* an analogy

* an emotional appeal

* a metaphor (hint: it’s in someone else’s argument that Shirky is paraphrasing)

* antithesis

* Fun fact: I quoted Shirky a whole lot in my dissertation. Like this, for example.

-Democrats trust everything- except Fox News. NBC does the best with them at +50 (67/17), followed by PBS and CNN at +49 (66/17 and 65/16 respectively), ABC at +38 (57/19), CBS at +35 (58/23), MSNBC at +33 (56/23), and even Comedy Central at +4 (36/32). Fox News comes in at -36 (25/61).

-Republicans meanwhile don’t trust anything except Fox News. PBS comes the closest to breaking even among non-Fox outlets, although not very close, at -30 (26/56).  It’s followed by CNN at -49 (18/67), MSNBC at -51 (18/69), NBC at -52 (17/69), CBS at -54 (17/71), ABC at -56 (14/70), and Comedy Central at -59 (12/71). But Fox News comes in at a stellar 73/17.

Independents are with the Democrats. They trust everything except Fox News. Main takeaway from this poll: tv news has become just as polarizing as the political parties in this country.

It would be worth our time to talk a bit in class about the implications of this kind of divide for providing support for an argument.

This is really meant to signal my intention to post things that are relevant–even in a general way–to our discussions in class, especially regarding argument and persuasion. These will not be required reading unless I tell you otherwise, but I will expect that most of you have at least glanced at it. I’m not going to put it here unless I think it will help you understand the concepts we’re discussing.

Here are a couple of responses prompted by the essay (and there were many):

• Des Moines Register writer Ken Fuson, “Mr. Bloom, He’s Iowa’s New Humorist“
• University of Iowa President Sally Mason, letter to the Atlantic Monthly
• A letter to the Cedar Rapids Gazette
• The Gazette‘s collection of other responses to Bloom

And then there’s this (warning: a few four-letter words inside):

First, read Mary Wollstonecraft’s essay “On National Education.” I recommend you review the one-pager from last term if you still have it.

Second, read the introduction to definition in the Bedford Reader, which runs from page 479-487. Pay special attention to the blue checklist on page 485, and to any new vocabulary along the way.

I’ll be thinking of you on my way to Jacksonville tomorrow morning. While I’m gone, please read Margaret Talbot’s essay “Best in Class” (p. 113 in Language of Composition). I think you’ll find it interesting. Read it, and come to class Friday prepared to have a discussion on it.

Also, if you haven’t already done so, make sure you read the intro to chapter six in the Bedford Reader (pgs 185-191). That’s the chapter called “Example: Pointing to Instances.”

Finally, for Monday, read the introduction to chapter seven in the Bedford. That’s on Compare & Contrast, and runs from page 223 to 229.

See you Monday,

~ Dr. Ayers

A bibliography is a list of sources (books, journals, websites, periodicals, etc.) one has used for researching a topic.  Bibliographies are sometimes called “references” or “works cited” depending on the style format you are using.  A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.).

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation.

Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources.

If you click the link up there, you’ll find a more elaborate explanation of what sorts of things you might write in the summary/evaluation. Remember, we are interested in how you used the sources.

I also assigned the intros to Narration (pp. 81-89) and Description (pp. 137-143) for Monday, and Sarah Vowell’s essay “Shooting Dad” (p. 154) for Tuesday. This is all part of our preparation for the first revised essay we will begin soon. How soon? Very soon.