Week 1 Discussion Guide: Wednesday

        Class will start with a quick tour of the course web site and syllabus, a discussion of English 105's learning objectives, a review of the assignment sequence of all graded work, and a documentation quiz and diagnostic essay. 

Topics:

Definition of "analysis," use in disciplin-based thinking for academic writing--"the Hand" exercise.

The academic "author-reader-subject" relationship--"get Arnie's Mom to Pearlstone."

The art of seeming/being authoritative when you are still a student in your profession--read this outline of how disciplines of expert knowledge are created. 

General questions you should ask about topics as you read in order to develop evidence and to focus theses: 

1) What issues are debated about this topic?;

2) Who is debating those issues and why?;

3)  What evidence and methods are being used in the debate, and are there sources of evidence or kinds of reasoning that have been overlooked?;

4) What matters to you about this topic?. 

First Writing Assignment:

"Product Purchase Recommendation" paper (click here to read and print them).  If we have time, we'll have a short workshop to brainstorm topics and apply the questions above to the "PPR" project.

At the end of class,