Revising Claims

If you have not discussed your claim in class this past week, post your claim here. Then, each student should respond at least once to every student who posts.

Booth Chapters 10-11

Using the most recent essay we've read, "Revolution is US," analyze parts of the essay based on 1. Chapter 10: How well does the writer acknowledge and then respond to his audience? Can you point to places in the text where he does so? How does it work or not work for the essay?
2. Chapter 11: Does the writer have a warrant in this essay? More than one? Pick out a warrant and analyze it based on this Booth chapter. If he doesn't have any warrants, discuss how or why that hurts or works well for the essay.

Booth Ch. 7-9

These chapters from Booth are an overview of how to make a good argument. Return to one of the early essays we've read in class: South Park, Superhero Worship, So You Wanna Be a Gangsta?, and in about 200 words, break down the essay's argument using these chapters from Booth.

Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes

Study a popular magazine such as Elle, Rolling Stone, or Maxim for advertisements depicting men and women interacting with each other. In about 150 words, interpret the body postures of the models, using Devor's essay as the framework for your analysis. How do males and females typically stand? To what extent do the models enact stereotypically masculine or feminine stances?

Booth-- Chapters 5 & 6

List 5 tips that the writers gave you for locating sources and engaging sources that you found helpful and that you didn't know about before. Explain for each why you find that particular tip helpful.

Next, skim the following two sources:

http://www.afghan-web.com/woman/

http://webhome.idirect.com/~yu176197/CF/articles/The%20Stragtegic%20Co-optation%20of%20Women's%20Rights-Discourse%20in%20the%20War%20on%20Terror.pdf


For each source, in about 100 words, evaluate the sources using pages 76-79.

So You Wanna Be a Gangsta?

Explaining in detail, perhaps even using as evidence a couple of films the essay did not mention, do you agree that Hollywood exploits the black community in making gang films? Why or why not? Also, consider other films featuring African Americans that Boyd does not discuss, such as Waiting to Exhale, Dream Girls, or Diary of Mad Black Woman-- how do you think gender plays an important role in film analysis?

Booth, Chapter 4: Thinking about Research Problems

Evaluate the research problems below in terms of the research problem it presents, using Booth's ideas from Chapter 4. Does the statement suggest a good research problem? Why or why not? Take your time with this blog response, really think about how you would help these student writers revise their research problems.

1. I'm studying shoes because I want to find out why shoes are so expensive in order to help my reader understand all the hidden costs involved in shoe-making.

2. I am studying alternative medicine in order to find out why people don't choose alternative medical treatments over traditional medical treatments. I want my readers to understand that there are alternatives to traditional medicine.

3. I am studying MTV because I want to show how MTV influences popular music.

4. I am studying horror films because I want to understand the role of horror films in the history of film-making in order to help my reader learn how horror films have changed the landscape of movies and have influenced Hollywood.

5. I am studying SUVs because I want to prove that SUVs are bad for the environment.

Superhero Worship

For her essay, Postrel interviewed a random fan of Superman about this enthusiasm for this superhero. Borrowing her methodology, interview at least three fans of superheros, asking about the reasons for their responses to these characters. To what extent do they illustrated Postrel's argument about glamour? Use your results to argue yourself what you think the appeal of the superhero character is.