RRN for Inventing the University PDF

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Professor Fuller Rhetorical Reading Notes:...

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Rhetorical Situation To receive credit (this assignment is pass/fail), you must answer each question in a complete sentence. You must answer each question completely. (I’ve put in bold parts of the questions that people tend to miss and lose credit for.) 1. CONTEXT (will require brief research) a. Who is the author/what is the author’s profession/background? The article “Investing the University” is written by David Bartholomae, an associate professor of English and Director of Composition at The University of Pittsburgh. His research includes composition, literacy and pedagogy and his works focus on rhetoric and American studies/American literature. b. In which source text was the reading originally published/printed/produced? This reading is an abridged version of a chapter in When A Writer Can't Write: Studies in Writer's Block and Other Composing Problems. c. What is the original date of publication? The original date of publication is 1985 by the Guilford Press. d. What was going on culturally at the time of the text’s production that would provide exigency for its publication? Before 1985, many educators such as Paulo Freire created books and one especially know as the Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This had a significant influence on the relationship between teachers and students in the education system. Prior to the late 1980’s authors such as Matthew D. Harr, a graduate from Princeton focused on the writing process and the cognitive behavioral therapy to for alleviating writing anxiety. The abundance of information that is incorporated into the art of learning shows the significance and context behind the minds of the writer itself. 2. STRUCTURE a. Identify how and where the author(s) employs obvious (e.g., headings, subheadings, lists, labels, bullets, etc.) or subtle structural cues (e.g., subject transitions) The author employs a subheading that’s capitalized as NOTES to remark several claims and ideas. This subheading is organized in numerical order (1-7) and includes quotes from a well known philosopher (Aristotle), Pat Bizzell (an important scholar), and others as a reference. b. Identify any narratives (stories, anecdotes) and state their purpose. The author demonstrates several essays from three different students and each essay employs a narrative about a time when the writer did something to feel creative and their emphasis of the overall word “creativity”. Each narrative is unique and the author analyzes the striking characteristic problems and great points that are employed in the essay. The author compares and contrasts each essay like point out the “Clay Model” inhibits the position of authority while the “White Shoes” essay offers more of a commonplace for interpretation. The purpose of the essays is to differentiate the kinds of writing that are required in university education and the problems associated with them. c. Identify any figurative language (e.g., metaphors, allusions, personification) and state its purpose. When the author analyzes the "Clay Model" essay, a simile is presented as Bartholomae states that the writer proposes himself "as" a researcher instead of a high school student. The purpose of this simile shows Bartholomae can sense the type of characteristics the writer elaborates on like working

systematically and scientifically learning the “different dimensions of the earth”. 3. PURPOSE a. What is the purpose of the work (e.g., argument, narrative, commentary, etc.) and how does the author identify that purpose? The purpose of this text extends Bartholomae’s inquiry on how to make basic writers more successful. He implements examples of essays from basic writers and defines the errors yet the key elements that are crucial to become a better writer. He claims that to be a successful writer, the writer must have privilege, and must work against the common language. b. Who is original intended audience as stated (or implied) by the author? Why? The original intended audience would be English Professors because the diction and sentence structure is appropriate and understandable since they have the knowledge and experience in literacy and composition. i. Identify the pronouns that the author uses and identify to whom the pronouns refer (i.e., who is who and to whom?). The pronoun “us” refers to academic professors, “students” refers to college students and “I” refers to the author himself since the article’s written in first person. ii. Identify four words or phrases that you used to identify the audience. c. Identify three words or phrases (not “the,” “a/an,” prepositions) that are repeated throughout the text and explain how they relate to the text’s main idea. Three words or phrases that are repeated throughout the article are “discourse”, “students”, and “language”. These words relate to the main idea because they all help the author describe and help his points throughout the article. “Discourse” is used a good amount through the article because Bartholomae is describing the academic discourse that the students are writing for. The word “students” is also repeated because of the discourse for the article, the general population and what kind of writing the author is critiquing. “Language” is repeated throughout the article when the author is talking about the different words and phrases throughout the student’s writing. 4. MAIN IDEA a. State the topic (noun): The topic of this article is discourse since it’s spoken about writing with academics that initiates a formal discussion. b. State the main idea in one sentence (must include an active verb): In this reading, Bartholomae states that most university students are basic writers while he presents essays with several flaws and proposes advice to achieve authority and privilege in academic discourse. Response (should be at least 5 – 7 sentences per question; if there aren’t any passages you agree or disagree with, please explain for credit) 1. Quote or paraphrase one passage that you agree with and explain why you agree with this passage. I agree with a passage from one of the essays that Bartholomae analyzes. The passage reads, “Creativity to me means being free to express yourself in a way that is unique to you, not having to conform to certain rules and guidelines. Music is only one of the many areas in which people are given opportunities to show their creativity” (140 Bartholomae). I support this statement because it captures the true meaning

of creativity. I agree that music is one of the biggest ways to show one's creativity. When I think of creativity, I think of individuality. What kind of music someone likes can tell a lot about them as the individual they are. One who obtains a lot of creativity is very unique to others. 2. Quote or paraphrase one passage that you disagree with or that confuses you and explain your disagreement/confusion. When Bartholomae analyzes an essay about creativity, his analysis confuses me. He explains, “In some ways it is a remarkable performance. He is trying on the discourse even though he does not have the knowledge that makes the discourse more than a routine, a set of conventional rituals and gestures. And he does this, I think, even though he knows he doesn't have the knowledge that makes the discourse more than a routine (133 Bartholomae)”. After reading this, I am confused on what Bartholomae is trying to say. The prompt of the essay is to describe a time when you did something you felt to be creative and then draw some general conclusions about “creativity”. I am unsure of what the author means by a discourse being more than a routine.

Notes for Summary Write down a word or phrase that you think describes the ideas on that page for every page in the reading. If several ideas are present, you may need more than a word or phrase. Transcribe those notes below with the corresponding page numbers (Does not have to be complete sentences): Page#

Ideas/topics

131

What does inventing the university mean?

132

Essay by a basic writer

133

Tendencies of a basic writer

134

Conclusion written by a basic writer

135

Commonplaces, Basic writers writing to teachers

136

Appropriate a specialized discourse

137

“Insiders”

138

Writing based on your audience, academic discourse

139

The problems in essays written by basic writers

140

Essay about creativity

141

Analysis of student’s essay, Power of the commonplace

142

Rhetoric analysis

143

A successful essay

144

More analysis, the competing codes

145

Sentence level

146

Linguistic problems

147

Academic discourse, Conclusion

148

Notes

149

Notes

150

Works Cited

151

Works Cited...