Interpreting Strategic Discourse COMM 401 Spring 2009 Welcome to the Home Page Website for COMM 401.

The information contained in this website is designed to provide supplemental information to enhance your learning in COMM 401. Information will be added as the semester goes by and you may wish to check the site periodically.

Contents

• Daily Schedule and Class Preparation Guide for the Course
• Information on the Instructor
• Office Hours
• Orientation to the Course
• Information on Assignments
• Material on Units of the Course
• Study Aids

Material on Units of the Course

• Introduction to the Course
• Introduction and Definitions
• Analyzing Strategic Discourse
• Analyzing Audiences
• Invention
• Purpose
• Framing and Reframing
• Presenting Ideas
• Ethos
• Persona
• Argument
• Claims and Support
• Exercise on identifying claims
• Analyzing Issues
• Exercise on identifying issues (.pdf)
• Warranting Claims
  • Exercise on analyzing argument
• Fallacies
• Exercise on identifying fallacies
• Evidence
  • Exercise on Evidence
• Summary of Argument Unit
• Arrangement
• Interpreting Organization
• Narrative and Story
• Visual Arrangement
• Style
• An exercise to identify tropes
• Cultural Contexts

• Genre
• Good Reasons
• Symbolic Motives
• Values
• Cultural Narratives
• Myths

• Outline of an abstract argument
• A sample abstract
• Advice on Exams
• Processes, vocabulary and systems of vocabulary for first exam
• Processes, vocabulary and systems of vocabulary for second exam
• Advice on Taking Essay Exams
• Tips on Evaluating Discourse
• How I grade
• Diagnosing Your Exam Weaknesses
• Grade Your Abstract
• Self Analysis before Final
• Analysis of argument example

This page maintained by James F. Klumpp, Department of Communication, College of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland

Last update April 29, 2009