Rhetorical Blog for Composition Classes

By

Hem Raj Kafle

Assistant Professor

Kathmandu University, Nepal

9 January 2010

9-1-2010 1

Overview

• Introduction • Weblogs and writing• Rhetoric: definition and canons• Blogging and rhetoric• Invention, arrangement, style, memory and

delivery in a blog• Some fundamentals• References

9-1-2010 2

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

9-1-2010 3

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).

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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)

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Classical vs. Modern Rhetoric

1. Influence by argument

2. Invention of the speaker

3. Historical /biographical study of speakers and speeches

4. Explication of a single text

5. Conception of rhetoric as orally delivered speeches

[Campell, Karlyn Kohr. “Modern Rhetoric.”

1. Influence by language

2. Interpretation of reader

3. Close readings of texts (literature, journalism etc.)

4. Critiques of bodies of texts

5. Re-conception of rhetoric as symbolic action through which as humans we construct the worlds in which we live

9-1-2010 6

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

9-1-2010 7

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

9-1-2010 8

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

9-1-2010 9

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

9-1-2010 10

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

9-1-2010 11

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

9-1-2010 12

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

9-1-2010 13

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

9-1-2010 14

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.”

9-1-2010 15

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.”

9-1-2010 16

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.]

9-1-2010 17

Thanks

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