1. ENGL 309 | Fall 2021
Rhetorical Style
Course Syllabus
Course Overview
You’ve probably been introduced to the basic ideas of rhetoric in previous English
courses: ENGL 102 (if you took it here at U of I), maybe even in high school. Rhetoric,
you may remember, has to do with understanding the effects of communication on a
given audience, and being able to skillfully produce those effects using a variety of tools
for communication.
The purpose of this course is to dig deeper into rhetoric, in order to understand more
clearly how writing and other forms of communication do their work. While the class is
focused on style, I don’t mean style only as it's commonly understood: the unique
characteristics of a particular writer or style of communication (e.g. Ernest Hemingway’s
style, or the style of FOX vs MSNBC news shows). What I mean by rhetorical style is
the idea that the effects of any piece of communication are deeply interconnected with
the genre, audience, and purpose of a piece of communication. This course aims to
help you develop the language and a set of tools to not only analyze many different
types of communication, but also make more deliberate stylistic choices in your own
communication. Ultimately, sharpening these skills will help you better understand how
communication is working on you in everyday life, and will help you to become a better,
more conscientious writer and communicator.
Major Assignments
We will have three big projects for the course, plus a final portfolio - this will be the bulk
of the work for the course:
● Project 1: Genre Challenges (genre analysis, genre reproduction, genre parody)
● Project 2: Stylistic Analysis and Imitative Essay
● Project 3: Writing 2020 (wrestling with this year in two different genres)
● Final Portfolio (reflective memo and up to three substantially revised pieces)
2. Course Outcomes
By the time you leave this course, you should...
● Have developed a deeper, more robust understanding of how and why writers
make stylistic choices, as well as the effects of those choices.
● Be able to explain why style is not just expressive, but also rhetorical, deeply
intertwined with genre, purpose, and audience.
● Be able to analyze the features of genres, and skillfully reproduce and
manipulate them.
● Recognize the rhetorical dimensions (“motives,” convention/deviation, distinction,
tropes, schemes, and images) of another writer’s style and be able to replicate it
effectively.
● Effectively give feedback on other’s writing and use others’ feedback to improve
your own writing.
Class Format
This class will meet virtually via zoom during our regularly scheduled class time.
Required Textbooks and Course Materials
● Chris Holcombe and Jimmie Killingsworth, Performing Prose: The Study and
Practice of Style in Composition (Amazon price: $25-$38)
● Joyce Carol Oates, ed. The Best American Essays of the Century. (Amazon
price: $5.89-$14.90)
Course Requirements
Attend class zoom sessions. We are meeting virtually via zoom during our regularly
scheduled class time. I do have attendance expectations laid out on the syllabus, but
I’m aware that there’s a higher likelihood of getting seriously ill this semester; so I am
willing to be flexible. I want you to succeed in the course, and to do this, know that it’s
important that you attend class zoom sessions and participate actively in the activities
and discussion.
3. Turn in your work on time. Much of the things we do in the course build on each
other, so it’s important that you submit things on time. This especially applies to drafts
that you’ll be submitting for peer reviews and for my evaluation and feedback. While I
won’t be docking points given our labor-based grading contracts (see the next section),
you’ll notice that earning a higher grade in the course requires getting almost everything
in on time.
Be civil. In any environment in which people gather to learn, it is essential that all
members feel as free and safe as possible in their participation. To this end, it is
expected that everyone in this course will be treated with mutual respect and civility,
with an understanding that all of us (students, instructors, professors, guests, and
teaching assistants) will be respectful and civil to one another in discussion, in action, in
teaching, and in learning.
Should you feel our classroom interactions do not reflect an environment of civility and
respect, you are encouraged to meet with me during office hours to discuss your
concern. Additional resources for expression of concern or requesting support include
the Dean of Students office and staff (208-865-6757), the UI Counseling & Testing
Center’s confidential services (208-865-6716), or the UI Office of Human Rights,
Access, & Inclusion (208-865-4285).
Be honest. I will not tolerate academic dishonesty (cheating) of any sort.
Consequences for academic dishonesty will certainly include failing the assignment;
students who plagiarize may also receive an F in the course. If you’re not sure what
plagiarism is, you can read the University of Idaho’s Academic Honesty Policy online at
http://www.if.uidaho.edu/docs/academic_honesty.pdf.
Grading
This semester, for the first time ever, I’ll be using labor-based grading contracts in my
class. This is a non-traditional form of grading where I’ll tell you the work you need to do
up front to get a particular grade (A,B,C,D,F), and I’ll keep track of the work you’ve done
throughout the semester using a Grade Contract Status Chart, which you will also have
access to. As the name “labor-based grading contracts” implies, this course is focused
on rewarding those who have done the work necessary to learn to write well. And if you
know already that you need to put less time or effort into this course for one reason or
another, this will take the guesswork out of knowing what you need to do to get a
specific grade.
