Burroughs Blog Post (Or, Martian Rhetoric): Assignment Description

of 4 Burroughs Blog Post (or, Martian Rhetoric): Assignment Description

Tars Tarkas, looking very persuasive (from Disney’s John Carter, image from http://www.npr.org/2012/04/01/149717908/willem-dafoe-a-hunter-with-a-restless-eye).

Throughout A Princess of Mars, John Carter and other characters frequently make speeches or provide extended commentary about a variety of social issues. These moments are, in fact, rhetorical arguments for how we should define concepts including (but not limited to): honor, masculinity, femininity, race, the treatment of animals, ecological responsibility, domesticity, and civilization itself.

You will select a brief (no more than 1 page, but ideally shorter) section from A Princess of Mars in which a character makes what you consider to be a powerful rhetorical argument regarding a central concept of your choosing (see the above paragraph for some possibilities). Choosing your passage is part of the challenge here – consider various options before settling on one passage. While John Carter often makes rhetorical arguments in his assessment of the Martian races, he is not the only character to potentially consider.

Upon choosing a passage, you will write a brief analysis in which you answer the following questions:  Why is the passage that you chose centrally important to The Princess of Mars?  What is the message or purpose of the individual character’s argument? That is, what is he or she trying to say?  Who is the target audience of the character’s message? Does he or she reach the audience (and if not, why not)?  How does the character use appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos to support his or her message?  What is the character’s tone? How would you describe his or her language choices (as word choice can be meaningful)?  Finally, do you agree or disagree with the character’s message, and why?

Consider all of these elements when analyzing your passage, but do not treat them as a checklist of things to address in order, as your analysis should be in paragraph format.

Locating a Passage: Restrictions To ensure that we have full coverage of the text, you will be restricted to pulling your passage from the following chapters, based on your Twitter group:

 Twitter Group 1: Foreword through Chapter VI. A Fight That Won Friends  Twitter Group 2: Chapter VII. Child-Raising on Mars through Chapter XIV. A Duel to the Death  Twitter Group 3: Chapter XV. Sola Tells Me Her Story through Chapter XX. In the Atmosphere Factory  Twitter Group 4: Chapter XXI. An Air Scout for Zodanga through the end of the book Page 2 of 4

Due Date and Where to Submit  Due by 9 AM on Friday, 1/29  http://blogs.iac.gatech.edu/mars1102 o Paste or type directly into a blog post o Category label: Burroughs Blog o Tags: Please tag your post with at least 3 tags. Tags are general keywords that describe the content of your post. Your tag should NOT be: Burroughs, Princess of Mars o Post Title: Your last name, Burroughs Blog  T-Square o Assignment Submissions, Burroughs Blog Post o .doc or .docx format only o File Name: Last Name, Burroughs Blog Post o MLA essay format (see https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ for more about MLA style)  Both submissions must be on time (I will penalize you if one is late)  Remember to also post a blog comment by the start of class time on a fellow classmate’s work

Required Elements  Transcribed passage o Type the entire passage that you’re analyzing and include the chapter number, chapter name, and page number o Format / style: “Quote” (Chapter #: Chapter Title, page #)  AT LEAST 3 paragraphs of analysis (no more than 5 paragraphs) o Thesis: You should have 1 sentence in which you make a claim about the overarching meaning of your chosen passage . Be as specific as possible: The passage you choose should be about a focused topic (see page 1 for some possibilities) o Each paragraph should be at least 5 sentences long  Complete sentences and paragraph format  Content: You should write an argument answering the questions on page one of the assignment description  Audience: The audience will be your fellow classmates and myself. Keep in mind that we’ve also read A Princess of Mars, so you don’t need to summarize the text.  No outside sources o Your analysis must be entirely your own, based on closely reading your selected passage, combined with your knowledge of the Burroughs text as a whole.

Points Breakdown The Burroughs blog post is worth 50 points total (5% of your final grade in the course). The grade breakdown is roughly as follows, and, as with all course assignments, I will use the programmatic rubric to guide my assessment of your assignment.

Points Requirement 5 The Basics: On time, meets required elements 40 Blog post: Carefully selects passage for analysis and makes a cogent argument about how the passage reflects the text’s (or a particular character’s) philosophy on a particular topic 5 Reflection: On time, meets required elements Page 3 of 4

Programmatic Rubric Scale Basic Beginning Developing Competent Mature Exemplary Rhetorical Awareness Overlooks two or more Overlooks at least one Attempts to respond to Addresses the situation Addresses the situation Addresses the situation Response to situation, aspects of the situation aspect of the situation or all aspects of the or assignment in a completely, with in a sophisticated manner including purpose, or assignment, and thus assignment and thus situation or assignment, complete but unexpected insight that could advance audience, register, and does not fulfill the task compromises but the attempt is perfunctory or professional discourse on context effectiveness incomplete predictable way the topic

Stance Involves an unspecified Makes an overly general Makes a simplistic or Makes an explicit and Makes a complex, Offers an inventive, Argument, significance or confusing argument; argument; significance implicit argument, or straightforward unified argument that expert-like argument that and implications (“so significance is not is difficult to discern, or multiple arguments that argument that does not clearly articulates a clearly articulates a what” factor) evident not appropriate to the have no clear connection oversimplify the position or stance; sophisticated rhetorical situation to one another; gestures problem or question; explores multiple position/stance; explores towards significance, but explores at least one implications of the multiple implications of does not fully develop it implication of the argument the argument in a argument in depth compelling manner Development of Ideas Claims requiring support Evidence and/or analysis Evidence provides Evidence and analysis Evidence fully supports Evidence and analysis Evidence, analysis, and are not backed by is weak or contradictory; minimal but necessary are substantive; they and proves the argument are precise, nuanced, substance necessary evidence; does not account for support to each point; support the argument and all related claims; fully developed, and lacks analysis of major important evidence that attempted analysis is not and related claims, but evidence is always work together to enhance pieces of evidence; could support or sufficient to prove the are mostly predictable paired with compelling the argument, content is not substantive disprove the argument argument analysis Organization Lacks unity in Uses insufficient Uses some effective States unifying claims Asserts and sustains a Artifact is organized to Structure and coherence, constituent parts; fails to unifying statements; unifying claims, but a with supporting points claim that develops achieve maximum including elements such as create coherence among uses few effective few are unclear; that relate clearly to the logically and coherence and introductions and constituent parts; connections; some inconsistently makes overall argument and progressively; adapts momentum; connections conclusions as well as contains major logical moves necessary connections between employs an effective but typical organizational are sophisticated and logical connections argumentative holes or to prove the argument points and the argument; mechanical scheme schemes for the context; complex when required between points fallacies are absent employs simplistic achieves substantive organization coherence Conventions Involves errors that risk Involves a major pattern Involves some Meets expectations, with Meets expectations Exceeds expectations Expectations for grammar, making the overall of errors distracting errors minor errors in a virtually flawless and manipulates mechanics, style, citation message distorted or manner conventions to advance incomprehensible the argument Design for Medium Lacks features necessary Omits some important Uses features that Supports the argument Promotes engagement Persuades with careful, Features that use or significant for the features; distracting support the argument, with features that are and supports the seamless integration of affordances of the genre to genre; uses features that inconsistencies in but some match generally suited to genre argument with features features and content and enhance factors such as conflict with or ignore features; uses features imprecisely with content; and content that efficiently use with innovative use of usability and the argument that don’t support involves minor affordances affordances comprehensibility argument omissions or inconsistencies Reflection On Friday, 1/29 during class time, I will ask you to reflect on the project. “Reflecting” in this case means that you’ll respond in writing to a set of prompts or questions that ask you to consider how and why you made the choices you made in completing this assignment. You’ll then save that reflection and return to it later in the semester as you prepare your final portfolio.

This reflection is not optional and will count toward your grade for this project, so if you miss class when the assignment is due, you should still plan to submit the reflection on Friday, 1/29 by the end of the day.

Lateness Policy Blogs posted late (i.e. after 9 AM on 1/29) will receive a maximum possible grade of C. The reason for this policy is that your classmates need time to comment on your posts. I will not accept a Burroughs blog post later than 1 week after the initial due date.

Revision Policy In this class, you may choose to revise 1 blog post or the archival project and this project counts as a blog post.

In order to be allowed any revision, you must send me an email or meet with me no later than one week after I return the grade for the assignment. In the email or meeting, you must tell me what the most central issues with the initial assignment were (beyond the grade), what your plan for revision is, and a deadline for when you will submit the revised assignment (which can be no later than 14 days after the email or meeting). You cannot receive an extension for a revision.

The revised assignment will receive an entirely new grade (not an average of the old and new grade). I do not guarantee a higher grade for revised work, but a revision cannot bring your grade down (unless you plagiarize the revised assignment).

I will not allow revisions for late posts or posts that fail to meet the assignment requirements.

Extension Policy If you want to use your 1 assignment extension for this project, follow these steps: 1) Contact me at least 24 hours before the assignment is due through an email in which you explain the reason for the delay (OR have a documented excuse from the institute). 2) Propose in this email a reasonable extension (72 hours at most past the due date), which you MUST then keep. Past this new date, your assignment will receive the normal lateness penalty.