The Best Of

Your next assignment in RHET 1312, Spring 2014 will be to create an argument that ranks 3 to 5 items of a related type (e.g. pizza restaurants, video game controllers, headphones, movie theaters, etc.). When it comes to a rankings of these types, your final conclusions will be partially subjective (based on your personal opinions), so you will need to qualify your rankings with criteria that you establish. According to Lunsford, Criterion means standard of judgement or necessary qualification. Criteria is the plural form (Lunsford, 2013, pp. 259). For example, if you were going to write about pizza restaurants you could create criteria such as price, customer service, atmosphere, beer selection, food quality, etc. Each item must meet all of the criteria, but some items may meet different criterion to a higher degree--this is how you will determine in what order to rank them. Your purpose is to perform primary research in an area that youre interested in and support your opinion with evidence (your reporting of the criteria). You should then present your argument in a way to persuade readers to accept your opinion and agree with your rankings. For your topic, I would suggest you write about something you know in order to establish ethos. For example, if you are a professional bodybuilder who is ranking gyms, your audience will value your opinion more than if you were a barista doing the same. You will write an individual comparison of items and then work in a group to compose a Best Of for larger categories. For example, a Best of Little Rock Restaurants group might include the best and worst pizza places, Mediterranean restaurants, and southern food cafeterias. Each smaller category will be individually written by a different member of your group. Your grade for this assignment will be predominantly based upon your individual work; the collaborative work you will complete is to prepare you for project 3. The collaborative text your group produces can be in a variety of formats. Your group can produce a Prezi, PowerPoint, brochure, email brochure (MailChimp), website, or more. Feel free to contact me if you have any other ideas for the format of your groups final product. Requirements: Your final project will be posted to the appropriate page of your portfolio and will be at least 1000 words.

Learning Outcomes
Rhetorical Knowledge Respond appropriately to the needs of different audiences Use conventions of format and structure appropriate to rhetorical situation Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing Understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources Understand the relationships among language, knowledge, and power Processes

 Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading Be aware that it usually takes multiple drafts to create and complete a successful text Knowledge of Conventions Develop knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics Learn common formats for different kinds of texts Composing in Multiple Environments Analyze electronic texts (their own and others) to explore and develop criteria for assessing the texts Use a variety of electronic technologies intentionally to compose

Timeline
February 21st: Introduction of the project and discussion of the learning outcomes February 24th - March 5th: Reading from the book, class discussions, in class activities March 7th: Rough draft due March 10th: Student/Teacher Conferences March 12th: Peer letters due, peer reviews in class March 14th: Peer review (cont.) March 17th: Group Project March 19th Group Project (cont.) March 21st: Project 2 due

Reflective Memo
After the project is complete, you will write a metacognitive reflective memo in class to turn in with the project that explains your choices. This memo will address each learning outcome and explain how you did, or did not, achieve that outcome throughout this project. The reflective memo is a documentation of your learning and does not need to be peer reviewed or edited (however, do not forget the audience of your memo); you will write the memo in class on the day the project is due. Below are some example questions to guide your reflection: Adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality: What level of tone and formality did you choose and why? Focus on purpose: What was your purpose and how did it continue to affect your decisions throughout the project? Learn to critique their own and others work: What did you learn about your writing based upon studying the writing of others?

Processes
Receiving Feedback

Peer Reviewee Guidelines

At the top of your Google Doc where your project 2 is posted, write clear and specific questions answering the following: What samples most guided your writing? Provide the links. What higher order concerns are you most worried about (structure, transitions, content, clarity, and so on)? What sentence level issues are you most concerned about (grammar, mechanics, formality, vocabulary)?

Peer Reviewer Guidelines

Read the answers to the above questions before reading the draft. Review the samples provided by the author (IMPORTANT). In your own document, write a letter to the author (reviewee) with the following content: Address issues one by one and be specific in your advice. List at least one Glow and one Grow. A Glow is something they did very well. A grow is an issue you saw that could be handled better. Always end your letter with an encouraging message. Print out two copies of your letter to bring to class on the day of the peer reviews. One copy is given to me, and the other copy is given to the author.

Other places for receiving feedback

The UALR University Writing Center (located in SUB 116) helps hundreds of students every semester with their writing. Our writing center uses peer review techniques to help the writer grow, not just the writing. The UWC also has a computer lab where the writing interns can also help you with formatting and technology related issues. The centers business hours vary from semester to semester based upon their staffing levels and the needs of the student body. I highly encourage you to spend time there throughout the semester to work on any writing projects you may have from any class, not just this one. The interns can also help you with resumes, scholarship essays, and all other types of writing, at all levels.

100 Rhetorical Knowledge

20 points

15

10

The student accurately accomplishes all of the following in their individual project:: Has well defined criteria Establishes their own ethos Acknowledges counterclaims (rebuttals) Provides context for their topic/subjects Has clear audiences (or a specific audience)

The student accurately wrote about 4 of the following in the analysis: Has well defined criteria Establishes their own ethos Acknowledges counter-claims (rebuttals) Uses evidence to support their claims Provides context for their topic/subjects

The student accurately wrote about 3 of the following in the analysis: Has well defined criteria Establishes their own ethos Acknowledges counter-claims (rebuttals) Uses evidence to support their claims Provides context for their topic/subjects

The student accurately wrote about 2 of the following in the analysis: Has well defined criteria Establishes their own ethos Acknowledges counter-claims (rebuttals) Uses evidence to support their claims Provides context for their topic/subjects

The student accurately wrote about 1 or fewer of the following in the analysis: Has well defined criteria Establishes their own ethos Acknowledges counterclaims (rebuttals) Uses evidence to support their claims Provides context for their topic/subjects

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

The students project does all of the following: Compares at least 3 items of the same kind Follow conventions of its sub-genre Any logical fallacies (if present) are justified in the final memo Uses primary and/or secondary research to support claims

The student accurately wrote about 3 of the following in the analysis: Compares at least 3 items of the same kind Follow conventions of its sub-genre Any logical fallacies (if present) are justified in the final memo Uses primary and/or secondary research to support claims

The student accurately wrote about 2 of the following in the analysis: Compares at least 3 items of the same kind Follow conventions of its sub-genre Any logical fallacies (if present) are justified in the final memo Uses primary and/or secondary research to support claims

The student accurately wrote about 1 of the following in the analysis: Compares at least 3 items of the same kind Follow conventions of its sub-genre Any logical fallacies (if present) are justified in the final memo Uses primary and/or secondary research to support claims

The student accurately wrote about 0 of the following in the analysis: Compares at least 3 items of the same kind Follow conventions of its sub-genre Any logical fallacies (if present) are justified in the final memo Uses primary and/or secondary research to support claims

Processes

The student completed /attended all of the following on time: Introduction to the project Rough draft Wrote the peer letter Attended peer review Wrote the reflective memo

The student completed /attended 4 of the following on time: Introduction to the project Rough draft Wrote the peer letter Attended peer review Wrote the reflective memo The students final had 1 pattern of error and wrote in a style consistent with the conventions of the genre.

The student completed /attended 3 of the following on time: Introduction to the project Rough draft Wrote the peer letter Attended peer review Wrote the reflective memo The students final had 2 patterns of error and wrote in a style consistent with the conventions of the genre.

The student completed /attended 2 of the following on time: Introduction to the project Rough draft Wrote the peer letter Attended peer review Wrote the reflective memo The students final had 3 patterns of error and wrote in a style consistent with the conventions of the genre.

The student completed /attended 1 or fewer of the following on time: Introduction to the project Rough draft Wrote the peer letter Attended peer review Wrote the reflective memo The students final had 4 or more patterns of error OR the student wrote in a style inconsistent with the conventions of the genre. The student created and used 1 or less of the following on time: Correctly hyperlink source(s) in both group and individual products Include an audio/visual element specific to your project in the groups final product Your project (and drafts) are posted to the appropriate pages of your portfolio and are located in your groups final product Created group Google Doc The groups final product follows

Knowledge of Conventions

The students final had 0 patterns of error and wrote in a style consistent with the conventions of the genre.

Composing in Electronic Environments

The student created and used all of the following on time: Correctly hyperlink source(s) in both group and individual products Include an audio/visual element specific to your project in the groups final product Your project (and drafts) are posted to the appropriate pages of your portfolio and are located in your groups final product Created group Google Doc The groups final product follows conventions for the format

The student created and used 4 of the following on time: Correctly hyperlink source(s) in both group and individual products Include an audio/visual element specific to your project in the groups final product Your project (and drafts) are posted to the appropriate pages of your portfolio and are located in your groups final product Created group Google Doc The groups final product follows

The student created and used 3 of the following on time: Correctly hyperlink source(s) in both group and individual products Include an audio/visual element specific to your project in the groups final product Your project (and drafts) are posted to the appropriate pages of your portfolio and are located in your groups final product Created group Google Doc The groups final product follows

The student created and used 2 of the following on time: Correctly hyperlink source(s) in both group and individual products Include an audio/visual element specific to your project in the groups final product Your project (and drafts) are posted to the appropriate pages of your portfolio and are located in your groups final product Created group Google Doc The groups final product follows