Using Invention to Talk about Affliction
- Due Dec 31, 2018 at 11:59pm
- Points 10
- Questions 5
- Available Jul 1, 2018 at 12am - Dec 31, 2018 at 11:59pm
- Time Limit None
- Allowed Attempts Unlimited
Instructions
In Preparation for This Quiz
After reading "A General Feeling of Disorder," by Oliver Sacks & "The Lost Sister: An Elegy," by Joyce Carol Oates, you may take the following quiz.
You may also want to review your notes on the subject of Cicero's Five Canons of Rhetoric, especially this week's topic of "invention," as you will be asked to apply your understanding of this rhetorical device to this week's quiz.
Instructions for Taking This Quiz
Carefully read the following writing sample, which is meant to be reflective of student work. As you read, think about the sample's strengths and weaknesses in terms of its author's goal of practicing invention.
Keep in mind that the goal of invention is to generate rhetorical arguments.
On this quiz
- Multiple attempts are allowed
- Open book is allowed
- Open notes are allowed
- There is no time limit
|
INVENTION Student Sample: Sacks's "A General Feeling of Disorder" and Oates's "The Lost Sister: An Elegy" |
| Sacks | Oates |
| leads with scientific examples (logos) | rambling--instructor says "poetic" |
| talks about cells, humans, disease, and death | seems to use pathos: "pulls at our heartstrings" |
| focuses on migraines and cancer (self) | focus is on the sister, autistic |
| defines migraine as a "nervous system in indecision" | gives several examples of sister's behavior |
| the author experiences "relief" when a procedure is over |
the narrator stops visiting her sister when the sister is 15 y.o. |
| is writing at the end of his life, has cancer, it's bad |
hasn't felt like she could write about her sister for most of her life out of respect for her family |
| Why does this author spend so much time talking about migraines? |
identifies with her sister
|
| feels conflicted about suffering and possibly death |
feels conflicted between wanting and not wanting to visit her sister |
| very short |
expansive, many different types of writing |