(NOTE TO TEACHERS USING THESE MATERIALS: The following is a generic unit syllabus appropriate for a first-year composition course. It should be supplemented with readings or other materials about argument, tone, audience, persuasion, or whatever general rhetorical concepts you're working on.)
This Week
Reading Assignments
- Review all the materials in your assigned applicant's file and any other materials in the unit that interest you. (If you've been assigned to represent Sam Lehman, review all the applicant files as well as Sam's file.)
Writing Assignments
- In 1-2 pages, outline the strongest arguments you can think of favoring your candidate's admission.
- Then, on another page, outline the biggest weaknesses you see in your candidate's application. (If you've been assigned to represent Sam Lehman, write a page arguing for the candidate who initially looks strongest, and another page explaining which candidate looks weakest, and why.)
- Email both of these assignments to your group members and to me.
What We'll Do in Class
- Discuss emailed arguments with your group.
- Browse the bibliography page with your group and choose 5-7 sources to find and read for next week's writing assignment.
- Each group member should take responsibility for finding 1 or 2 sources to bring to class next week.
Week 2
Reading Assignments
- Read the sources you and your group members have found.
Writing Assignments
- Collaborate with your group to write a 1-2 paragraph evaluative summary of each of the sources you've read: How credible is this source? What biases do you see? How convincing and well-supported are the arguments in the source?
- Post your group's summaries to our class discussion board. Also feel free to post responses to other groups' summaries or any other comments about your research that you think the class might find useful.
What We'll Do In Class
- In your groups, discuss and evaluate the sources you've found. Be prepared to share in class whether and how your research and reading has changed your views on the scenario. Discuss with your group which sources will be especially useful in constructing an argument for your applicant and countering opposing views.
Week 3
Reading Assignments
- Do additional readings from the bibliographies or from your own research as needed to prepare your applicant's case.
Writing Assignments
- You group should plan and write a well-argued, well-supported, and persuasive defense of your applicant's admission. This defense should be about 3 pages long, and you should support your claims with appropriate reasons and evidence. (If you're representing Sam Lehman, write out a detailed set of criteria explaining what criteria you think are most valid in judging this case. Then, after the mock hearing, write a 3-4 page statement explaining which two candidates have presented the strongest arguments and why.)
- After the in-class mock admissions hearing, write a 2-3 page analysis of all the arguments presented, telling which applicant has presented the strongest case and why.
What We'll Do In Class
- Participate in mock admission hearing, to be conducted as a virtual chat session. The hearing will start with each group posting their 3-page defense statement. Sam Lehman's group will moderate the session, giving each group a chance to rebut others' statements and to answer questions about their arguments.
Week 4
Writing Assignments
- Write a 2-page response to this unit: What did you like about it? What did you dislike? What was it like to approach the scenario as the advocate for someone else's position--interesting? educational? troubling? silly? What did you think about approaching a "real" issue through a fictional case? Do you see the issue any differently now than you did when we began the unit? Explain.
- During the next week and a half, you'll write a researched editorial on affirmative action or a related issue for a "real" audience. Choose a venue for your editorial (e.g., a newspaper, a local publication, a letter to an elected official or one of the agencies or groups you've encountered in your research, or another online or printed forum). Choose your venue carefully and tailor your arguments carefully to suit that audience, since I'll encourage you to actually submit your paper to that venue. Your argument should be 3-4 pages, depending upon your topic and the submission requirements of the venue you've chosen. I'll announce due dates for drafts, peer critiques, and revisions in class.