Otis M. Walter’s informative article “Plato’s Idea of Rhetoric for Contemporary Students: Theory and Composition Assignments” suggests several ways Plato’s theory of rhetoric can be incorporated into a contemporary college writing classroom as a definition assignment. Examining the concept of transforming values rooted in Plato’s theory of rhetoric, Walter asserts that as an adequate definition of a word determines a person’s effective rhetoric, so the adequate use of a definition assignment within the composition classroom can aid students in improving their own rhetoric and, therefore, their own writing skills. Providing three variant levels of definition assignments, Walter posits that basing an assignment on Plato’s theory of rhetoric can lead to improved critical thinking skills, writing improvements and better class discussions. Walter’s demonstration of the actual assignments that incorporate Plato’s theory of rhetoric directly address an audience of college teachers seeking various ways of incorporating classical and historical rhetoric into their composition classes. His purpose in this article is not only to posit that teaching classical rhetoric can work in today’s classroom, but to exhibit various ways in which his audience can use classical rhetoric in their instruction.

Walter’s article proves helpful on many levels to an instructor unsure of ways to incorporate classical rhetoric into a composition classroom. His detailed look at the theory of rhetoric Plato presents provides a means for readers unfamiliar with the theories of Plato to fully grasp the concept. In addition, the extensive examples Walter uses throughout his article solidify not only Plato’s theory, but also the theory inherent in creating rhetorical assignments. Walter’s decision to present not only the methodology behind the assignments, but the schematics of actual assignments allows novice instructors the chance to see how the methodology of classical rhetoric translates into physical assignments that can be used in their own classroom. Another helpful aspect of this article emerges in Walter’s decision to present various levels of difficulty within his assignments allows for the comprehension of how the assignment can be developed from the very basic to the most complex using the same methodology and theory. Overall, Walter’s article, from the in-depth examination of Plato’s theory of rhetoric to the implementation of this theory in current composition assignments, easily becomes an important text for new rhetorical instructors.

First, I like to break the actual teaching of the annotated bibliography up into several different days. Then, I focus on specific information that students need to know in order to create their annotated bibliography. The unit that I teach the Annotated Bibliography in usually lasts about 2 weeks, so I have four lessons to teach them in and two days that I devote to in class work. (This is not to say that you must spend six full hours working on the AB, just that you can utilize six classes.) I spend the first half of class going over specific aspects and then circulate through the class to make sure everybody is on track with the day’s lesson (granted, this is much easier in a computer classroom). Here’s the general layout by class period:

1. Formatting a Bibliography
   1. This is by far the easiest and at the same time the most complex. For this day, I return to the MLA handbook and review the Works Cited page format and the formats for specific forms of entries. I cover book, journal, magazine, newspaper and online sources first. Then, I find out if there are any other forms of citations that my students want to cover.
2. Annotating Sources
   1. This is one of the most important aspects of teaching an Annotated Bibliography that you can give your students. I assign them an article for homework (due this day) that we can annotate together in class. I ask them to make notes, as they read, of the topics of each paragraph and a brief note as to the overall idea for the article. Then, in class, we discuss the main points of each paragraph and create one sentence summaries for these paragraphs. When the class has agreed on the sentences for each paragraph, we create a two sentence summary of the article and assign it a specific audience.
3. Creating an Annotation
   1. Last semester, I was introduced to the idea of writing a rhetorical precis and have now incorporated that into the annotation section of my student’s papers. I like that format because it is strict enough that I don’t have to feel around with the content of my students’ bibliographies. This allows me to look at the specific content contained in the annotation and grade it on that.
      1. Whatever style you choose, make sure that you are clear with your students about order and information to include. If you are not clear, the annotations look haphazardly written.
   2. Using the article annotated in our previous class meeting, I walk my students step by step through the creation of their annotation (I do not call the form a “rhetorical precis” because it confuses students who can only focus on creating an “annotation”). We write, as a class, each sentence for the article. This allows me to aid them in understanding the importance of word choice, structure, etc.
4. Creating a Judgment Statement
   1. Some instructors do not include the judgment statement in their students’ annotations, but I feel it is imperative that students learn to judge sources in relation to their own writing. Before this class, we will have discussed evaluating websites, searching online to find the credibility of ambiguous authors and the criteria that create a useful article in a research paper. So, during this class, we sit down and return to their class article, examine the author’s ethos, source of the publication and make a judgment on whether we would use that source in consideration of our topic.
   2. Once we have established whether we would use the source, we discuss why. Then, I have them create a judgment statement that includes the author’s ethos, credibility of the source, and specific reason why (or why not) they would use the source in the essay.
   3. For example, my students’ sentences might look like this:

Though Palmer is a known columnist at the Daily Planet, his article is largely based upon misrepresented and uncited sources, thus leading me to decide against using his article in my essay.

Brown’s background as a copyright activist along with the article’s publication in the Wall Street Journal, supports my decision to use his facts about Napster in my essay on copyright infringement.

Once I have gotten my students through this much of their annotations, I feel that they have all the information they need to successfully write their Annotated Bibliography. I then provide them with two in-class writing workshops where I help them individually to finish their work. This gives me the chance to look at nearly completed ABs and aid students in correcting specific aspects of their work.

Hope this helps! If you see anything that I’m missing or that you would like to add, feel free to comment. I’ll be updating all entries in the next few weeks and I’ll be happy to hear suggestions.

Clark, Irene. Concepts in Composition. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003.

Clark doesn’t miss anything in this book. From various ways to teach different invention, specific ideas for teaching grammar and mechanics, Clark provides a text quite helpful to the beginning rhetoric student. My only problem with this text is that it is SO dense that you need to block off a specific amount of time to make it through a chapter reading. I don’t fault Clark for this–there’s a lot of information she must get across and when you get through the chapter, it’s worth the work you put into it.

Lindemann, Erika. A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers. New York: Oxford UP, 2001.

Lindemann does a wonderful job of compacting information new composition teachers need into a pretty manageable text. I want to mention a few specifics areas in this text that are extemely helpful to both the new teacher and the new rhetoric student:

• Lindemann’s chapter “What do Teachers Need to Know About Rhetoric” provides a full overview of the history of rhetoric studies with all the important names and concepts needed for a good start in studying rhetoric.
• The chapter “Prewriting Techniques” provides not only the standard ideas of prewriting (such as clustering and looping) but also provides some good ideas for more specific concepts.
  
  • For example, she discusses having students lead a fellow student blindfolded through a familiar place as a means of exploring perceptions gained through their other senses. I tried this with a group of students working on a profile of a place. I sent them to the cafeteria and the results were amazing!
• The chapter “Designing Writing Courses” is an essential read for creating a syllabus for a class you have not taught before or for redesigning a syllabus you aren’t content with teaching again.
  • I used this chapter to re-design my 1023 class and am quite happy with the new concept. I’ll keep you up to date on how it works out.
• Finally, the chapter “Teaching Writing with Computers” provides some brilliant information for the teacher who has not used computers in the classroom. Not only does she provide reasons why you should use computers, but also puts forth a good set of guidelines for utilizing the computer classroom.

Roen, Duane, Veronica Pantoja, Lauren Yena, Susan K. Miller and Eric Waggoner. Strategies for Teaching First Year Composition. Illinois: NCTE, 2002.

more on this when I can put my hands on it again–it’s at the office ATM.

Villanueva, Victor, ed. Cross-Talk in Composition Theories: A Reader. Illinois: NCTE, 2003.

For those who have read the countless “how to teach” manuals and are looking for something fresh, this is the book for you! Villanueva separates the book into sections that allow you to read influential essays on specific topics. Gathering the words of many of the main voices in the rhetorical dialogue of today, Villanueva allows the reader a chance to bring herself up to date on the latest information and debate in the field. Some of the specific features I think you might appreciate are:

• Anson, Chris M. “Distant Voices: Teaching and Writing in a Culture of Technology.” This essay is a good companion to Lindemann’s chapter “Teaching Writing With Computers” since it presents a more pragmatic view of teaching with computers. He raises questions that all teachers should consider before teaching with computers and discusses the growing trends in distance learning and the challenges it presents.
• Hartwell, Patrick. “Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar.” When I first set foot into the classroom I had no idea how to teach grammar. I did what I could, but my students seemed completely confused and disengaged. Hartwell’s article explains why that happens. In addition to setting up a specific differentiation between grammar, usage, and mechanics. These definitions alone helped me realize what the problem with my teaching was (namely that I grouped all of this under the umbrella of grammar) and helped me identify better ways to teach grammar, usage, and mechanics in the classroom.
• Kinneavy, James L. “The Basic Aims of Discourse.” The essay that explains why we teach what we teach. Kinneavy is one of the most influential voices in today’s school of rhetoric. The article not only breaks down the what and how of the aims we teach, it also puts them into context with the essays we teach in college composition.