September 9, 2009 Archives
Topic:
Plot Summary and Wordiness
Throughout Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter it is shown that Dimmesdale conceals his sins about the adultery that he committed with Hester. This takes its toll on him both mentally and especially physically. (32 words)
The above is a perfectly acceptable introduction to a pro/con paper, though I'd rather see a more forceful opinion. Before I get to that, however, I want to address over-emphasis of plot summary and wordiness. In this case, the two problems are related.
Continue reading Plot Summary and Wordiness.
Assigned Text:
Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (Ch 1-6)
This book begins with an introductory essay called "The Customs House." I'm actually asking you to skip the introduction for now and get right to chapter 1. (We'll come back to it later.)
Key Concept:
Rhetoric
Rhetoric -- the use of language to persuade. One of the three most important of the "liberal arts" (those skills that free citizens were expected to have). Classical rhetoric recognizes three main ways to persuade. We can make emotional pleas (pathos); we can make ethical pleas (ethos), or we can use logic (logos).
Continue reading Rhetoric.
Assigned Text:
Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (Ch 7-13)
Treat this as a separate reading, choosing an additional passage from these chapters and posting an additional agenda item.
Assigned Text:
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