Reference no: EM131617422 , Length: word count:1000

Short Writing Task 1: Invention Task

Background:

The final assessment in this unit is an essay and this first task, the Invention Task begins to build towards that final essay. In this task you will explore a topic of your own choosing with the aim of writing about that in your final essay. Your essay must demonstrate awareness that all "knowledge" is contested. You are not simply writing to inform your reader or to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic or issue. Your essay will essay will instead present a critique of the opposing views on aspects of your topic, based on rhetorical analyses of the arguments that support those opposing views. So though you present arguments, you will not be writing an argumentative essay but instead critique the arguments of others.

This task will help you to use the canon of invention to select a topic and explore possibilities of communication.

Relevance:

Identifying and summarizing conflicting opinions is vital to engaging in scholarly debate in the humanities or presenting findings in the sciences. Furthermore, the ability to contrast complex information and condense it into an easily understood summary is a highly valued skill in the workplace.

This assessment task will aim at the following unit of study outcomes:

1. How clearly you communicate (related to Unit of Study Outcome 1), and

2. How effectively you identify and anticipate arguments (Unit of Study Outcome 2)

Instructions - Process:

• For SWT1, you should choose a topic that is personally relevant, either because it relates to a discipline in your degree or because you have a significant interest in it.
• You will identify at least one of the contested aspects of that topic, and present at least two of the views that are in opposition to each other.
• You will critique those two opposing views based on what you have learned about rhetorical analysis so far.

Your tutors will allow time in the first tutorial to explore and brainstorm or free write on the topic of your choice. In subsequent tutorials you will engage in activities and discussions to expand on what you have been learning about rhetorical analysis from the live and online lectures and compulsory readings.

Deliverables and criteria:

1. Create a title that explains the topic and its connection to rhetoric (effective communication). Some examples are: "Use the rhetorical situation to analyse the abortion debate", and "To what extent is pathos used in advertising family history search engines?"

2. Describe the topic and Explain why it is important, what the point of contention is, and how you will approach this essay according to your academic discipline/degree.

3. Present your preliminary analysis of at least two contrasting positions on one aspect of the topic. You should discuss:

• the disciplinary expertise and credibility of the authors and the quality of the publications in which you found their work
• how you might use rhetorical concepts to evaluate their views and arguments (rhetorical situation, rhetorical appeals, rhetorical fallacies, and the canons of rhetoric)
• discuss the rhetorical integrity or quality of those arguments
• refer to and cite at least one of the academic sources in your course readings

4. You must acknowledge all sources and include full references in a list at the end.

5. Follow instructions, write clearly, and do not exceed or go below the word count by more than 10% without permission from your marker.

SHORT WRITING TASK 2: RESEARCH TASK

BACKGROUND:

This task will help you to find and use relevant scholarly sources as follows:

1. This assignment extends from SWT1 but requires you to do further research to find 2 more sources, and to report on what you find.

2. You will demonstrate that you have conducted scholarly research and that you know how to use information from sources.

Using sources ethically requires:

a) Direct quotations which are well distinguished from your own writing. The source/s of the quotation must be properly acknowledged with either quotation marks, or indented paragraphs in the case of quotations that are more than 2 lines long, and a citation or footnote that includes the page number/s from which the text was taken. Direct quotations should be used minimally, and only when they say something so well that you cannot match it.

b) Acceptable paraphrasing. The sources of the paraphrased material must be properly acknowledged with a citation or footnote that includes the page number/s from which the text was taken.

c) Summarising material from sources. The sources must be properly acknowledged with a citation or footnote and, if the summary contains specific information, it must include the page number/s from which the text was taken.

d) Integrating a quote from your sources directly into your paragraph or sentence. You must cite the source at the end of the quote Take care not to overdo the use of direct quotations, whether standalone or integrated as the majority of your writing must be in your own voice.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. For this task, you must locate two additional scholarly sources relevant to your topic. These must be additional to those you identified in SWT1. Remember that scholarly sources must be peer-reviewed, academic sources.

Scholarly books are those published by academic publishers, and these typically have "University Press" in their title (ie University of Philadelphia Press; or Sydney University Press).

Journal articles can be identified as scholarly by visiting their website. There you will find statements in their homepage, which will state that they are an "academic" journal and that they are peer-reviewed.

The sources you are to report on for SWT2 may provide additional background information for your essay, or they may represent or speak for or against different sides of your chosen debate.

2. For each source, you must first include one properly cited direct quotation that is longer than a sentence (these direct quotations are not to be included in the word count because they are not your words). The quotation must be followed by your entries showing a correct, paraphrase, direct quotation, summary, and the use of a direct quotations from the source material. See the examples on page 4 and of these instructions.

a) The first paragraph must:

Paraphrase the quotation/s from the source into a discussion, illustrating its importance to your topic and to some aspect of your essay.

b) The second paragraph must:

Introduce a direct quotation. The direct quotation is retained in its entirety. It must not be altered at all unless it is to indicate an error in the original - using [sic] - to break it up with elypses - ... - or to add something of your own in brackets - eg [italics mine].

b) The third paragraph must:

Summarise the quotation from the source in your own words.

c) The fourth paragraph must:

Incorporate the direct quotation from the source into a discussion, illustrating the quotation's importance to your topic, and how it might support an aspect of your essay. It should contain a signal that the quotation is coming, and a statement that shows its relationship to your topic (see sample text on last page).

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar