Final Reflection

Abstract language and composition are what separate humans from the other 2 billion species that have lived on earth. Language works through rhetoric meaning that all language is about persuasion. It is through rhetoric that people are allowed to be different. My favorite definition of rhetoric was provided by John Locke. He said, “Rhetoric, that powerful instrument of error and deceit.” Andrew King and Jim Kuypers give a definition that ties rhetoric and persuasion together. They said, “The strategic use of communication, oral or written, to achieve specifiable goals.” Since composition is what divides us from animals, it is therefore the most important subject humans learn.
In order to understand the art of persuasion Aristotle introduced three concepts: logos, pathos and ethos. Logos appeals to an individual’s logic, pathos appeals to an individual’s emotion, and ethos appeals to an individual’s character. Encountering these three elements happens every day, and as I learned through my rhetorical analysis, they often persuade you to buy certain products. Concentrate on a car website for example; the reasonable price and generous cash back incentive applies to your logic. Ethos is present because the website proves that their brand is well known and trusted. Exaggerated photographs that show endless possibilities are the most obvious pathos.
I have a new respect for composition because I understand that it is about so much more than I imagined. In Kelly Slacks oral presentation, the article she studied said that composition classes need to play a role in “diversifying education and building positive and understanding character in their students.” The article, by Danielle Mitchell, concentrated on homosexuality and composition, but what I really took away from it was the fact that teachers need to teach critical analysis of the ideas being studied.
Although I am not going to be a teacher in school, I think you constantly have the opportunity to share your knowledge with people. You can teach your co-workers, your children, or your friends. The three approaches to learning are subjective, objective and rhetorical. I think that the best education consists of a combination of the three. Teachers could start with the objective approach and present the facts, through lecture. Then they could move into the subjective approach to let the students break down the information in their own heads. Finally, the rhetorical learning process allows the students to interact with one another. With the advancement of web 2.0 into the classrooms interaction is becoming more and more common. Web 2.0 gives the students a form and allows them to fill in the content.
Grasping the concept that all language is persuasion was very difficult for me. The Toulmin argument helped break it down in simpler terms. With the Toulmin argument you have a claim, data and a warrant. The claim starts the argument, the data supports that argument and then there is the warrant. The warrant is the assumption being made, and most people consider this the hardest element to understand.
Audra Osborne’s oral presentation introduced an idea that, surprisingly, I had never thought about. If teachers created assignments that focused on the students’ interests then maybe they would find it less tedious. Also, focusing on the individual’s ideas and allowing room for mistakes would get secondary students more interested in the subject and less afraid of error.
Overall, this class opened my eye to a completely new view of composition. Before this semester I thought composition was the formula we used to convey our written ideas. Now, I know that composition encompasses so many things. There is not one way to teach composition, and I think it is obvious that NOONE should use the 5-paragraph essay. Clearly there is great value in teaching composition because it is the primary component that separates humans from every other living thing. Also, if language is directly related to persuasion then it is a skill you use in every aspect of your life, making it necessary to understand. Take Joseph for example; the boy had no realm of the past or future. He lived in a very small present and had no idea the difference between love and hate. Joseph had never encountered language or composition.

Blog Post #10

This class has probably meant something completely different to me than most of the other students in the class- primarily because I am not an English major and have very little knowledge on the subject. Even though I am not going into teaching as a career, I have great respect for good teachers and I can relate to them because everyone has had their share of good and bad teachers. I hope my ideas contributed as an outsider’s point of view. The first day of class is the most memorable lecture from the semester. I had never thought of, much less discussed whether or not humans were cannibals. I was interested and had an open mind from the beginning, mainly because early on the class definitely went against what I thought it would be. I really enjoyed how Dr. Garrison put a lot of emphasis on getting your ideas out there, even if he didn’t always agree. Having open discussions in class and doing blog postings gave everyone the opportunity to express what they were thinking. Another one of the strongest languages was the first one where Dr. Garrison started to push on the point that all language is persuasive. It showed me that if you introduce an interesting, NEW topic to students it is nearly impossible that they won’t be interested. Some of his ideas had me saying “huh???” but I still thought about it, which I presume is the overall goal. I have found throughout college that I trust a professors lecture and knowledge based on his or her credentials; however, it is a real turn off when they list every award they have ever gotten or every impressive thing on their resume. Dr. Garrison was able to show his intelligence through his lectures and discussions without having to brag or boast. For me, this class gave me a completely new way to think about English. I no longer think of it as writing a paper or reading Shakespeare, but it is a whole new language and way of thinking. For everyone that is teaching English I think it would be really helpful to surprise your students on the first day, just as Dr. Garrison did, and give them a new way to think of the subject.

Blog Posting #9

My final essay is in the very early forms of development but I want to share with everyone what I have so far in hopes to get some suggestions. I have chosen to concentrate on the effects that web 2.0 is having on English grammar and language; and I personally think that it is negatively effecting our grammar. The most important thing I will establish from the beginning of the essay is what I mean by grammar and what I mean by Web 2.0. Originally when I thought of grammar I thought of sentence structure, capitalization, misspelling of words, etc. But through research I discovered people have many different ideas of what grammar is. What are the top three things you associate with grammar? Also, when I use the term Web 2.0 I am referring to Facebook, MySpace, blogging, instant messaging and the ability to leave comments and reviews for products and/or news articles. My basic outline would be the following. Present my thesis, define grammar and its importance, define web 2.0, use an article that discusses the each of these individually, use an article that combines the two elements, and then find examples of people using grammar poorly throughout web 2.0. The last part will obviously be the easiest! The reason I chose this topic is because these discussions are what I found most interesting in our class. I know and recognize the good aspects of web 2.0 like giving shy students a way to express themselves and giving more people a voice but I think the “harmful” aspects of web 2.0 were overlooked. At some point, even if these students have good ideas and a solid voice, they are going to have to fill out at online application, or send an e-mail to someone who cares about more than their “voice” and if they don’t have the proper grammar skills to project their ideas it will not matter what they are saying. A lot of students express that English is boring because they have to sit through countless hours of grammar, spelling and punctuation but there is much importance in acquiring a good understanding of these basic concepts. I am having trouble finding research and articles that combine the two elements: how web 2.0 effects grammar, so if you find any please feel free to e-mail me. I would really appreciate it. Lindsey.priess@ttu.edu