English 111--Introduction to Composition

This unit switches gears from analyzing rhetorical strategies to using rhetorical strategies to advocate for a change in the local community, a change that will solve a problem or satisfy an unmet need. This unit involves a number tasks, which are each designed to reinforce one another:

• library research to gather information about the background, context, and current knowledge of the issue
• a discourse community profile that analyzes the communication practices of local groups working to address the problem or need they have identified.
• a formal proposal for a decision maker audience that analyzes a local problem or need and proposes a reasonable course of action to address that problem or need.
• a public message to draw community energy and commitment into the solution

The videos listed below were created by graduate students in the Department of English at UAA and are intended to demonstrate various ways in which people use language to effect changes in their communities. We believe that all people have the capacity to use their communication skills to make change happen in their communities. 

Profile of Amanda Metivier

Profile of Shelly Hennessy

Profile of Nick Moe