Concept Paper

Assignment Overview

For this assignment, you’ll pick an important rhetorical concept or term and define, interrogate, and explore that concept, reflecting on its meaning, its relevance and value, and its possible future trajectory. Pick a “Big Concept” – one of central importance to rhetorical studies (or at least of primary importance to a rhetorician). Examples might include: techne, kairos, exigence, memory, logos, invention, topoi, syllogism, enthymeme, stasis, etc. Pick a concept that you find interesting, troubling, or valuable. Pick one that you are intrigued by and want to learn more about. Pick one that you hope to use in your future work (either in this class or beyond).

Important Dates

Initial Thoughts due 1/15
Proposal due 1/22
Rough Draft due 1/29
Final Draft due 2/5

Assignment Details

Completion

In order to receive credit for completion, your paper should be at least 1 page single-spaced (no more than 2 pages single-spaced) not including your Works Cited page, and should address at least two of the following questions:

Where, when, and how did this concept originate?
How do we understand its definition today and what is its importance or value?
How is this term relevant in our daily lives and what examples of this can you point to?

Additional Work Option

In order to satisfy the requirements for the additional work component of the concept paper, your paper should be a full (but no more than) 2 pages single-spaced not including your Works Cited page, and should address ALL of the following questions:

Where, when, and how did this concept originate?
How do we understand its definition today and what is its importance or value?
How is this term relevant in our daily lives and what examples of this can you point to?

AND your essay should offer a more in-depth and nuanced discussion of the term by considering the additional questions below for development:

Definition and etymology: What does the concept mean? Are there multiple or shifting meanings? What are the origins of the term?
Use: How and when is the concept deployed? How is it intended to be used by rhetoricians?
System: What role does the concept play in a larger framework/understanding of rhetoric? (Whose framework(s)/understanding(s)?)
Debate/Issue/Ambiguity: What are the debates, problems, and/or ambiguities related to the concept? Is there anything at issue regarding its interpretation or use? Are there scholarly disagreements about its use, value, or influence?

SOURCES

Your paper should focus on maybe one or two primary works (that is, places where the concept originates) and examine 2-3 other sources. Work with 3-5 sources total at most. You won’t have room to treat any more sources with any depth, and depth is an important part of this paper. The point here is to work with few sources in much greater detail.

SUGGESTED PROCESS

Here are my thoughts on getting underway:

Google is actually a good place to start, as is Wikipedia (though neither is a good place to end).
Check out: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/ for some basic definitions and explanations of concepts you might explore
Don’t forget about Google Scholar and the library search (gasp!) for articles, chapters, and books that focus significantly on the concept.

FORMAT

Use either block paragraph (no indentation, spaces between paragraphs) or essay paragraph (tabbed at the beginning of paragraphs) format – whichever you prefer. Feel free to include tables, diagrams, charts, etc. if you need to (but don’t feel compelled to include them if you don’t). Use a consistent style of citation (probably either MLA or APA).

Concept Paper Initial Thoughts Activity

In your participation notebook for Week 1 (or in a new document, if you’d prefer), do the following:

Read through the Concept Paper prompt, above.
Make notes, highlight, annotate… do what you need to do in order to understand the prompt and what it is asking of you.
Rewrite the prompt in your own words. (This can be a very short summary of what the prompt is asking you to do or how you might explain it to someone who doesn’t have the prompt.)
Spend about 10-15 minutes writing down your initial thoughts. How do you feel about it? What ideas do you have on first read? What might you write about? What are your concerns? What questions do you have?

Concept Paper Proposal

To help ensure your success with the concept paper, I want you to submit a proposal that explains/explores what rhetorical concept/term you plan on writing about. Your proposal should answer the following questions:

What rhetorical concept/term do you plan on writing about?
What about it interests you? Why did you choose this term?
Prior to doing any extensive research, what initial relevance to society/(y)our daily lives/the world/etc. do you see this concept having? That is, what directions might you explore with your paper in terms of how this concept is important today?
What questions and/or concerns do you have about choosing this concept?

The proposal should be about a paragraph long and can be written in a conversational tone. As with almost everything, focus on clarity and demonstrate critical thought with your writing. You should include your proposal in your participation notebook for week 2, or if you’d prefer, in a new document in your individual folder.