Otis College LibGuides: Writing in the Digital Age (WITDA): Getting Started

CAUTION! This guide is under construction in preparation for the new term

Getting Started with Your Research

Browse in the Library for Inspiration

Walk through our stacks and thumb through magazines. Search the library catalog (OPAC) to find items about different creators, professions, and topics.It includes thousands of ebooks, such as:

We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World - Profiles and portraits of 50 artists and art entrepreneurs, each answering the same set of interview questions.
Future Practice - Conversations with 15 different architects and designers

eLibrary

Get an encyclopedic view on historic events, persons, and topics.

Also covers many international newspapers.

Wikipedia

Use Wikipedia to get biographical information on influential people as well as general overviews of millions of topics.

Identify relevant search words and phrases for use in other databases.

Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints

EXCELLENT STARTING POINT FOR THE CULTURAL ARGUMENT ESSAY

Get information on various sides of trending topics and social issues.

Featured Viewpoints collect 4-20 articles that represent different sides or points of view on a topic.

New York Times

The American newspaper of record for over 150 years, It contains many different types of articles, including opinion pieces, reviews, news reporting, announcements, and letters to the editors.

Many, many different people have been interviewed and profiled within its pages. You can see how coverage of a person or cultural topic has changed over time.

We have a site license; visit this guide for more information on signing up for an account.

Search Additional Research Databases

Once you have a name or issue that interest you, look them up in our research databases. Find specific articles on your research topic.

These online resources cover a variety of sources and media. For instance, the ProQuest Research Library is multidisciplinary and covers many different newspapers.

Popular Culture

Find specialized academic sources for comics, fan culture, memes, transformative works, and more

Citation Guide (MLA 8th Edition)

Learn how to cite all of the sources in your paper, including books, articles, images, videos, tweets, blogs, and more.

Video: Develop a Research Question

Getting Help With Rhetoric

An Introduction to Rhetorical Terms by Christopher Kelen
Call Number: E-book
ISBN: 9781847600240
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
This study guide gives students a handy reference to the background knowledge of rhetorical terms demanded of them by critical and theoretical texts in the humanities.
Rhetoric: An Historical Introduction by Wendy Olmsted
Call Number: E-book
ISBN: 9781405117739
Publication Date: 2006-07-11
This introduction to the art of rhetoric analyzes rhetorical concepts, problems, and methods and teaches practical inquiry through a series of classic rhetorical texts. An introduction to the art of rhetoric for those who are unacquainted with it and an argument about invention and tradition suitable for specialists Texts range from Cicero's De oratore and Augustine's On Christian Doctrine to Jane Austen's Persuasion and Stephen Greenblatt's Marvellous Possessions Texts serve simultaneously as works of persuasion and considerations of how rhetoric works Engages readers in using rhetoric to deliberate about challenging issues.
Figuratively Speaking by Sarah Spence
Call Number: E-book
ISBN: 9781849667555
Publication Date: 2013-11-20
Although rhetoric is a term often associated with lies, this book takes a polemical look at rhetoric as a purveyor of truth. Its purpose is to focus on one aspect of rhetoric, figurative speech, and to demonstrate how the treatment of figures of speech provides a common denominator among western cultures from Cicero to the present. The central idea is that, in the western tradition, figurative speech - using language to do more than name - provides the fundamental way for language to articulate concerns central to each cultural moment. In this study, Sarah Spence identifies the embedded tropes for four periods in Western culture: Roman antiquity, the High Middle Ages, the Age of Montaigne, and our present, post-9/11 moment. In so doing, she reasserts the fundamental importance of rhetoric, the art of speaking well.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy This link opens in a new window
Open source project by hundreds of philosophers, donating their labor to collaboratively write, referee, and maintain this reference work. (on the free web)

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Prompt

Analyze the use of rhetoric in a piece of digital writing composed by a prominent public figure of your choice (ex. an artist, journalist, politician, activist, singer, actor, chef, or scientist). First, briefly discuss the piece’s rhetorical situation (author, audience, context/setting, and purpose). Then, analyze in detail how the author uses rhetorical strategies (such as ethos, logos, and pathos). Are their rhetorical choices ultimately successful? Explain.

Requirements

The piece of digital writing you are analyzing should be at least 150 words long. If it's shorter, you must get instructor permission to use it, to be sure there is enough content.
Your essay should discuss the piece of digital writing as a whole, not just an excerpt from a larger piece.
Include an MLA format works cited page that cites the digital article you are analyzing and any other sources and media used.
An essay of fewer than 900 words will not be eligible for grading.
The final draft of your essay should be formatted to enhance online readability.
1000 - 1250 words

Cultural Argument Essay

Prompt

Choose a cultural issue that is currently relevant that you have a strong opinion about. Compose an essay that presents a well-researched argument about your chosen issue. Who is most affected by it and why is (or isn’t) it worthy of our attention at this moment in time?

Requirements

You must integrate at least 4 quality sources, annotating at least 2.
You must also include an MLA format works cited page that cites all sources and media used.
An essay of fewer than 900 words will not be eligible for grading.
The final draft of your essay should be formatted to enhance online readability.
1000 - 1250 words

Complete Foundation Rubric

LAS: Foundation level Core Compentency Rubric
3-Outcome Rubric, 2020 version