Post your August 1 assignment here.

By 11:59 p.m. on August 1, you will need to post a response to each of the following questions: 

• What is the author’s exigency for writing this book? In other words, what is his/her motivation for creating this text?
• What is the main argument he/she is building? 
• What should you as a reader take away from this book?  

Your response should be at least 300 words long, and should not closely resemble anyone else’s response already posted.  (That’s an incentive for being one of the first to post!)

Please be sure to sign your name to your post if you do not have a Google account, and double check your July 15 post to make sure it is not anonymous.  No name = no grade.

Hello, Class of 2019!

In the comment section of this post is where you should put your first round of summer writing / reflection.  Remember, the prompt says:

By 11:59 p.m. on July 15, you will need to post a response to the following questions:  How would you characterize your author’s writing style?  What kind of diction does s/he use, and what tones are created by that diction.  Choose a small selection (approximately 4-6 sentences) to analyze closely, and post your analysis on the blog.  You should cite the page number and paragraph of the selection you choose.

Consider the following questions to help you compile your response.  Do not feel you need to write in a formulaic way.  These are guidelines.  We are looking to see what you can do.  You will be assessed far more on effort than you will style, so do not stress if this is an unfamiliar format.  

a) Who is the speaker, and what does the speaker want the audience to do, think, or believe? (This can be a simplified thematic sentence – TAG + purpose).    (TAG stands for Title, Author, Genre)

b) How does the author develop his or her claims and support his or her purpose? What specific strategies are used, and why are they used?

c) Who is the specific audience, and how do the strategies affect the audience? Why do they care, and how do the strategies make them care even more?

d) If the audience is effectively persuaded by the strategies, what will they do, think or believe? (This is a more specific statement of purpose).