ENG 1103 Class Notes 4

Discussion on the first reading group.
Instructor hasn't reviewed the reading group results; uncertainty regarding students' satisfaction.

Quiz 1 Statistics: 19 students took the quiz.
- 12 students scored 0 or 1 (63% hard fail).
- Only 5 students scored 5 or 6 (passing range is 5-6).
Instructor expresses deep concern over performance in quizzes, indicating a need for students to engage more seriously with the material.
Noted worry about overall class reading capacity, highlighting a critical moment for students to reflect on their engagement and responsibility.

Hauser's reading is essential for essay 2.
Expression of concern regarding the lack of familiarity with reading material among students.

Concept of Origin (Per Hauser):
- Triggered by exigence or situation that arises.
- Introduces rhetors (speakers, writers addressing an audience).
- Audience's role in defining problems and potential solutions is crucial.
Maturity Phase:
- Marked by meaningful discourse and recognition of exigence.
- The speaker must navigate constraints and offer solutions, while the audience begins to evaluate these solutions.
Deterioration Phase:
- Problems become harder to solve; new exigencies arise, causing audience distraction.
- Important to note that attitudes or actions can shift the definition of the situation from rhetorical to symbolic, which diminishes authentic impact.
- Example given: Merely posting on social media about a cause vs. taking real action.
Disintegration/Death Phase:
- Attempts to mediate change become futile; functional purpose of discourse is lost.
- Example given about issues stranded in the court system, indicating stalled progress in societal discussions.

Emphasized importance of understanding the rhetorical situation and life cycle:
- Breakdown of life cycle into steps: origin, maturity, deterioration, and death.
- Need to apply these concepts to current events, using memes as tools to analyze societal impact.

Discussing the importance of academic research and how to effectively navigate JSTOR for finding relevant articles:
- Use specific keywords and limit search to journal articles published in the last ten years.
- Strategies to refine search: use broader terms or phrases related to topics of interest (contextualizing popular topics).
Recommended strategies:
- Grow the "maybe" pile: gather potential articles.
- Skim the first few pages to determine relevance, expecting articles may diverge in their focus more than expected.
- Importance of downloading articles for offline access, ensuring reliability for later referencing.
- Emphasis on using the citation feature in JSTOR to simplify sourcing.

Encourage quality over quantity in sourcing, focusing on scholarly discussions rather than surface-level research.
A warning against quoting from the abstract of articles, which does not convey the depth of research.
Stress on the need for a works cited page and adherence to academic citation standards (e.g., formatting requirements).
Explicit instructions on integrating sources, summarizing them effectively, and bridging connections to current events and arguments in writing.

Minimum page requirements, recent publication dates, and types of acceptable sources.
Clear prohibition on using articles older than ten years unless justified.
Emphasis placed on topics that are sensitive and their inappropriateness for discussion in essays.

Instructor closing with a note on the seriousness of academic engagement.
Stress on the need for consistent and meaningful participation, alongside personal accountability in the learning process.