The C.P. Report

Source 2

Source 1

Holguine, J. (2003). The message beneath the horror. CBSNews.com. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/message-beneath-the-horror/

Heller, J. (2015). Does post-apocalyptic literature have a future?. Npr.org. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2015/05/02/402852849/does-post-apocalyptic-literature-have-a-non-dystopian-future

What is going on here?

Audience: general; those interested in CBS networks, current events and editorials.

Purpose: to explore

Thesis: are film-makers using apocolyptic "monsters" to make a social critique?

What are the potential topics?

Audience: general; those interested in public radio, current issues, cultural commentary and objective reports

Purpose: to inquire

Thesis: does post-apocalyptic literature have a future

Purpose: to entertain

Thesis: answers this question by reviewing various recent post-apocolyptic literary publications

Purpose: to argue

Thesis: post-apocalyptic literature does have a future because there is much more that can be done with subject, in an ever conflicted world

Synthesize the information.

How?

An editorial about inaccuracies in pop-culture depictions of the apocolyps.

Identify common themes, perspectives, information and use of rhetorical devices. Do the sources have anything in common? Where do they differ. And most importantly...

How has the sum of these readings effected your understanding of something? (i.e. new insights, different opinions, new points of view, etc.)

Now what?

Show & Tell

Consider the 4 sources we read & synthesize:

• Introduce a topic/issue that you see, or can make your audience see, in these 4 sources and make a point about it (statement of fact, advocate for a perspective or argue a positoin)

• Synthesized the 4 sources to come up with a supporting explanation/example

• Use at least one direct quote or example (from 1 of the 4 sources)

Present your abreviated version of a CPR to the class for assignment ensurance (i.e. Yay! you get the assignment; now you can do it on your own), plus your participation points for the day (double yay!).

Conclusion

You may work in small groups or work alone.

What are we really being asked to do?

Still not clear?

That's okay. The concept of "synthesis" is sometimes deceptively more complicated in theory, but we do this every day. If you can draw parallels between what you heard on the news and a song you listen to on the radio, if you make connections between what you learn in different classes, if you find cultural references (literature, tv, movies, music) in various sources, if you can tell your best friend what you know about your major area of study, then you already synthesize information--and not just 4 sources worth, sometimes 4 or 14 years worth!

This assignment should be as un-intimidating as the average research paper--because that is all it is. You expressed interest in a topic, analyzed how those speaking about your topic use rhetoric, did some more research and asked some research questions. Now, put it all together by employing all this work to answer those questions.

• Provide background information and relevant facts.

• Explain the problem in relation to these *facts.

• Conclude by arguing for increased awareness of the problem by emphasizing why your audience

should care or pay attention.

In otherwords...

*Don't hesitate to use sources that oppose your point of view/argument. Our work is complex, because we are using various genres. Our purpose is complicated when we include counter-opinions. Together, you--and your topic/argument--can shine all the more convincingly if you can engage your opposition with reliable, ethical and logical counter argument. You also boost your ethos by charging your oponantes head-on, and can even make your argument more persuasive if you reavial logical fallacies in the rhtoric of the opposition.

1) Make an argument or take a stance

2) Synthesize information and use specific evidence to "make" your case

3) After educating your reader, tell your reader how/why: a. they can take action OR b. thinkdifferently

Don't forget, now you have to use

• ETHOS
• PATHOS
• LOGOS

The C.P. Report