English 292:
Contemporary Issues in Language, Writing, and Rhetoric
Fall 2001
Section 1 of 2
Instructor: Neil Randall
HH 224, ext 3397
nrandall@watarts.uwaterloo.ca
Office times: Tuesday
Wednesday
Class times: 292: Tuesday
392B:
Wednesday
408B: Tuesday
408C:
Tuesday
Required Texts
1. Hauser, Gerard. An Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. Waveland Press, 1991.
2. Yudkin, Marcia. Freelance Writing for Magazines and Newspapers. HarperCollins
3. Ayto, John. Twentieth-Century Words.
Recommended Text
Fowler, H.
Ramsay, et al. The
Little, Brown Handbook. 3rd Canadian ed.
Assignments
Each assignment is worth one-third of your final grade. Each will be given a mark out of 100;
at the end of the course the three grades will be added together and then
divided by three to arrive at the final numeric grade.
Assignment #1: 1500-word paper on rhetorical theory (Oct. 23)
In an essay of 1400-1500 words (no more, no fewer), analyze one rhetorical situation according to Bitzer’s definition and to three additional major theories
outlined in chapters 4-10 of Hauser’s book. When selecting the rhetorical
situation to analyze, be certain that it is indeed a rhetorical situation – i.e., one in which the exigency can be
surmounted by the rhetor’s audience. In the first
part of the paper, demonstrate precisely how Bitzer’s
articulation applies to the situation, then analyze the situation to propose a
strategy for resolution of the situation, according to three primary rhetorical
theories covered by Hauser (chpt 4-10). Important: You must append a separate
page that explains the rhetorical situation briefly but substantially; this
page does not count against the word
requirement.
Assignment #2: Magazine article with rationale (Nov. 20)
Working from the ideas and guidelines presented in both the Yudkin book and in class, write feature article of
1800-2000 words for a magazine of your choice, and include a separate 500-word
rationale outlining the choices and decisions you made in writing the article
as you did. The article must cohere with both the explicit and implicit
requirements for that magazine. You must obtain the writer’s guidelines for the
magazine (append them to your article or point to the URL), and you must
demonstrate in your rationale the implicit requirements such as audience
analysis, the magazine’s past practices, the ethos of the magazine, the
acceptable writing style, and the types and purposes of your quotations from
interviews. You will be graded according to the degree to which you satisfy the
magazine’s requirements as well as the guidelines from Yudkin
and class. Important: Begin planning
this article by the end of September. Plan to conduct interviews during
October. Begin writing by the first of November.
Assignment #3: Take-home exam on neologism, specialty diction, and slang (Dec. 4)
Distributed in class on Thursday, Nov 29,
due in HH 224 by
Schedule
Week 1 (Sept 11/13): Introductions, discussions on language and knowledge
Week 2 (Sept 18/20): Hauser chpt 1-2
Week 3 (Sept 25/27): Hauser chpt 3-4
Week 4 (Oct 2/4): Hauser chpt 5-6
Week 5 (Oct 9/11): Hauser chpt 7-8
Week 6 (Oct 16/18): Hauser chpt 9-10
Week 7 (Oct 23/25): Hauser chpt 11-12; Assignment #1 due
Week 8 (Oct 30/Nov 1): Magazine writing (Yudkin first half)
Week 9 (Nov 6/8): Magazine writing (Yudkin second half)
Week 10 (Nov 13/15): Neologism (Ayto TBA)
Week 11 (Nov 20/22): Specialized diction (Ayto TBA); Assignment #2 due
Week 12 (Nov 27/29):
Slang and inventions (Ayto TBA): Take-home exam assigned