Charles Gale, Fall 2009 Every time a syllabus is passed out the first day of class there is a predictable format for it and summary of information on it. It has the teacher’s name on the top along with the class name, and assignments and grading policies after them. Most of the material on syllabi… Read more Charles Gale, “A for Effort, A+ for Extra Effort,” 3rd Place ENL 260
Nathan Valente, Fall 2007 Short stubby fingers wrap themselves tightly around a number-two pencil. The eraser taps the desktop in rhythm to the unheard music while small, untied sneakers kick back and forth underneath the cold metal chair. Focus locks onto the blackboard to see a jumble of white numbers and symbols crowding the smooth… Read more Nathan Valente, “Blitzkrieg on a Disorder,” 3rd Place ENL 260
Stephanie Mireku, Fall 2009 “What [nationality] are you?” “ Well, I’m half Jewish and half Polish” To some, this response to the question about nationality is sufficient, and to many others, this answer neglects to include half of the requested information. Is it appropriate to claim “Jewish” as one’s ethnicity or race? What does the… Read more Stephanie Mireku, “‘Jew’: Ethnicity, Religion, or Both?” 3rd Place ENL 260
Lynnette Nolan, Fall 2011 Barbara Munson’s article “Common Themes and Questions about the Use of ‘Indian’ Logos” was written with the intent of informing and persuading her audience to see that “’Indian’ logos and nicknames create, support, and maintain stereotypes of a race of people” (624). A member of the Oneida Nation and an advocate… Read more Lynnette Nolan, “Appealing to Logos: Supporting the Claims of an Emotional Issue with Rationality and Logic,” 3rd Place ENL 260
Crystal Blomquist, Spring 2010 Many of you may not want to know what happens in your child’s sex education class, but you need to. In my class I sat watching a man tell us how sex was a horrible thing to do, unless you were married. I had listened to the same sermon a priest… Read more Crystal Blomquist, “Putting the Sex Back into Education,” 3rd Place ENL 260
Joe Boomer, Fall 2009 Occasionally, something happens that challenges us to reconsider our relationship with technology, and question whether our own technological advancements will eventually replace us as the dominant force on Earth. Once such instance took place with a simple game of chess in New York City in 1997 between the world’s greatest chess… Read more Joe Boomer, “A Game of Chess for Humanity,” 3rd Place ENL 257
Fall 2011 – ENL 257: Introduction to Rhetoric To Build or Not To Build: Controversy over the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero’ by Meghan Matheson The looming controversy surrounding the Islamic Center near Ground Zero has sparked debate throughout the nation. The Center is associated with emotional strain from both the supporters and the opponents. Each… Read more To Build or Not To Build: Controversy over the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero’
Brittany Allcorn, Spring 2010 Over the years rhetoric has come to signify a manipulative and persuasive tool associated with politicians who use it to try and mold the minds of their audience. However, as many scholars like to note, rhetoric is not a simple persuasive tool but is a fountain of logic, expression, and art.… Read more Rhetoric: Not Just Persuasion – ENL 257: Introduction to Rhetoric
Mandy Aguiar, Spring 2010 In the 2006 version of All the King’s Men, Willie Stark was an honest man from Mason City Young who was running for governor of Louisiana. It seemed to Willie that despite his good intentions no one wanted to hear what he had to say. When speaking in front of an… Read more One of the Boys – ENL 257: Introduction to Rhetoric
Elizabeth Mulready, Fall 2009 The language of literature can affect a reader in many different ways. Intentionally, an author can manipulate the language he or she uses to create a specific meaning. In Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, the narrator portrays language in a certain manner to stir feeling in the reader. Humbert Humbert’s changing voice… Read more The Deceptive Veil of Language in Lolita – ENL 258: Literary Studies