie and compare your review with that review explaining
how punctuation created differences. (Include the other review
in your submission.)
2. Find the text of a speech by someone who uses figures of
speech liberally. Pick one or two paragraphs that are rich in
figures and rewrite them, eliminating every bit of figurative
language. Explain how the two versions differ and which you
feel is more effective, and why. (Include the text of the original
speech in your submission.)
3. Find a story that has been covered in numerous news media
in the past few months. Identify an article in a credible source
that is strictly text. Then write up a plan on how you would use
visual and multimedia aids to improve upon it.
4. Find an ad for a food product or beverage - either print or
digital - that uses both verbal and visual elements. Analyze its
argument after watching the following videos: Analyzing the
argument – Part 1of 2 and Analyzing the argument – Part 2 of
2.Include in your analysis the affect an audience has on the
argument’s reception.
WEEK 6
Assignment:
1. Find a print presentation you find effective. Study it carefully
and define what aspects you find effective, and why, drawing on
information from the textbook. Then find a print presentation
you find ineffective. Study it carefully and define what aspects
5. you find ineffective, and why, drawing on information from the
textbook. Then make recommendations on what you would do
differently to make it more effective, and why.
2. Find a multimedia presentation you find effective. Study it
carefully and define what aspects you find effective, and why,
drawing on information from the textbook. Then find a
multimedia presentation you find ineffective. Study it carefully
and define what aspects you find ineffective, and why, drawing
on information from the textbook. Then make recommendations
on what you would do differently to make it more effective, and
why.
3. Find a short op-ed piece - 4-5 paragraphs - from the past
week’s newspaper. Rewrite the story to be read aloud to a live
audience. Then make a list of all of the changes you made.
4. Find a short multimedia presentation on YouTube or other
site that features short video lectures. Watch the presentation
and write a critique on the speaker’s delivery, multimedia tools,
language, effectiveness, etc. Explain what was the most
memorable part of the presentation, and why. Also write
constructive feedback to provide to the speaker in order to
increase the presentation’s effectiveness. (Include the link to
the video in the submission.)
WEEK 7
Assignment:
1. Complete exercise 3 on page 420 of the textbook.
2. Interview a friend or family member about a recent holiday
or celebration. Limit yourself to 10 questions that you write in
advance, and don’t deviate from them. Record the answers.
Then interview another friend or family member about the same
holiday or celebration. Ask the first question from your list,
then let the answers dictate the rest of the questions. Record the
answers. Explain which interview gave you more information
and which told you more about the event.
3. Find an online news source whose credibility or objectively
6. is considered questionable. Look up a recent news story and use
the principles on page 457 of the textbook to assess the source.
Include your opinion on whether, after your assessment, you
find the source to be credible.
4. Find a story in the news in the past year that was partially or
fully retracted or corrected after it was discovered that the field
research was not done properly. Explain what was done
incorrectly that led to the error, and what steps should have
been taken in order to avoid the issue. Be sure to include the
news story in your submission.
WEEK 8
Assignment:
1. Complete exercise 1 on page 481 of the textbook regarding
essays from Chapters 8 -12.
2. Using another essay from chapters 8-12 of the book and
examine the different ways an author uses source materials to
support claims. Begin by highlighting the signal phrases you
find attached to borrowed ideas or direct quotations. Explain
how well they introduce or frame the material. Then categorize
the various ways the author actually uses particular sources, and
write a paragraph assessing the author’s handling of sources in
the piece. Explain if the borrowed materials integrate well with
the author’s own thoughts. Explain if they represent an effective
synthesis of ideas.
3. Log on to Wikipedia and view the entry for Local Food,
paying special attention to how the article acknowledges
sources and how Wikipedia alerts readers that articles may
contain unreliable or uncredited information. Explain whether
or not you think the material is accurately sourced and cited.
4. MLA and APA styles differ in several important ways, both
for in-text citations and for lists of sources. Define which
academic disciplines subscribe to MLA and which to APA. Then
list as many differences as you can between the two, then for
each difference speculate about reasons for the differences.
7. Social Science and the American Crime Problem
Crime & Hollywood
Consequences of Hollywood?
1) Glorifies crime in the eyes of the public
2) Encourages disrespect for CJ authorities
3) Desensitizes citizens to crime
4) Encourages copycat acts
5) Generates fear of victimization
6) Fuels harsh crime-related ideology
Crime as Entertainment3 Main Genres in Hollywood
1) Police dramas
2) Reality-based shows
3) Feature films
6 Variations of the Police Drama1) Cops as action heroes
Hip crime fighting duos
Starsky & Hutch → Miami Vice → Hawaii Five-O2) Cops as
social workers
Officer friendly model
Mod Squad →1 Adam 12 → Cold Case → CSI: Miami3) Private
eye as cops
8. Bright entrepreneur or ex-cop on the outside
Barnaby Jones → Charlie’s Angels → Magnum PI→ Monk
6 Variations of the Police Drama4) Civilian sleuth
Brilliant civilian do-gooder
Hardy boys → Quincy → Murder She Wrote → Bones5) Cop
show as sitcoms
Satire of the force
Barney Miller → Reno 911 → Brooklyn 996) Cop show as soap
operas
Personal lives & their characters
Hill Street Blues → NYPD Blue → NCIS → The Wire
2 Central Themes of Cop Dramas
1) Vigilante police
Must rely on extralegal actions to get around courts
Must get their man (know who did it & must get them)
Need & usefulness of the aggressive actions
Appeals to American individual & authority complex
2) Moral complexity of the cop
Hill Street Blues starts era of complex job role
Nothing in black & white
Dirty cop can be good (The Shield)
Mean criminals can be righteous (Huggy Bear)
Have begun to let the viewers form their own opinions
Reality-Based Cop ShowsBegan in the 1980s after embedded
reporters on drug storiesShow dramatic footage of cops in
actionAppeal of the format to producers
9. Steady market share
Cheap to produce
Rerun potentialAppeal of the content to viewers
Voyeurism
Identification w/ authority
Civic duty functionContent differential versus reality of crime
1) Disproportionate minority perpetrators
2) Paint cops in positive light (PR model w/ cop narrator)
3) Perpetrators framed as dangerous & unremorseful people
4) One-sided portrayal of the crime problem
Crime FilmsEvolution of the genre has mirrored police
dramasLike a dog w/ a bone on content themes (serial killers,
police corruption, drugs)Excessive body count Super-cops vs.
brilliant criminals
Types of Media Studies
Content analysis
Identify themes in the content
Reel world vs. real world
Cultivation studies
Impact on viewer ideology
Impact on policy makers and practitioners
Experimental studies
Audience response models
Impact that content has on episodic vs. thematic lens of the
viewer
Content Analysis Studies20% of films since 1950s revolve
around crime plotVolume of violence on film is way up3
10. ideologically-loaded content themes
1) Offenders as pros
2) Judges as liberals
3) Cops as hard working do-gooders
4 Major Historical Themes
1) Sterile good guys & bad guys of the post WWII era (1945-
1965)
Police professionalism era
Expansion of crime fighting role
Officer friendly days
2) Rebellious era (1965-1975)
Desperate cops & perpetrators
Crusaders of justice vs. rebellious youth & minorities
Offender rights era
4 Major Historical Themes
3) Conservative era (1975-1990)
Law & order theme
Reagan’s get tough on crime
War on drugs
4) New Democrat era (1990-)
Crime as a complex social problem
Still get tough but consider implications
Race, poverty, class as impetus
Police vs. citizens & all that follows
Complexity of the issues
Cultivation StudiesHeavy crime show television viewers
11. compared to light viewers tend to be:
More distrusting
More alienated and gloomy
Overestimate the nature & extent of crime
More fearful
More supportive of police
More punitiveYoung viewers are particularly
impressionableCrime-related shows may be attractive to the
already fearful & vindictive people
O’Reilley Factor, Nancy Grace, Geraldo Rivera effect
Social Science and the American Crime Problem
Crime and the Media
Love/Hate Relationship with CrimeWe loath crime and want it
stopped on the streetsWe are fascinated by crime & consume
mass quantities of it in the media
Most frequent news stories
Fictional & non-fictional TV shows
Most popular stories, novels, movies
News Media’s RoleNews media serves as our main source of
information on crime & justiceSteadily blurring the lines
between non-fiction & fictionComplex role of the media
Plays a role in what we see
Plays a role in public opinion
Plays a role in political ideology
Plays a role on criminal justice case outcomes
12. Plays a role in criminal justice policies and practices
History of Crime & the News MediaCrime stories date back to
first printing press of 1600sColonial America’s fixation on
crime
Ben Franklin often wrote crime articlesEarly 1800s saw birth of
daily newspapers
Soon followed by crime/justice weekliesEarly 1900s saw birth
of crime reporters
Sensationalism of individual cases became the norm
Editors seek to capture readers’ attention not societal conditions
Reporters fostered relationships with police and
prosecutorsProliferation of print coverage in the late 20th
century
By mid-1990s, ¼ of all newspaper stories focus on justice
related topics
Don’t forget weekly news magazines (Time, Newsweek, US
News)
Leisure magazines (Maxim, Cosmo) get into the act
Radio DaysRadio’s boom years of the 1920s
Allowed for live, on-the-scene reporting
Papers’ breath of reporting was replaced by radio’s depth of
reporting
Crime dramas were also a staple of programming
The average American consumed a heavy dose of crime material
each day over the airways
Television’s Influence Opened the door for graphic depictions
in fiction & non-fiction formEditors could show the perpetrator,
13. victim & cop in one visual clip Proliferation of TV news crime
coverage
10% of all national TV news stories & 20% of all local TV news
stories are on crime in the late 1990s
Spread of courtroom or law enforcement reality shows (Judge
Judy, Cops)
Proliferation of Crime in the NewsWhile violent crime
decreased in late 1990s, newspaper coverage of crime rose
400%Network news coverage of murder increased 336% from
1990 to 1995We now live in a “if it bleeds, it leads” news
worldIncreased coverage is not warranted24 hour news cycle
and blog effects
Nature of News CoverageCoverage focuses on:
Rare types of offenses (rape, murder, robbery)
Rare types of offending (predatory or hyper-violent)A biased
view of the problem
Brutal or sexy details
Runaway bride
Stranger crimes
Serial murder
Dangerous classes as offenders
Depicts the African Americans accused in worst way
(Newsweek & OJ’s face)
Nature of News Coverage (cont.)Look for the “innocent & pure”
victims
Affluent or young white femalesFrame crime using an episodic
rather than using a thematic lens
14. Columbine kids, not home life or bullyingRare thematic focus
emphasizes failed CJ system
Columbine kids got over on PO & judge
Source of Media’s Fascination1) Fits into news media
Out of the ordinary
Good & evil quality
Drama component2) Feeds organizational needs
Crime sells & boosts ratings
Quick & easy to put together3) Stable relationships
Reliable & authoritative sources
Can foster relationships
Produces an insider-shaped perspective of the situation
Media’s ImpactUnclear if the media sets the agenda or react to
itPress doesn’t tell us what to think but it does tell us what to
think about
Child victims, illegal immigrationCultivates concern, ideology
& political activism
Makes an issue of something
Politicians look to the news for the pulse of the people
Reports the agenda of politicians
Ripple effect across marketsThe weak & undecided get shaped,
while the strong & dogmatic get reinforced
CNN vs. Fox NewsImpacts criminal justice policy and practice
Jessica’s law
Border patrol
Type: Book / Movie Review
Service: Writing
Pages: 4 pages / 1100 words
Topic: 4 Television Show Reviews
15. Subject: Criminology
Sources: -
Style: MLA
Description
4 Reviews, Each 1 page long, 4 episodes per show
Choose one of the shows for each review. Watch 4 episodes and
write a 1 page reaction paper that examines which of the six
variations the show represents, identify the historical theme the
show represents and explain why the particular episode
adequately reflects the variation and theme.
Assignment Guidelines
View up to four (4) episodes from any of the following
television programs and write a reaction paper that examines
which of the six variations the show represents, identify the
historical theme the show represents and
explain why the particular episode adequately reflects the
variation and theme.
Some episodes can be viewed on the, decades channel
http://www.decades.com/schedule/
http://www.cozitv.com
,
https://www.youtube.com
,
www.hulu.com
and
https://www.netflix.com/
The shows you can choose from include:
o Mannix, Cannon, Peter Gunn, Dragnet, Adam-12, Streets of
San Francisco
o Quincy, Barney Miller, Kojak, Hill Street Blues, Simon and
Simon, and Charlie’s Angels
o Murder She Wrote, Cagney & Lacey, Moonlighting Magnum
PI and NYPD Blue, Monk and, Bones,
16. o You can also consider a comparison between the original
Hawaii Five (with Jack Lord) and the current
version (with Alex O-Loughlin).
Assignment Rubric
Assignment Specifics
(80 points)
Identifies which of the 6 variations of Police Drama the
television show represents.
Particularly describes the aspects of the show which meet the
criteria of the identified variation
Identify the major historical theme (period) in which the show
is set.
Describe the aspects of the show which meet the criteria of the
identified historical theme
Formatting, Grammar and Mechanics
(20 points ‡)
Double-spaced typewritten paper, twelve point Times New
Roman font, 1” margins
No cover or cover page
Maximum paper length 1 page
Sentence Construction
Subject-Verb Agreement
Consistent tense
Possessives
Punctuation
Capitalization
Spelling
Paragraph Structure and Indentation