Day 10 - Tuesday

Day 10 - Tuesday

 

I. Housekeeping

  • sign-in
  • collect essays, ideally to be returned within one week
  • next class in library: meet in Alderman classroom. I will not be present, but a sign-in sheet will passed around. Assignment for Thursday canceled.

 

II. Second Essay Assignment

Distribute and discuss both guidelines and topics.

General Questions:

  • What is Greenberg claiming? How plausible do you find his argument?
  • Are Greenberg's statements consistent with what Cezanne himself says about his own work?
  • What other kinds of sources might you consult?

Emphasize:

  • One outside-of-class resource. Pay attention in the library! Ask questions about how to find things.
  • Homework: For our next in-class class, you'll bring in a segment of this paper, as per syllabus.

 

III. Issue/Discussion Structuring

We're getting local, moving to the paragraph level.

 

A. Issue/Discussion at Essay Level

When you make an argument, you present an issue and proceed to discuss it. At the essay level

  • your claim is the issue: it presents a topic and makes a point about it
  • your reasons (complete with warrants, evidence, A/R) are the discussion

Your paper proceeds just like your skeletal outline: the divisions in your paper come from the natural divisions in your discussion, which are your reasons. This is a prototype: the easiest way to do things, but not necessarily the only way. A more advanced format, e.g., might start by presenting evidence, then show how that evidence proves a reason, then offer a claim at the end. When in doubt &endash; of your skill or the assignment &endash; choose prototype. Continue to work with prototype in this class.

 

B. Issue/Discussion at Paragraph Level

The same issue/discussion procedure is applied at the more local levels (more minute divisions) of your paper: PARAGRAPHS. The parts of argument, unlike the way it was in high school, don't necessarily translate into paragraphs. One reason may be complex enough to encompass several small issues: the warrant, the evidence/interpretation, A/R, etc. Each of these might warrant a separate paragraph.

 

Paragraphs also present issues and discuss them. Types of paragraphs:

  • typical paragraph: a local version of the prototype above; presents issue and point in first sentenceŠ discussion follows. This is the "topic sentence" paragraph you learned about in high school. An example in Greenberg essay?
  • paragraph with multi-sentence issue, point at end of issue. An example in Greenberg essay?
  • point-last paragraph: issue presented first sentence, launching point into discussion, discussion, point. An example in Greenberg essay? Again, prototype paragraph is the typical paragraph. When in doubt, use it.

 

III. Papers and Problems

You make arguments to solve a problem. Presenting the problem that your paper deals with is a special moment of issue/discussion.

 

A. Tangible vs Conceptual Problems

What's the difference? They have different kinds of consequences and different kinds of solutions.

Exercise: Rank the problems on handout. (3, 4 least "problematic"; 2, 5 most "problematic")

 

B. Greenberg

This class treats conceptual problems.

  • What is the problem of Greenberg's piece? (hint: problem doesn't equal claim)
  • Where did you look for it?
  • How is it presented? In other words, what does he do?

 

Problems statements are modeled on narrative.

  • status quo
  • destabilizing condition
  • consequences
  • resolution: this corresponds with the paper's claim

One added part: prelude. "Once upon a time"