ESL 111 Course Overview

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Intro to RA Oral Presentations

Goals: You will be able to...
  • Distinguish differences between analysis of written text and audiovisual text (a commercial). Determine the intended audience of an advertisement by focusing on determiners such as the product, the storyline, and the people in the advertisement
  • Determine the specific purpose of the ad by choosing from a list of basic purposes 
  • Develop an outline for an oral presentation that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion.
Lesson Materials:
RA Presentation Sign-up
RA Presentation Overview PPT
RA Presentation Outline

Homework: Check Daily Schedule

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RA Introduction & Conclusion

Goals: You will be able to...
  • Identify the essential elements of a rhetorical analysis introduction paragraph (hook, background information, and thesis statement) and conclusion paragraph (review of the text’s main points, review of student’s analysis, and final evaluative sentence)
  • Develop introduction and conclusion paragraphs with all necessary parts and information
Task: RA Introduction & Conclusion PPT

Homework: Check daily schedule
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Spring 2016 Tentative Daily Schedule (v.2)

Note: "WH" stands for Writer's Help eBook assignments. All homework assignments should be submitted before the following class unless marked otherwise.

Unit 3 Rhetorical Analysis
24
M 3/14
Rhetorical Situations
Submit "111_Essay Basics_NetID_2" on Compass2g and Box (due by 3/16, 11:59).
Read “Why the school day should start later for teenagers (by Gnaulati)” and fill out “Analyzing Rhetorical Situations” chart
25
W 3/16
Rhetorical Appeals 
Pt 1

Fill out Identifying Persuasive Strategies Chart based on Gnaulati article.
26
F 3/18
Rhetorical Appeals 
Pt 2
1. Participate in Google Doc Rhetorical Analysis Target Article Poll.
2. Answer the questions in "Rhetorical Analysis Chart" quiz in Compass 2g based on Gnaulati article (due before 3/30 class)
27
M 3/28
Quoting
Fill out Identifying Persuasive Strategies Chart based on the article of YOUR choice
28
W 3/30
Rhetorical Analysis Pt 1

Fill out RhetoricalAnalysis Chart based on YOUR article. Upload this in box and bring a HARD COPY to next class.
Complete Writer's Help Checkpoint 2.
29
F 4/1
Rhetorical Analysis Pt 2

Submit REVISED RhetoricalAnalysis Chart based on the student-selected article (to be used for writing up rhetorical analysis).
30
M 4/4
Rhetorical Analysis Pt 2 (Continued)
Complete RA Thesis Statement Worksheet (Step 1-2) and bring it to the next class or upload it in Box. 
31
W 4/6
Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Statement & Outline 
Create a rough outline of your essay (thesis and body only). Refer to the essential content components to be included in this outline. Name it as "111_RA_NetID_0".
32
F 4/8
Review of Introduction & Conclusion
Peer Review of RA Outline
Complete 1st draft of Rhetorical Analysis
33
M 4/11
Peer Review of RA first draft
Sign up for individual conferences and complete/submit 2nd draft 48 hours before your individual conference time (excluding Sat/Sunday).
W 4/13
Library Tour: The class will meet at the same class time in front of Espresso Royale at Undergraduate Library for the tour.

35
F 4/15
NO CLASS (INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES)

Unit 4: Oral Presentations
36
M 4/18
NO CLASS (INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES)
Propose the commercial/campaign videos you want to analyze in this Google Doc.
37
W 4/20
Introduction to RA Oral Presentations
Due: Final draft of Rhetorical Analysis. Name it as "111_RA_NetID_FINAL" and submit it on Compass2g and Box
38
F 4/22
Visual Aids: Content and Design
Work on your presentation and Writer's Help Checkpoint 3.
39
M 4/25
Presentation Delivery
1. Submit your Oral Presentation Materials 48 hours in advance (File name: "111_RA Presentation_NetID_1") along with the "Visual Aid Checklist". If you're presenting with another person, put the slides on one of your Box folder and the checklist on another.
2. Complete How to Solve Word Choice Programs, Part 1: Diagnostic Test
40
W 4/27
How to Choose the "Right" Words
Student Presentations
Complete Reflection 2 (due by 5/4, 11:59 pm)

41
F 4/29
Student Presentations
Complete Writer's Help Checkpoint 3 (by April 30).
42
M 5/2
Student Presentations

43
W 5/4
Finish Student Presentations
ICES
Due: Reflection 2 (by 11:59 pm)
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Structure of Basic Essay (Feb 26)

Goals: You will be able to...
  • Expand the knowledge you learned about writing a good paragraph into an essay
Materials: From Paragraph to Essay

White Roofs vs. Green Roofs Activity

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Common Issues in Paragraph Pattern Portfolio

Format: Be sure to use "double-spacing" with Times New Roman 12
Plagiarism: Be sure to cite sources if any
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Peer Review Training

Instructor/Class Survey

Peer Review Training Process
Step 1: Find someone who you have never partnered with for peer review activities (of the outlines)
Step 2: Write down the purpose of peer review here.
Step 3: Watch this peer review video. Then, share YOUR experience and come up with some good strategies for the future (how you can continue to have good experience or better experience)
  • How did you like your peer review experience last week? Anything you wish you or your partner had done differently?
  • What should be some "rules" you should follow when giving feedback to someone? 
Step 4: Peer Review Language Practice
  • Praise – what is good about the writing? (overall)
  • Question – as a reader, what didn’t you understand?
  • Polish – what specific suggestions for improvements can you give?
Useful expressions for suggestions:
  • Could you...(e.g., elaborate on this point)?
  • It seems like...
  • It would/might be better to…
  • Have you thought about…?
  • How about...?
  • I was a little confused about.../I'm not sure if this is… Did you mean…?
Note: Use "I-message" rather than "You-message" when providing criticism (e.g., "I have trouble finding..." vs. "You are missing...")

Homework 1: Check your connection to Google Docs below (you should have already received an invitation to the Google Doc through your Illinois.edu email) and follow directions in the document:
  • Group 1: Hannah, Hao, Barry (Friday, 2/19, 3-3:30 pm)
  • Group 2: Abby, Kenton, Linfeng (Wednesday, 2/17, 3-3:30 pm)
  • Group 3: Lin, Wen, Yihang (Friday, 2/19, 3:30-4 pm)
  • Group 4: Ciao, Yuxuan, Iseul (Wednesday, 2/17, 4-4:30 pm)
  • Group 5: Jason, Nina, Cindy (Wednesday, 2/17, 3:30-4 pm)
If you have never used Google Apps @ Illinois, please follow instructions to set up one here:
https://techservices.illinois.edu/services/google-apps-illinois/details

Homework 2 (due by Monday 2/22): Fill out "A Simple Plagiarism Quiz" for discussion in class.



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Cause/Effect 1 (Can Playground Be Too Safe?)

Goals: You will be able to...
  • Describe the main idea of the demo article
  • Recognize causal relationships
  • Outline cause and effect paragraphs
Tasks
1. Review of Compare/Contrast Transition Words ("Royals" -> Task 2)
2. Discussion of "Can Playground Be Too Safe" article (Refer to this handout, part 1)
3. Analyze Sample Cause/Effect Paragraphs (Refer to this handout, part 2)

Homework: Check Daily Schedule
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Compare/Contrast II

Goal: You will be able to...
  • Review how to organize a comparison paragraph 
  • Use specific language to introduce comparisons 
  • Peer review another student's Compare/Contrast outline
Review: "Point-by-Point" vs. "Subject-by-Subject" Structure

 

Task: Compare/Contrast Languages
Read "Royals" paragraphs and write down all the words and phrases that are used to indicate similarities and differences. Compare your list to my Comparison Signals handout.

Workshop (Pair Work)
Open your "Comparison Paragraph" from your Box folder and share with your partner. Give each other feedback (new ideas, questions, confusing points). Try to be "F.I.S.H".

Homework: Check the daily schedule
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Using Writer's Help 2.0

Last updated by Jin Kim, Summer 2015

Important Links:
An Instructor's Introduction to Writer's Help 2.0 
Writer's Help 2.0 Instructor's Manual
Introducing Writer's Help eBook Lesson Plan

 Supplementary Resources:
WH 2.0 Exercise and LearningCurve Menu
Guide for Using Writer's Help eBook Grammar Resources
Developing Lesson Materials with Writer's Help 

1. What is Writer’s Help? 
Writer’s Help is an online textbook, or eBook, that all students in ESL 111, 112, 115 are required to purchase. It offers relevant reading materials and exercises and can be used to help students prepare for discussions, practice new concepts, and provide extra help for struggling students. It is much more convenient and user-friendly than the traditional paper textbook with its many online features. You can link pages and exercises to your website, or link them in your student feedback for extra help. And best of all… students can never forget to bring it, able to access it from any computer with their username and password. It also has a great search feature, making it easy to find lecture or reading material.

2. Getting Started 
  1. Create and Activate a Course: Log into Writers Help 2.0 with your illinois.edu email and follow Creating a Course Steps. A unique URL for your course will be generated upon activation, which you can give to your students for registration.
  2. Get Students Enrolled (for 111 and 115): In order for you to access all your students' activities, your students must purchase access through the unique URL from #1 above following Student Enrollment Steps (students have the option of purchasing 2-year or 4-year access). Assign your students to purchase access by the 2nd day of class.
  3. Get Students Enrolled (for 112): If you are teaching 112, your students should already have access to Writer's Help 2.0 from ESL 111. However, they need to "Switch Course Enrollment" because the URL they have used with their previous instructor does NOT work with another instructor. Have your students follow Switch Course Enrollment Steps. One limitation to changing instructors is that any exercises that they completed for their previous course will not be carried over once they register with a new instructor, unfortunately. However, you can individually contact a Bedford/St. Martin technical support agent who can, in fact, transfer these exercise grades for you.
  4. Check Students' Enrollment (Roster): You can check your class roster (the list of students registered) either in "Gradebook" or "Instructor Console". Follow Roster Check Steps.
  5. Group Students (for instructors with multiple sections): If you are teaching more than 1 section of the same course, I recommend that you try grouping students according to sections.   
  6. Teach Introducing Writer's Help eBook Lesson in class (during Week 1). 
3. Creating & Managing Assignments
  1. Create Assignment Unit: All activities should be assigned within an assignment unit (you may or may not give these units the same names as the 4 units of your course) following Creating Assignment Steps. As soon as you create an assignment unit, you will see "Add to this Unit" button. DO NOT use this button to assign any exercise or LearningCurve unless you want to create your own assignment from scratch (e.g., quizzes or content pages). Instead, follow the directions in Step 2 below.
  2. Create an Assignment (Click option below for step-by-step screenshots): 
    1. Option 1: As soon as you create an assignment unit, you will see "Add to this Unit" button from within the assignment area. Click to "Add from Resources". From the Resources menu, select "Content by Type". Select either Exercises or LearningCurve. Select the activity you want to add to the Assignment. Ignore the “In use” label next to each. When you select the activity, it will load in the full-screen view.  Click on the “Add to course” button in the upper right (this is really just adding the activity to the assignment). A green confirmation overlay will appear, briefly, confirming that you’ve added the activity. Then the Manage Assignment overlay will load. Select a due date, gradebook points, etc. Save the assignment settings and the Assignment area will reload, now with the assigned activity included in your assigned unit.
    2. Option 2: Find the category (or the chapter) of the exercise you want to assign from WH 2.0 Exercise and LearningCurve Menu. This document will help you see under which category a certain exercise is located. For example, if you want to assign "Thesis Statement" exercises, you can Ctrl+F this word and see that it is under "Composing and Revising". Once you have identified the category/chapter of the exercise you want to assign, find the chapter by using the arrows to drill down through the Table of Content in the Left Panel. For example, if you want to find "Composing and Revising" exercises, go to "Exercises: Writing, Research, and Grammar"-> "Exercises: Composing and Revising". Once you click the drop-down menu, you will find "Exercise: Thesis Statement 1 (autoscored)" and "Exercise: Thesis Statement 2 (autoscored)". If you hover over these exercises, you will see "Option" button and find "Assign". Type in the details of this assignment (assignment unit, due date, visibility to students) and click "Assign" at the bottom of the pop-up window.
  3. To Unassign an Assignment: Follow "How do I unassign an assignment" steps.
Note: If students complete an exercise or a LearningCurve activity you have not assigned, their scores will NOT appear in the main page of your (and your students') Gradebook. You and your students can simply see when they have completed it and the duration of the last attempt in their individual "Activity Log" (see "Grading Assignment" section below for more details). However, if you assign these activities after some students attempted them, you can still see their scores.     
4. Using Gradebook
  1. Tracking Students' Work on Assigned Activities: You can see how your students did on all the exercises and learning curve activities from Gradebook (one of the tab menus at the top of the Homepage). You can check their overall completion of all the assigned activities under "score" and their scores on individual activities under "All Assignments" tab or under each assignment tab. You can see a more detailed report by clicking on each student's name. 
  2. Tracking Students' Work on ALL Activities: If you want to see ALL activities your students did (both assigned activities and self-selected activities), by clicking on the "Activity Log" icon (click the image below). 
  3. Exporting Gradebook: You may also export this Gradebook in an excel file by clicking "Export Scores" button located at the top of the Gradebook main page. 
5. Grading Policy
  1. Contribution to Final Grade: As a way of encouraging our students to explore and use the eBook and to make it worthwhile for them to purchase the book, Writer's Help eBook assignments are required to be 5% of the final grade for ALL undergraduate courses. It is indicated in the course first day handout that students will be completing a minimum of 15 Writer's Help eBook exercises and 3 LearningCurve activities for this 5%.
  2. Checkpoint System: It is up to each instructor  to determine which exercises to assign. The instructor can, for example, require 10 specific exercises with any 5 additional decided by each student. In terms of timeline, however, each instructor should implement a "checkpoint system" with a minimum of 3 checkpoints to distribute the "collection" of the 15 exercises throughout the semester rather than all at once or weekly. This encourages students to use Writer's Help throughout the semester rather than just at the beginning or just at the end. You can find some sample checkpoint instructions here:
Note: Even if the Writer's Help eBook exercises are assigned as "Homework," they should still be graded in the 5% Writer's Help eBook category, not the Homework/Participation category.

5. Dealing with students' resistance to purchasing Writer’s Help eBook
It is possible that you will have some students express displeasure with the Writer’s Help eBook for any number of reasons. It is your responsibility as the instructor to convince them and show them the value of the eBook so that they can take advantage of this wonderful resource.

One complaint has been in regard to the cost of the Writer’s Help eBook because the book license expires after 2 or 4 years, depending on which one they purchase. The reason for the expiration date is that the eBook is updated automatically for all users at scheduled intervals. This means that while your students have access, they have the most up-to-date information. In contrast, the traditional paper book would be outdated within 2-4 years anyway, AND it could not guarantee the most up-to-date information within 2-4 years of its purchase as the eBook can.

Another reason students have expressed unhappiness with the eBook is because they CANNOT share the eBook with other students. Your response: Tough luck. It’s really not that expensive compared to textbooks in other fields. Students cannot share accounts because they will be submitting practice quizzes associated with their instructor.

For all other inquiries, please refer to Writer's Help 2.0 Instructor's Manual or call Tech Support (800-936-6899) 
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Wrap-up

Writer's Help Survey
Tips and Resources: What More Can I Do to Improve?
Other Communication Courses Recommended:
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Helpful Resources for Speaking

Stress, Rhythm & Intonation (Youtube Videos)
Stress and Rhythm Practice (Highly Recommented)
Vowel Changes in Stressed and Unstressed Syllables (Highly Recommended)
Intonation Practice (Recommented)
Articulatory Setting: Why Facial Expressions Matter for Pronunciation? (Recommented)

Stress, Rhythm & Intonation (Articles)
Intonation and Stress in English
Sound Scripting (Stressing Practice with Native Speaker Example)

Accent Comparison Practice
Try reading/recording the following script yourself first and compare to the following MP3 files:
"Please call Stella.  Ask her to bring these things with her from the store:  Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob.  We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids.  She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."

New York Accent MP3 with Script
Chinese (Mandarin) Accent MP3 with Script

Note: For more variety of accent samples for other speakers, go to The Speech Accent Archive

Commonly Mispronunced Consonants and Vowels (Youtube Videos)
/v/ vs /w/ (e.g. vine vs. wine)
/l/ vs /r/ (e.g. lice vs. rice)
'th' /θ/ & /ð/ vs. /s/ & /z/ (e.g. sink vs. think, breathe vs. breeze)
Diphthongs (gliding vowels such as [aɪ̯], [aʊ̯], [eɪ̯], [oʊ̯])
/æ/ vs /e/ (e.g. bad vs. bed)
Long 'e' vs. short 'i' (e.g. leave vs. live)
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Student Presentations

Lesson Materials:
Presentation Grading Rubric
Presentation Peer Review Record (Class J; Class I)
Presentation Peer Review Sheet

Homework: Write "111_Reflection 2_NetID" (minimum 300 words) about ONE of the following topics (due by next Wednesday, May 6):
  • Based on the insight you have gained from analyzing a persuasive article and a commercial, look back at your "Essay Basics" paper to see how you have used three rhetorical appeals (or some other persuasive strategies). Are there any strategies you wish you had used in that essay? If so, what are they? Why do you think using these strategies may strengthen your arguments?
  • What were the most beneficial lesson(s) you have learned while doing rhetorical analysis of persuasive article and a commercial? How do you think you can apply these lessons to your own daily communication situations as well as to academic writing? What are some topics that are still not clear to you and you want to know more about? 
Note: Your reflection should NOT be a list of answers, but in a coherent paragraph format.  
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Visual Aids

Task 1: Visual Aids Compare/Contrast
Compare the following Presentation Slides (in slideshow mode) and discuss what makes slides look professional in terms of font, layout/background, images, graphics and colors, and animations. List at least 3-4 characteristics.
Task 2: Warm-up: Space Race Quiz on Effective Visual Aids (Presentation Slides)
Log into http://b.socrative.com/login/student/ and enter my room number: 686832.
 
Helpful Resources

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How to Analyze an Advertisement

Goal: You will be able to...
  • Name the elements of an advertisement to examine for rhetorically analysis 
  • Determine the effectiveness of an advertisement by considering elements of pathos (music, voice-over, storyline), logos (facts and figures), and ethos (spokespersons, company image) 
  • Analyze an advertisement with the help of guiding questions
Lesson Materials:

Practice Commercials:
Survey on Chinese students' perception of plagiarism: http://tinyurl.com/mnjbafa
 
Homework:
1. Prepare a DRAFT of your presentation on PPT slides (preferably on Google Slides) - do NOT worry about the design and all the details yet. See Suggested Presentation Outline and the example slides. Create it (or upload it) in your Google Drive folder and name it as "RA Presentation_Your NetID_1".

2. Fill out "Checkpoint 3" table from your Writer's Help Report in Google Drive by April 25. It's supposed to be due by April 22, but I will give you 3-day extension because your final paper is due at the same time. If you have not yet tried, try out LearningCurve Exercises. You can find them by going to "Resources" -> "Search by Type" -> "LearningCurve":


     
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Oral Presentation Assignment Details

Task: You will create and present a 7-8 minute oral presentation on rhetorical analysis of commercials/campaigns. You will compare/contrast TWO commercials/campaigns in terms of the effectiveness of their persuasive strategies (to determine which one does a better job of convincing the audience). If possible, you may want to pick two commercials on the same product/cause so it is easier to compare/contrast.

Content: This presentation should include similar contents you learned in Unit 3: Rhetorical Analysis Essay:
  • Who is the intended audience?
  • What is the purpose of the commercial? What is the product they are trying to sell, the cause they are trying to advance, or the message they are trying to send?
  • What kinds of strategies are used in each commercial/campaign?
  • Which commercial/campaign is more effective at convincing the audience?
If you want, you may play your commercials/campaigns up to 2 minutes at the beginning of your presentation before presenting your overall evaluation of the rhetorical strategies used, and support your argument with evidence.

Format: You may present alone or with ONE other person in our class. If you want to present with a partner, you should present for 10-12 minutes (EACH person should speak for at least 4 minutes).

Submission: All presentation materials (e.g., powerpoint slides or handouts) are due by April 25 on Compass2g as well as in your Box folder.

Related Links: 
Oral Presentation Topic Proposal
Oral Presentation Date Sign-up
Grading Rubric
Student Sample (Disregard the analyses shown on Slide 29-37) 
Suggested Presentation Outline

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RA Presentation Overview & Audience Analysis

Goals: You will be able to...
  • Distinguish differences between analyzing a text and analyzing an advertisement
  • Determine the intended audience of an ad by focusing on determiners such as the product, the storyline, and the people in the advertisement
  • Determine the specific purpose of the ad by choosing from a list of basic purposes
Warm-up: Analyzing an Argumentative Text vs. Commercial
  • What kinds of things did you need to include in your RA essay?
  • What kinds of things do you think you should include if you analyze a commercial?
Lesson Materials:

Homework: Choose your presentation date and topic by filling in the documents below:
  1. Oral Presentation Date Sign-up (Class J; Class I) 
  2. Oral Presentation Topic Proposal (Class J; Class I)
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Peer Review, Library Day, Individual Conferences

RA Peer Review (April 11)
Student Writing Collection Consent Form
Daily Schedule Overview
Peer Review Worksheet (this is based on RA Grading Rubric)
  1. This (giving and receiving feedback) is 10% of the paper grade.
  2. Be sure to SAVE your comments on your partner's Desktop in WORD doc. Name it as "111_RA_NetID_1_PR_Your First Name" 
  3. Be sure to UPLOAD the file your reviewer saved on your Desktop to your Google Drive folder as a WORD doc (I will look at your peer reviewer's comments before the individual conferences)
  4. Keep in mind that the maximum length of the paper is 4 pages (minimum 3 pages). If you have long quotes, you must paraphrase/summarize them to shorten the length of your paper. 
Library Day: Tour of Resources @ UGL and Main Library (April 13)
You will receive a guided tour of all library resources available for you. The class will meet at the same time in front of Espresso Royale at Undergraduate Library to start the tour. Attendance will be checked.  

Individual Conferences (April 14, 15, 18)
Sign-up Doodle Link (You can only select ONE time slot)
  1. Submit your 2nd draft 48 hours before your meeting time (excluding Saturday and Sunday) in Box Folder (inside a sub-folder named "Unit 3") as well as on Compass2g Site. Name your file as "111_RA_NetID_2". 
  2. In this draft, write down your specific questions/concerns at the end of your draft that I can help you with in 15 minutes (so that the meeting can finish before the next person in line). 
  3. Show up in my office (FLB 3043) ON TIME for your appointment (if you are late/absent, you will be marked as tardy/absent for 2 days of class). Class is cancelled for April 15 and 18.
 
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Rhetorical Analysis Outline

Goals: You will be able to create an effective thesis statement and outline for a Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Task 1: Thesis Statement Worksheet

Task 2: RA Reverse-outlining Activity


Homework: Check Daily Schedule
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Rhetorical Analysis 2

Goal: You will be able to share analysis of the article of your choice with your classmates and keep, remove, and change your analysis points for better analysis.

Task 1: Critical Thinking & Finding Fallacies
Task 2: Rhetorical Analysis Collaboration (You must log in with your Google Drive ID to access)

Homework: Check the Daily Schedule
 
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