Rules Writing

I. Blink: Gladwell’s book explains rapid cognition, making a case for the legitimacy and power of snap judgments. It suggests possible topics for how-to guides (one option for paper 4), since the theory of “thin slicing” involves how to make a little knowledge go a long way.

A. Illustrated argument exercise #3: Find the “clean-cut” and “wild-haired” author photos of Malcolm Gladwell to illustrate his explanation of how he got the idea to write Blink (4). Follow the guidelines for illustrating arguments (BB/Handouts) to caption and cite sources for the photos, and insert them into this agenda below.

Insert Gladwell photos here.

B. Extending the dorm room experiment (Gladwell 34-39)

1) Take the Big Five Inventory questionnaire (click on the link below). Answer each question honestly. This is highly respected personality test, and you might learn something about yourself. No one will see the results except for you. Submit the test to get your scores in each of the five areas, and record them in writing for future reference.

http://mi.eng.cam.ac.uk/~farm2/personality/bigfive2.html

2) Partner with a class member that you don’t know (someone who doesn’t sit in your pod). Examine one another’s Facebook profile. Using the evidence of this page, fill out the Big Five questionnaire for your partner. (In other words, try to determine your partner’s personality on the basis of when you can tell about them on Facebook.)  Submit your data, record the results, and give them to your partner.

3) Examine data, determine if Facebook provides a “thin slice” index of who we are. On which of your “big five” scores did your partner’s rating of you come within .5 of your self-score? Indicate on the whiteboard tally chart.

C. Library databases, encore: One of the most famous practioners of rapid cognition is Paul Ekman, a scientist who developed a taxonomy of human facial displays of emotion that enabled him to “mind read.” (The Fox TV show Lie to Me is based on Ekman.) The taxonomy allows trained professionals to detect deceit, guilt, despair, and other states of mind by reading facial muscles. Find one article on Ekman using Newsbank, another via Academic Search Premier and a third using JStor. Be prepared to describe the difference between the materials indexed by these three databases.

II. Audience appeal: The “Rules Writing” assignment hinges on audience engagement. Your task is to find a subject, voice, and format that will interest us from the outset and motivate us to read on. Read the first pages of three drafts which I’ve pasted below. Which is the most engaging? Least? Explain your responses, and offer one suggestion about how to increase the audience appeal of the one you consider least engaging.

Excerpts of Examples

Writer 2: Introduction

Guys, first off let me make this perfectly clear; although this guide is entitled How to Get a Female to Tell You She Likes You More as a Friend, this is the absolute last thing you ever want to hear out of a girls mouth. If you follow my guide you will not ever get what you are looking for from a girl; whether it be a long-term relationship or just a one-night hookup. Use the personal stories and experiences of myself and some of my dearest, though still miserably single friends of mine to learn what not to do.

Stage One

Obviously, the first place where we have to start is actually talking to someone of the opposite gender. For purposes of all examples and stories, that girl will be named Laura.

So you are out at a social situation, a party, a club, a wedding reception, whatever it may be, and you see a woman who is exactly the type of woman who you think you would want to be around. You’re thinking about going up to talk to her but you are a little nervous. Before you even approach her you are already on the path towards the vaunted line of, “I’m sorry, but I only like you as a friend.” When you let fear enter your body before talking to someone of the opposite gender you have already lost the war. Guys, you have to say to yourself, “So what if I get rejected, I’m out, I’m having fun, and yes there are other girls here so even if this woman does say no to me, then I can walk to the other side of the room and try to find a different girl.” If you are nervous, the woman will be able to sense that from a mile away. And like a shark who tastes/sees/smells blood, she will go in to tear your heart up.

Eric, a friend of mine, is an expert in the field of not having enough/any self confidence. We were standing around one night at some social outing and there was this girl that fit perfectly into the aforementioned description for him. But he was scared. For whatever the reason may have been, the possibility of rejection was his kryptonite. Eventually he worked up enough confidence to walk over to

Paper 3: Southern Transplant

I am a Northern Girl—born and raised. Over the past 19 years, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has become more a part of me than any city ever will. I am a master at dressing in layers for days that begin at 50 degrees and warm to 85 by noon. I exclusively squirt Pittsburgh’s own Heinz Ketchup on my Primanti Bros. Pitts-Burgher Cheese Steak sandwich. Never had one? You’re missing out on a mouthwatering heart attack—steak, coleslaw, tomatoes, onions, provolone cheese, and fries on Italian bread.  I shed a tear on February 5, 2006, when the “Stillers” won their fifth Super Bowl. I go to breakfast at Eat ‘n Park and have never set foot in IHOP.  I am a European mutt—Irish, Polish, German, and Welsh. Pittsburgh has shaped me from the inside out.

When I arrived at Elon University, it only took a few days for me to experience an intense culture shock. Southern belles and gents, dressed in sherbet colored polo shirts, seemed to appear everywhere I went. I started to feel like an alien on Planet South.  After having a few good laughs about feeling different, I made a decision. Since I would be living in North Carolina for the next four years, it would be best to accept the differences and learn to adapt. This is a list of tips for Northern Girls of how to deal with a few traditional Southernisms that still mystify me. You may never truly fit in below the Mason-Dixon line, but there are polite and easy ways to acknowledge the southern way of life without betraying your northern roots.

1. SWEET TEA…Never confuse iced tea and sweet tea. They are as different as northern sarcasm and southern charm. Iced tea is a chilled, refreshing beverage often served during

In the last two papers, we focused on writing for academic audiences. Your analysis of A Thousand Splendid Suns emphasized the rhetorical structure (interpretation thesis and supporting arguments) and style required for writing in the humanities. Your gender socialization study used the structure (hypothesis, collection/presentation of data, analysis of data/conclusion) and style of social science field research.

Because life is long and college is short, most of the writing you’ll do in the future will be for non-academic audiences. You will still be taking a stand (e.g., You should hire me for this internship or job; This project deserves funding) and offering evidence to support it. The basic differences between academic and non-academic writing are matters of terminology (the academic “thesis” or “hypothesis” becomes a “proposal,” “position,” or “argument”) and style. (You won’t see MLA or APA citation outside a university setting, though effective non-academic writers do offer evidence from experts to support their claims.) This assignment is designed to give you practice in non-academic persuasive writing and to help you to develop an authoritative personal voice.

Assignment: Using the “how to” guides that we’ve read and discussed as models, write your own “rules” on a subject of interest to college students and about which you can speak with the authority of experience.

Directions:

1)      Brainstorm by doing a personal inventory. List all the subjects upon which you have expertise. Don’t eliminate anything as stupid or unimportant: dumb and embarrassing skills or talents might be your best and most original bets. Some suggestions:

• How to recognize a little league (or helicopter) parent
• How to have an anxiety attack
• How to live with the roommate from hell
• How to appreciate country music
• How to get guys to enjoy “chick flicks” (and cure them forever of protesting “No way am I seeing that!”)
• How to flirt
• How to be a jock
• How to fight via text-message
• How to explain to your parents excessive charges to your “emergency” credit card
• How to function on little/no sleep
• How to look macho while reading Glamour and Cosmo in public
• How to recognize a jerk when you see one
• How to tell Mary-Kate from Ashley
• Top Ten Things that are even less important than knowing the difference between Mary-Kate and Ashley (but which you know anyway)
• How to email your professor about missing class #12
• How to use RateMyProf
• How to participate in a class discussion when you haven’t done the reading
• How to conduct a successful long-distance relationship
• How to procrastinate

2)      Once you’ve selected the “rules” you’re most interested in writing, decide on your audience and approach. Will you address all college students, or a subset (men, women, first-year students, student athletes, etc.)? What style and format will you use to appeal  to that audience? Will you write seriously? Satirically? Will you create an annotated list, like Fein and Schneider? Use Behrendt’s Q and A format? Borrow David Letterman’s “Top Ten Reasons” format? Be creative. You can write in any style or format you like, as long as you: 1) convince your audience that the rules you’re presenting are worth learning; 2) establish your authority for teaching them; and 3) clearly present the rules. Recommended length is 2-3 pages.

3)      You may interview other amateur experts on your subject (successful flirts, texting pros, master procrastinators, insomniacs, etc.) and quote them in your paper.

4)      Drafts of this paper must be posted to your group page before class on Thursday, Nov. 5. Revisions are due Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Collaborative Community Action

Topic: Primary research report on a problem (or any situation that needs improvement) at Elon and provide a secondary research-informed solution.

Audience: Assume that President Lambert has assembled a task force of students, faculty, staff, and administrators to assess the state of student life at Elon.  As part of their mission, the task force has publicly requested feedback from the Elon population to determine what challenges the community most cares about and how Elon might address those issues. As the first step in the process, they have requested proposals from students that detail the one issue you think is exceptionally important for the Elon community to address.

Method: The class will divide into four groups of five.  Your group will identify problems on Elon’s campus through brainstorming and by combing past and present issues of The Pendulum.  Within your group, you will split responsibilities of (1) researching the problem, and (2) writing the report.  We will discuss collaboration and delegation strategies in class.  Research methods:  observation (if applicable), interview, questionnaire, and/or survey.  See the reserved reading on field research for details.

Written Report: A useful structure for a formal proposal of this kind is located in the

Blackboard section entitled “assignments”

Suggestions: Divide your research tasks and responsibilities for the written report in some equitable way.  Interviews could be conducted by pairs within the team, someone might seek scholarly articles, and another pair could design and distribute a survey, for instance.  One composition strategy could be that each group member could write his/her portion of the proposal and then post it to the group thread on Blackboard.  Once all sections are posted, the entire group will evaluate them and make suggestions for revision, decide on the structure of the proposal, and add transitions or headings as needed.  Whatever the case, this final draft should be posted, read, and approved by the entire group.

Technical Matters

Length: 5-6 pages

Sources: Primary and Secondary Research.

Grading weight: 20%

Documentation: MLA documentation form will be used. Your sources should be cited in-text when you refer to specific content (paraphrases, quotations, etc.) from those sources.  List all external sources in a works cited page.

Review Criteria for Project 2

Collaborative Community Action

Content and Organization Assessment (70 points possible): ______of 70

Grammar and Punctuation (grammar and mechanics have been carefully reviewed and edited) (20 points possible):

0 (many sentence level errors – about one per sentence on average)

5 (sentence level errors of several varieties (punctuation, word choice, etc.) committed very frequently (several per paragraph))

10 (sentence level errors of several varieties (punctuation, word choice, etc.) committed infrequently or few sentence level errors committed frequently

15 (few sentence level errors of a particular variety committed (comma splice errors, for instance))

20 (no errors noted)

Assessment: ____of 20

MLA Citation Formatting (evidence is well documented, following MLA format for in-text citations and References list) (10 points possible):

0 (no in-text citations or bibliography included)

5 (major formatting errors in-text or in the bibliography)

10 (no MLA formatting errors committed)

Assessment: ___of 10

Overall Project 2 grade:_____________of 100

The Class Minutes serve several functions:

1. the creation of a discussion board forum for us to continue stimulating conversation generated in class
2. a reminder for everyone of the daily class events
3. an opportunity for absentees to respond to the discussion issues of the day
4. a chance for me to see what the class learned (sometimes the message gets lost in the translation). The Minutes give me a chance to respond to and clarify items.
5. a “built-in” participation credit for you

TAKING MINUTES:

When it is your turn to take Minutes, treat the duty as if you were taking notes for a friend who missed class. This does not mean you need to record every detail. Record the significant items, such as instructor announcements, syllabus changes, colleague news, and engaging topics, statements, and questions that emerge from class discussions.

At the end of taking minutes, you should reflect on the day’s activities within the larger context of the class. For example, you might address the question of how the day’s activities and discussions help to clarify or complicate some of the issues we are discussing in the course.

POSTING MINUTES:

Compose your minutes in Microsoft word and send them to me at playne@elon.edu as an attachment only before noon on the day after class. I will check the minutes for clarity and accuracy before posting them to the Blackboard site. Minutes received in a timely manner will be posted before the next class meeting. Late and improperly formatted minutes not following the above guidelines are penalized.

ACCESSING MINUTES:

Go to the “course documents” section of the site. In the class minutes folder, look for the dated thread to access the course minutes. Any student may respond to the minute taker’s reflections, and may pose questions and comments to that person as they wish.

Instructor’s SAMPLE Class Minutes

Name of Minute Taker

Course Number and Section

Date Minutes Taken

IN CLASS WORK SUMMARY:

The instructor began class with an introduction to the text, its organization, guiding principles, goals, and philosophies. Although we ran out of time, we will continue the discussion along that same vein during the coming week. However, a copy of the lecture/text summary may be downloaded from the lecture notes folder on Blackboard (BB) under the “course documents” section.  The class began to address the issue of feminism. Using the text’s general and very broad definition of the term, students talked about some of the issues women faced in both personal and broader terms. One of the goals of this semester is for each student to derive his/her own definition based on individual cultural and social contexts. What became clear from the discussions was that we all hold varied and diverse beliefs about women’s roles in local and global communities. The challenge, therefore, seems to be finding common ground and ways of working together for women’s liberation and fighting against the various oppressions women face.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

–          Only the feminist reader anthology is required for the class. If there are any other texts in the bookstore under our class section, please do not purchase them. If you have already bought them, please return immediately.

–          A list of persons taking class minutes and dates of presentations will be made available via the course website after the last day to add/drop.

–          Students are expected to bring their textbooks to each class meeting.

HOMEWORK FOR MONDAY:

On Monday, each student is to bring one or two items to class that she believes speak to the oppression and/liberation in her own life as a woman or in the lives of women they know. The item may consist of an article of clothing such as a bra or corset, a piece of legislation, an article from a newspaper or magazine, or a photograph. There is no limit on what you can bring. Simply, be prepared to discuss your selection in class and the way you see it operating in the world of women.

REFLECTIONS:

Before the class, several female students admitted that they never felt “oppressed” because of gender. The male students questioned whether it was possible for men to operate or live from a feminist viewpoint. Given the nature of the readings and the diverse viewpoints initially expressed, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to reach a consensus as a class about whether feminism is relevant, or if we can find a single, homogenous way of approaching the challenges that confront us. Please feel free to share your own thoughts and comments about anything I have said.