Assignments and Grades: This is a writing flag course, which means we will attend carefully to writing, but “writing” in this course is not limited to printed text. Informal assignments will include in-class exercises and peer reviews. Specific grading criteria will accompany each assignment.

Grade Breakdown:

• Reading Posts.  Six sets of informal notes analyzing/exploring key issues in the readings + at least one thoughtful response to a classmate’s post, all submitted on the class discussion board on Canvas. (6 x 5pts = 30%)
• Argument Paper . A 3-4 page argument paper, submitted to Canvas, grounded in some aspect of the course readings so far, plus a self-analysis of the argument (15%)
• Video Argument. A short video slideshow argument, created from images in iMovie or Moviemaker, grounded in some aspect of the course readings (20%)
• Rhetorical Animal Presentation. A researched presentation, in groups of 2-3, using online presentation software on the rhetorical propensities of a selected species of animal. (10%)
• Rhetorical Bestiary Entry. A researched “entry” for the class’s online rhetorical bestiary, produced using a free version of StoryMaps software. A rhetorical bestiary is (for our purposes) a sort of digital encyclopedia made up of entries depicting nonhuman animals and their habits of communicating and responding to one another.  (25%)

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