Resources for how to do APA style:

Purdue OWL APA Sample Paper

Best citation generator (Zotero)

We will do this during class on Tuesday 7/19. It is one of the 8 required assignments that all ENG 101 students at John Jay must do.

Choose around 3 sources related to your topic to work with for this activity.

Write an imaginary conversation where you interview the authors of your sources about the topic of your final project.

You should ask at least three open-ended questions that allow the authors to give complex, interesting answers (3 points)

Each of the authors should respond to at least two of your questions, giving a complex, interesting answer. (4 points)

One author should respond directly to another author’s comment at least once (1 point)

One author should ask another author a question at least once, and that author should answer (2 points)

You are imagining what they will say, based on the research you have done so far. You are making up the dialogue– you do not need to use direct quotes from the thing you read.

Total: 10 points

Format the interview like a script. For example:

Scripted Interview Formatting Example

Olivia: What is the most important thing you have learned in college so far, and why?

Student 1: I learned that I have to be really careful about planning my time, because it’s easy to get behind, and if you’re behind, you don’t have time to do a very good job on your assignments or think about them a lot. So you learn less, even if the material is easy.

Olivia: I agree, that’s super important!

Due Tuesday 7/19

For EACH rhetorical device, please post:

1. Two examples of the device in use in the world (ideally, one you witnessed in real life or made up yourself. Try not to just Google examples)

2. Any relevant context for understanding the sentence (you may not need to write anything for this part if it’s clear on its own)

3. An analysis of what the device ADDS to the speaker’s message.

Do NOT just explain to me why your examples are examples of your device. That is not useful to either of us — we both know they are, and the goal isn’t to prove that you know the definition. The goal is to show understanding of WHY someone might use the device in a particular situation and WHAT they might be trying to achieve with it.

WHY might someone use this particular euphemism or dogwhistle, instead of speaking more directly?

So: you should have FOUR examples + analysis total this week.

Reminder: If you are doing your presentation on a set of devices, you do not have to do the examples + analysis for those devices.

Due Monday July 17 (post on course site using the category “Student Work”)

Often, both academics and writers outside of the university do not just write an essay and submit it. Journalists pitch article ideas to their editors, and others might need to propose a topic before getting approval to write it.

What does a proposal look like?

• A proposal is typically about 2 pages, although it can be slightly longer (1 point)
• You can use “I” (like “I plan on investigating ______”)
• Use a formal academic style (1 point)

What should you include in this proposal?

• The general topic you are interested in researching and writing about (1 point)
• Three “inquiry questions” relating to your topic that you would like to research/answer/find out more about. (3 points)
  • These should not be questions you already know the answer to, although you can have a hypothesis about what the answer will be.
  • They should also be specific, focused, and answerable within the assignment
  • The inquiry questions should be complex enough that you can’t just quickly Google the answer
• A justification for why you chose your topic and why these inquiry questions are worth investigating (3 points)
  • Why is this topic important?
  • Who does this topic impact?
  • Why is it important to know the answers to your questions?
• A research plan (2 points)
  • What do you need to find out in order to answer your inquiry question(s)?
  • What information is important to find out first before you investigate other aspects of your question(s)?
  • What information do you think will be difficult to find or understand?

Meeting the Above Requirements: 11 points

Turn the Proposal In On Time: 2 points

Total: 13 points

For this assignment, you will compose a 7-10 page paper in which you synthesize research on a topic of your choosing to answer (or begin to answer) your inquiry question(s).

In your essay, you should:

• Leave readers with a clear understanding of your inquiry question(s) and the answer(s) to your inquiry question(s). Stay focused on your question throughout the paper.
• Use your research to develop claims that you support with evidence drawn from your research
• Use both academic sources and non-academic sources for a total of at least 6 sources and document these sources appropriately using APA style
• Follow the structural and stylistic conventions of academic writing
  • Formal tone/word choice
  • Paragraphs use topic sentences, evidence, analysis, and transitions
  • Each paragraph stays focused on one topic or subtopic
  • Can use “I,” but please don’t use “you” (in the sense of “you’re probably thinking that…”)
• Use at least 5 rhetorical devices in your paper, 2 of which can be repeats
• Write a separate note explaining all of the intentional rhetorical choices you made in your essay (the above devices, but also appeals to ethos/logos/pathos, choices you made based on how you want to present yourself as a speaker, based on your message, based on your audience—me, or your classmates, or an imagined broader audience, etc.)

Intentions for this paper:

• Rather than picking a belief/position/opinion you already have and using research to support that opinion, I want you to pick a topic/question that interests you and you want to learn more about. That doesn’t mean you can’t have beliefs about that topic, but it should be something you feel open to new information about.
• I want you to genuinely learn something via your research—that’s what research is supposed to do!
• Your inquiry questions should not be the kinds of questions where it’s easy to find a simple answer on Google.
• Your inquiry questions should also be narrow/specific enough that you aren’t trying to solve a huge global problem or write a whole book in just this one paper.

Final Paper Rubric (100 points)

1. First and second drafts are turned in on time, peer review is completed in a timely manner, peer review is specific, thorough, and respectful (30 points)             

2. Incorporates research effectively and appropriately to support the argument (10 points)

• All claims are backed up by evidence as needed, which is correctly cited (5 points)
• Quotes or paraphrases from sources are well-integrated into the paragraphs (no naked quotes) (5 points)                                                                                       

3. The paper uses evidence from reliable sources and/or addresses the potential biases of the source/information. If there are common criticisms of the main argument, the paper addresses those criticisms using evidence. (10 points)                                                

3. Paragraphs and sections follow the structural conventions of Standard American Academic English (15 points)

• Paper includes an introductory section (may be more than one paragraph) that establishes the topic, the inquiry question(s), and the writer’s preliminary answer to the question(s) (5 points)
• Body paragraphs stay focused on individual claims supported by relevant evidence and use topic sentences and transition phrases (5 points)
• The paper includes a conclusion that explains why the inquiry is important and what readers should take away from the paper. (5 points)                                   

4. Paper is correctly formatted in APA style (5 points)

• Title page and/or header
• Abstract with keywords
• In-text citations are largely correct
• Works cited/references/bibliography page is largely correct                     

5. Follows the stylistic conventions of Standard American Academic English (5 points)

• Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Formatting, Capitalization, Formality     

6. Includes at least 5 rhetorical devices (2 can be repeats), which the student has either labeled in the text or pointed out in a separate document. The student has also written a separate statement describing their intentional rhetorical choices in the paper. (15 points)

6. Other Requirements (10 points)

• Paper meets the length requirement
• At least 6 sources are used                                                                        

Due Monday 7/18

For EACH rhetorical device, please post:

1. Two examples of the device in use in the world (ideally, one you witnessed in real life or made up yourself. Try not to just Google examples)

2. Any relevant context for understanding the sentence (you may not need to write anything for this part if it’s clear on its own)

3. An analysis of what the device ADDS to the speaker’s message.

Do NOT just explain to me why your examples are examples of your device. That is not useful to either of us — we both know they are, and the goal isn’t to prove that you know the definition. The goal is to show understanding of WHY someone might use the device in a particular situation and WHAT they might be trying to achieve with it.

So: you should have FOUR examples + analysis total this week.

Reminder: If you are doing your presentation on a set of devices, you do not have to do the examples + analysis for those devices. So for example, Jason (who presented on Hypophora and Rhetorical Question) doesn’t need to write examples for this pair of devices.

Due Thursday 7/14

For EACH rhetorical device, please post:

1. Two examples of the device in use in the world (ideally, one you witnessed in real life or made up yourself. Try not to just Google examples)

2. Any relevant context for understanding the sentence (you may not need to write anything for this part if it’s clear on its own)

3. An analysis of what the device ADDS to the speaker’s message.

For example: I COULD say “I have a lot of work to do tonight.” OR I could use hyperbole and say “I have a mountain of work to do” OR I could use understatement and say “I have a bit of work I need to do tonight.” Why might I choose hyperbole or understatement instead of the straightforward way of saying it? What does it add or take away from what I’m expressing?

Do NOT just explain to me why your examples are examples of your device. That is not useful to either of us — we both know they are, and the goal isn’t to prove that you know the definition. The goal is to show understanding of WHY someone might use the device in a particular situation and WHAT they might be trying to achieve with it.

So: you should have EIGHT examples + analysis total this week.

Reminder: If you are doing your presentation on a set of devices, you do not have to do the examples + analysis for those devices. So for example, Arianny (presenting on Fear and Humor Appeal) doesn’t need to write examples for those, but DOES still need to do antithesis and litotes.