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ENGLISH 101-05 Fall 2002

Instructor: Cindy Butos, Trinity College

ASSIGNMENTS for Papers 5 and 6

English 101, Writing, is composed of first-year students who were required to take the course. The writing is a mix of informal “Writing Exercises” that are designed to move writers to the more formal “Papers” that they peer review and revise 2 more times. Prior to the assignments described below, students wrote two papers on the same topic that involved research. The first was an explanation of a problem or issue, and the second was an op-ed in which they argued for a particular solution to the problem or position on the issue. Before they began researching, they attended a library session on using databases and other sources accessed through Trinity’s library. For these earlier papers, I ask students to use the library as the gateway for their research. My rationale is that when students enter college, many are accustomed to relying on the Web and the major search engines to do research. My goal is to make sure they are introduced to the library’s resources. For the sequence of assignments described briefly below, I first reinforce close reading of texts by asking students to read, discuss, and critique Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This text contains most of the argumentative elements writing teachers have traditionally asked students to recognize and evaluate. Consequently, this assignment begins the conversation about what constitutes an argument and leads into the next series of assignments described below for which students use the Web in their research.

STEP 1: Students read a standard print text that contains the traditional elements of argument: “Statement by Alabama Clergy” http://www.stanford.edu/group/king/frequentdocs/clergy.pdf Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/frequentdocs/birmingham.pdf WRITING EXERCISE #9: In his “Letter,” King uses the 3 appeals of argument: Logos, Ethos, Pathos. Briefly describe how he uses each and provide specific places in the text where you find them. Since your readers will have the text before them, do not detail an example, but mention it and point to the page on which it occurs.
We will use this exercise as a jumping off point for our discussion of the essay in class.

STEP 2: Students write a critique of the argumentative elements in the printed text: PAPER # 5 for Peer Review (900-1000 words) Critique of King’s “Letter”
Bring 2 hard copies for review
Audience: do not assume the audience has read the text
Butos 2

STEP 3: After revising the critique of King’s text, students begin a new unit with some informal writing:
WRITING EXERCISE # 10: In-class informal writing to reflect on your experiences with authority for PAPER # 6.
PAPER #5, REVISION 1 DUE

STEP 4: Students read and write about “Obedience to Authority”
Asch, Solomon E. “Opinions and Social Pressure” Milgram, Stanley. “The Perils of Obedience”
WRITING EXERCISE # 11: (500 words) First, explain the major conclusions of each experiment. Then discuss to what extent the findings of Asch’s and Milgram’s experiments reinforce one another? To what extent do they highlight different, if related, social phenomena? (assignment adapted from Behrens & Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2000. 391).
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Zimbardo, Philip K. “The Stanford Prison Experiment” Brooks, David. “The Organizational Kid” WRITING EXERCISE #12: (500 words) To what extent are students particularly prone to obedience? Draw upon Zimbardo and Brooks, as well as your own outside reading, observations, and experience in developing your response (assignment adapted from Behrens & Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2000. 391).

STEP 5: Students attend a Web evaluation session presented by a reference librarian WRITING EXERCISE # 13: Using the guidelines we discussed in the Web evaluation session, evaluate a site that relates to obedience. Pay particular attention to those elements not normally found in print texts. Choose a site that you are thinking of using as part of your research for Paper # 6.

STEP 6: Students use library and Web sites to research for Paper #6

STEP 7:
PAPER # 6 (1200 words)
Using the work of these authors (Asch, Milgram, Zimbardo, and Brooks) as a point of departure, consider a particular act of over-obedience to authority either from history or a more contemporary event. Your task is two-fold: (1) to educate your readers of the relevant theories and findings from the class readings, and (2) to analyze the event you choose in conjunction with these theories and findings.