Reading & Discussion Forum Assignment

The critical reading assignments over the semester are designed to help us accomplish the following course objectives:

• Be able to analyze ideas, rhetorical modes, and strategies in selected readings.
• Understand the elements of the communication context (audience, persona,purpose, occasion) and use these elements when analyzing and writing essays.
• Use clear, logical reasoning in expressing ideas.

Student X will be responsible for leading the discussion in the Forum this week. His/Her questions should aim to get us to use our critical reading and critical thinking skills.

Learning Objectives (General): Students will increase their critical faculties by reading, analyzing and classifying professional essays and student themes, and will improve their writing.

Learning Objectives (Specific): Students will (1) analyze strategies for and write examples of effective sentences of various kinds; (2) practice using different kinds of sentences; (3) develop paragraphs in various ways; (4) organize material ranging in length from single paragraphs to essays of approximately 500 words; (5) develop a sense of logic and describe logical fallacies; (6) articulate common fallacies found in student essays or in other sources; and, (7) review grammatical concepts or memorize new ones.

Assignment One for the example reading: Access and complete the Logical Fallacies examples. Then read Brent Staples's essay "Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space" on p. 166 in your textbook Student's Book of College English, 8th edition.

Here is a great link to another Logical Fallacies page.

Brent Staples: "Just Walk on By"--Staples's essay is useful . . .[because you see] how writers can use anecdotes to seize the reader's interest. Further . . . anecdotes advance Staples's thesis and offer. . .ways to work similar materials into [your own] essays. . .try to express the underlying assumptions of the stakeholders in each anecdote. [ Commentary from Kimberly J. Allison's Instructor's Manual for The Resourceful Reader, 4th ed]

Then write a 500 word critique of Staples' use of logic and out any logical fallacies. Define the fallacy, tell why it is not logical and provide a possible logical alternative to the error. Be sure to back up your points with sound logic. Identify the major logical fallacy category associated with the error. Post your critique to the discussion board.

Assignment two : Comment and critique the logic of the two student postings you were assigned. This should be posted by 6PM on Friday, XXXX x. Note any errors in logic and give reasons why it is an error. If no errors are present, critique their argument pertaining to the author in positive terms. Be logical.