ENGL112 Composition
Week 1 Discussion
DQ1 ELEVATOR SPEECH
This week you will introduce yourself by creating an elevator speech - an important skill in any professional industry.
Imagine walking into an elevator and seeing the CEO of the company you have long dreamed of working for. He or she presses the button for the 50th floor, and asks you what floor you need. You choose 51, even though you were really heading to the 7th floor to see a friend. Based on the speed of the elevator, you estimate you've got about a minute.
This is your chance to make an elevator speech, to make a positive impression that you hope will lead to future employment. What will you say?
In your initial post, share your elevator speech. It needs to be concise, clear, and convincing.
In your follow-up posts, provide helpful feedback to at least two other students. Scroll down and look for students who haven't gotten any replies first.
To earn full credit, each post should be a thoughtful, well written paragraph of several sentences written in your own words.
DQ2 PROFILES
For your first essay, you'll be writing a profile. A profile is an essay about a person, place, or event. Topic choice is key. Choose a topic that you have personal experience with: a person you know, a place you've visited many times, or an event you have attended. In other words, you should not write about LeBron James (unless you know him personally), or the planet Mars (since you haven't been there), or the end of the world (since it has not happened). Remember the old adage: write about what you know.
In your initial post, tell us about your topic choice. It's ok if it is tentative at this point, or if you have more than one idea. In this post, tell us who or what your topic is, why you've chosen it, and what you want your readers to learn from your essay.
After writing your initial post, read the posts of your fellow students, and provide helpful, detailed, and constructive feedback. Scroll down through the posts and reply to students who have the least number of replies first.
To earn full credit, each post should be a thoughtful, well written paragraph of several sentences written in your own words.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 2 Discussion
GETTING STARTED WRITING
Drawing on one of the strategies for writing introductions outlined in your text or the lesson, post a draft of your introductory paragraph(s) of your profile essay as your first post. Then, provide helpful, constructive, and specific feedback to at least two of your fellow classmates. Scroll down through the posts and look for students who haven't received any replies yet first. Note how or why an introduction caught your attention and explain what impression it gives you about the essay’s larger purpose. Also explain how your classmate’s voice, tone, or diction contributes to the overall effectiveness of the introduction.
To earn full credit, be sure to post your introductory paragraph, to provide two thoughtful replies to your fellow classmates, and to participate on at least three different days.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 3 Discussion
ANALYZING PERSUASIVE MESSAGES
This week you will practice analyzing a persuasive message by studying an advertisement. This will serve as an opportunity to focus your ideas and begin your draft for your Week 4 Rhetorical Analysis Essay. Consider this exercise and important part of the pre-writing process!
In your initial post for this discussion, select an advertisement and post the image you have selected. Then, in 2-3 paragraphs, answer the following questions:
Why did you choose this ad?
How, specifically, does this ad use the three rhetorical appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos)?
What is the central goal of this ad, and is that goal achieved?
In your two (minimum) additional posts for the week, respond to at least two of your peers. In these responses, give feedback to your classmate's analysis and provide suggestions for improvement or clarification. One of the best ways you can help a fellow student is to point out additional examples of the rhetorical appeals in the advertisement that he or she did not mention.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 4 Discussion
REVISING AND REFINING
Conduct a self-analysis of a portion of your essay. In your initial post (due Wednesday or earlier), copy and paste the paragraph of your Rhetorical Analysis essay that describes your chosen advertisement. After you have posted the paragraph, explain how you might revise specific sentences to include more vivid details. Remember, the goal of this very important paragraph is to provide a picture in words to your reading audience. Write as though your reader cannot see the ad, and must rely solely on your description to understand it.
As peers, reply to at least two of your fellow classmates' posts, providing helpful, constructive, and specific feedback on what is working well, as well as suggestions for more vivid description.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 5 Discussion
BEGINNING RESEARCH
One of the most important research skills you will learn is the ability to summarize a source in your own words. Once you have settled on a topic for your Rhetorical Strategies Persuasive Essay (see the assignment description under Week 5: Assignments, for more details), you'll need to start searching for appropriate sources.
Once you have found a source, summarize it in a post below. Then discuss the credibility of the source by identifying the author's background, credentials, and relationship to the topic. Make an overall assertion regarding whether or not the source is credible, and explain why. Finally, use the APA resources in class and Chapter 29 in your text to write out the full reference of the source, and include that in your post.
Please follow these steps to find a source using the DeVry Online Library:
Go to http://library.devry.edu/ (Links to an external site.)
Click on Databases.
Select EBSCOhost
Enter search terms in the top box. Click "Search." (As you are typing, a list of suggested topics will appear below your search terms to help guide you.)
Your results list will appear. Browse, focusing in closely on the article title, publication date, date, and length of the article to help you decide which ones are most useful.
Search Tips:
Use short phrases
To make the results list more manageable, use limiters, such as "Full Text," or narrow the publication date range.
How to Create a Reference in APA format:
In EBSCOhost, click on an article in the result list.
Look to the right side of the screen. Click on "Cite."
Scroll down to APA. Copy the reference.
Make capitalization corrections as needed. For author names, only the first letter of the last name, and the initial, are capitalized. Article titles use sentence capitalization style, meaning only the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, and any proper nouns are capitalized.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 6 Discussion
INTEGRATING RESEARCH IN APA STYLE
Last week, you were introduced to the DeVry Library (Links to an external site.)and its databases through the library tutorial in your lesson. In your initial post, share one paragraph with us from your essay that shows how you’ve integrated a source into your writing. The source should be summarized, paraphrased, or directly quoted. Additionally, an in-text citation and author tag should be present. Finally, provide the full end reference in APA style with us here as well. After your initial post, provide helpful, constructive, and specific feedback to at least two of your fellow classmates.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 7 Discussion
PRESENTATION EXPERIENCES
Due to advances in technology and changes in the nature of work, presentations have evolved tremendously. In general, we can think of presentations as consisting of these three main types:
Live, co-present (in front of a live audience that is in the same room as you)
Live, virtual (via WebEx, Skype, or something similar)
Recorded (using PowerPoint with audio or audio-visual accompaniment)
In your initial post, tell us about your experiences making presentations. Which type of presentation (1, 2, or 3) do you prefer? in your follow-up posts, respond to the ideas and experiences of your fellow students.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 2 Assignment
THE PROFILE ESSAY
This week you will complete the Profile essay. Be sure to read this week’s lesson and Chapter 5 in your text for more information about writing profiles, keeping these key components in mind:
Profiles take a specific angle that shares a significant issue, important contribution, or surprising quality of a person, place, or event with which you have first-hand experience.
Profiles are not full life stories; instead, they share a fresh perspective on a larger issue.
Profiles require writers to take a close look at a subject and use detail and description to bring the subject to life.
The subject of the Profile should focus on a local person you know, a place you have visited, or an event you have attended, meaning the subject should be a part of your local neighborhood, community, or town.
The audience of the Profile essay is the local community. Imagine the readers as neighbors and local community members.
The best topics and angles are those that are interesting to the writer. Be sure to choose a subject that is fascinating to you and that you'd like to learn more about. Also consider that your chosen subject and the angle you choose should be of interest to your audience.
Do not conduct outside research for this essay. Instead, use your knowledge of the topic and reflect on your experiences to help develop examples for your profile. All work must be original, not copied from external sources. This is an opportunity for you to get feedback on your voice and style as a writer.
For this assignment, you will also integrate an APA cover page. This will be your first introduction to APA format and will allow you to gain some practice presenting work in an academic context. Please download and use the APA Cover Page template to create your cover page by adding your information:
Additional requirements include:
two to three double-spaced pages (500-750 words), not including the title page;
typed and submitted in Microsoft Word 2010 (.docx) format; and
12-point font, 1 inch margins, Times or Times new Roman style
an APA cover page
Please be sure to review the tutorial on formatting an APA paper and title page
ENGL112 Composition
Week 4 Assignment
THE RHETORICAL ANALYSIS FINAL ESSAY
This week, you will complete the three-to-four-page (750-1000 words) Rhetorical Analysis Essay you began working on in Week 3. Draw upon the Week 3 and Week 4 discussions, the lessons, and textbook readings to help you understand and meet the requirements for the Rhetorical Analysis Essay. Other than finding your chosen ad online, do not conduct any outside research.
At the end of your Rhetorical Analysis Essay, provide an end reference to the advertisement in APA style. Include the title of the ad, the original date of publication, and the web address.
Successful assignments will:
be focused on analyzing an advertisement, current or vintage, that’s appropriate for a college-level audience;
include a thesis statement at the end of the introduction that conveys the overall effectiveness of the chosen ad;
include details to establish the visual description and context of the ad;
identify the various ways rhetorical appeals are used;
be typed and submitted as a Microsoft Word document (.docx), with 12-point font
include an APA cover page
be three to four double-spaced pages (750-1000 words), not including the title page; and
be submitted for grading.
Remember, tutoring options are also available to assist you with any writing assignments. These services are designed to provide additional feedback that you can use to help revise your paper before final submission. To accessing tutoring follow the following steps:
In the left-hand course navigation bar, select the "Tutoring" button.
On the next page click the top button "Submit a Paper for Review" to gain written feedback or “Schedule a Tutoring Session” to meet with tutor for a one-on-one tutoring session.
If you submit your paper, you will receive feedback in 48 hours. Please plan accordingly to make sure you have plenty of time to make the recommended changes.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 6 Assignment
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES PERSUASION ESSAY
To achieve professional success in any field, we must be able to communicate persuasively. As you learned in writing your rhetorical analysis essay, advertisers use ethos, pathos, and logos to convince customers to buy their products. Similarly, you may use ethos, pathos, and logos in a variety of workplace situations to reach your goals. Consider the following scenarios:
You've just completed a successful project for your organization that will result in increased revenues and reduced costs. You believe you deserve a reward. How will you convince your boss?
You have a great idea to start a new non-profit or business in your community, but you need an initial investment to turn your plans into reality. How will you persuade investors to believe in you?
The park across the street from your company's office is covered in unsightly litter. If your company could help clean it up, it would improve the park's appearance and boost the image of your organization in the community. How would you convince your colleagues to participate in the cleanup effort?
For this assignment, you will apply your understanding of ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade an educated, discerning audience, in the form of an essay written in APA format. Here are a few possible topics for your essay:
Persuade your boss to give you a raise and/or promotion at work.
Pretend that you are running for a locally elected office in your community. Explain why voters should choose you.
Make a persuasive pitch for implementing a new money-saving process, offering a new product or service, or improving employee morale at your workplace.
You have a great idea for a new business, or for a non-profit organization in your community. Write an extended pitch to attract investors. (See "Microgenre: The Pitch," pp. 244-246 for an example).
Convince your supervisor to allow all employees to spend one afternoon of paid time each month volunteering at a local charity.
Make a persuasive case for allowing employees to telecommute (work from home) one day per week.
If you would like to choose a topic not on this list, please consult with your professor to make sure it is appropriate.
Basic Requirements:
Length: 4-5 pages (1000 to 1250 words)
Sources: 4 or more, at least 2 of which should be from sources found in DeVry Library databases, and 2 may come from high-quality Internet sources
All sources listed in the references must be cited in text; all sources cited in text must be listed in the references
Follow APA format throughout. Consult Chapter 26 and Chapter 28.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 8 Assignment
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES PERSUASIVE PRESENTATION
This assignment was locked Jun 27 at 11:59pm.
Your presentation is due this week. As a reminder, here is a summary of the requirements:
Assignment Requirements
Approximately 5-7 visually appealing slides; remember to show your audience using visual elements like charts, graphs, and pictures, rather than to tell them with long blocks of text (after all, you already did that with your essay)
Audio, or audiovisual accompaniment of approximately 5-7 minutes, or roughly one minute per slide, using PowerPoint or something similar (ask me if you have questions about what may be used)
Please note that Week 8 closes on Saturday at 11:59 pm MT. The assignment must be submitted by this date.
ENGL112 Composition
Week 5 Quiz
Question1 APA is not just a method of citing sources; it is also a form of writing.
True
False
Question 2Why is it important to cite sources using APA style?
It helps readers know where you found your information
It allows readers to be able to find the sources you have used
It makes it clear which parts of your writing are from sources, and which parts are your own ideas
All of the above
Question 3Which of the following types of information need to be cited?
A direct quotation
Someone else's ideas
A fact or statistic not generally known
All of the above
Question 4Plagiarism may be defined as taking the ideas of others and presenting them as if they are your own.
True
False
Question 5Copying something from the Internet and using it in an essay is perfectly fine. After all, everyone does it.
True
False
Question 6What elements are required for a correct in-text citation in APA style?
Author's last name
Date of publication
Page number
All of the above
Question 7If you use the ideas of a source, but summarize them in your own words, then no citation is needed.
True
False
Question 8For each source cited in the body of your writing, you must also include a corresponding end reference.
True
False
Question 9As long as I provide an in-text citation, I don't need to use quotation marks when using the exact language from a source.
True
False
Question 10 End references should appear as the final page of your essay.
True
False
