Rhetorical Blog for Composition Classes

1. Rhetorical Blog for Composition Classes By Hem Raj Kafle Assistant Professor Kathmandu University, Nepal 9 January 2010

2. Overview • Introduction • Weblogs and writing • Rhetoric: definition and canons • Blogging and rhetoric • Invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery in a blog • Some fundamentals • References

3. Introduction • Two problems: lack of motivation in students (Kajder and Bull); and plagiarism due to abundance of sources (Yusof) • Academic merits of blogs and their integration in writing courses (Campbell, Johnson, Weiler). • Purpose: an extension of the usage of blogs; designing a blog using rhetorical canons

4. Blogging • Writing on a website “without the need of any programming experience or knowledge” (Johnson). • Dominated by the audience (Briggs): a public resource • A platform for “talented people who would write more if they had a forum” (Stone). • “The easiest way to bring yourself to the Web and make your voice heard” (Leona).

5. Rhetoric • “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Aristotle) • “to teach and to delight” (Cicero, in Bramer) • Craft of communicating: “informing, entertaining, attacking, or reassuring” (Price) • Attempt to influence others through language (Selzer)

6. Classical vs. Modern Rhetoric • Influence by argument • Invention of the speaker • Historical /biographical study of speakers and speeches • Explication of a single text • Conception of rhetoric as orally delivered speeches [Campell, Karlyn Kohr. “Modern Rhetoric.” • Influence by language • Interpretation of reader • Close readings of texts (literature, journalism etc.) • Critiques of bodies of texts • Re-conception of rhetoric as symbolic action through which as humans we construct the worlds in which we live

7. Five rhetorical canons • Inventio (invention): coming up with materials; ethos,pathos and logos • Dispositio (arrangement): organizing the materials; topics, action/effect and formal features; rhetorical strategies • Elocutio (style): specific use of language; rhetorical figures • Memoria (memory): remembering ideas; meomorizing arguments, facts as well as etiquettes • Actio (delivery): presenting the ideas; tone, voice and other aspects of presentation

8. Blogging and rhetoric • Blogs as rhetorical space: free space, immediacy of publication, audience involvement • “As means of representing and expressing the self, forming identity, facilitating student-centered learning, building and disseminating information” (Gurak et al.). • Constructing a blog with five rhetorical canons: application of the classical mode of communication into the modern means; application beyond modern composition studies that takes up the first three canons – invention, arrangement and style -- only

9. Invention • Continuous process of managing texts, multimedia, links, instructions • Level 1: authentic posts of the teacher • Level 2: students’ contributions • Level 3: subjects, themes, arguments, of the individual posts • Means of motivation and challenge for writing

10. Arrangement • Sequencing of posts in the front page • Organization of the widgets like pages, categories, links, and lists of posts • Internal organization of individual publications. • Modes of organization in individual texts: i) division and sequence of topics; ii) sequence of acts and effects; iii) placement and sequencing of formal features (Enos and Fahnestock ). • Teaching rhetorical strategies

11. Style • Linguistic features: rhetorical figures in the language of form (pages and categories, for example) and that of content (individual posts) • Extra-linguistic features: graphics and images, layout colours, font and size of the texts • Requirement for a class blog: use of limited but crucial widgets; checking swift navigation beyond the blog

12. Memory • Merit of technology: no need to remember everything; need of managing information sources • Memory: archiving contents to ensure repeated use • Making the features of the blog easy to remember • Not forgetting the blog having been carried away through a labyrinth of links • Maintaining a sufficient storage of resources

13. Delivery • Continuous activity coming from and leading to multiple directions • Updating contents regularly • Modifying the designs frequently • Adding useful links • Maintaining interactivity among users • Monitoring user participation in the writing process • Learning new skills when circumstances demand variety and additional facility

14. Some fundamentals • Helping it sound like a human being • Knowledge of some technical skills • Making blog part of a syllabus • Supplying adequate resources and guidelines • Teacher as a participant • Allowing personalized contributions • Linking to student activities/blogs • Supplement to classroom teaching, not substitute

15. References • Aristotle. Rhetoric. • Bramer, George R. “Truth and Harmony as Rhetorical Goals.” • Briggs, Mark. Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive. • Campbell, Aaron Patric. “Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes.” • Enos, Richard Leo, and Jeanne Fahnestock. “Arrangement.” • Gurak, Laura, et al. “Introduction: Weblogs, Rhetoric, Community and Culture.”

16. References • Kajder, Sara and Glen Bull. “Scaffolding for Struggling Students: Reading and Writing with Blogs.” • Leona, L. Blogging Tips, Tricks and Techniques Revealed. • Johnson, Andrew. “Creating a Writing Course Utilizing Class and Student Blogs.” • Lundholm, Margareta. “Web Evaluation Framework within a Rhetorical Perspective.”

17. References • Selzer, Jack. “Rhetorical Analysis: Understanding How Texts Persuade Readers.” • Stone, Biz. Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content. • Weiler, Greg. “Using Weblogs in the Classroom.” • Yusof, Dahlia Syahrani Md. “A Different Perspective on Plagiarism.” [Note: Please refer to my full paper for the complete references.]

18. Thanks