Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Rhetoric & Technical Communication
Toscano, Aaron, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of English

Resources and Daily Activities

  • Conference Presentations
    • PCA/ACA Conference Presentation 2022
    • PCAS/ACAS Presentation 2021
    • SEACS 2021 Presentation
  • Dr. Toscano’s Homepage
  • ENGL 2116-082: Introduction to Technical Communication
    • ENGL 2116 sec. 082 Major Assignments (Summer 2021)
      • Final Portfolio Requirements
      • Making Résumés and Cover Letters More Effective
      • Oral Presentations
      • Research
    • June 14th: Information Design
    • June 15th: Proposals, Marketing, and Rhetoric
    • June 17th: More I, Robot and Science Fiction in a Technical Communication context Discussion
    • June 1st: Plain Language and Prose Revision
      • Euphemisms
      • Prose Practice for Next Class
      • Prose Revision Assignment
      • Revising Prose: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Good
      • Sentence Clarity
    • June 21st: Ethics and Perspective Discussion
      • Ethical Dilemmas for Homework
      • Ethical Dilemmas to Ponder
      • Mapping Our Personal Ethics
    • June 22nd: More on Ethics
    • June 2nd: More on Plain Language
    • June 3rd: Review Prose Revision
    • June 7th: Effective Documents for Users
    • June 8th: Final Project and Research Discussion
      • Epistemology and Other Fun Research Ideas
    • June 9th: Technology in a Social Context
    • May 24th: Introduction to the course
    • May 25th: Critical Technological Awareness
    • May 26th: Audience, Purpose, and General Introduction
    • May 27th: Résumé Stuff
      • Duty Format for Résumés
      • Peter Profit’s Cover Letter
    • May 31st: More Resume Stuff
  • ENGL 4182/5182: Information Design & Digital Publishing
    • August 21st: Introduction to the Course
      • Rhetorical Principles of Information Design
    • August 28th: Introduction to Information Design
      • Prejudice and Rhetoric
      • Robin Williams’s Principles of Design
    • Classmates Webpages (Fall 2017)
    • December 4th: Presentations
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4182/5182 (Fall 2017)
    • November 13th: More on Color
      • Designing with Color
      • Important Images
    • November 20th: Extra-Textual Elements
    • November 27th: Presentation/Portfolio Workshop
    • November 6th: In Living Color
    • October 16th: Type Fever
      • Typography
    • October 23rd: More on Type
    • October 2nd: MIDTERM FUN!!!
    • October 30th: Working with Graphics
      • Beerknurd Calendar 2018
    • September 11th: Talking about Design without Using “Thingy”
      • Theory, theory, practice
    • September 18th: The Whole Document
    • September 25th: Page Design
  • ENGL 4183/5183: Editing with Digital Technologies
    • August 26th: Introduction to the Class
    • December 2nd: Last Day of “Class”
    • Major Assignments for ENGL 4183/5183 (Fall 2021)
      • Rhetoric of Fear
    • November 11th: Cohesive Rhythm
    • November 18th: Voice and Other Nebulous Writing Terms
      • Finding Dominant Rhetorical Appeals
    • November 4th: Rhetorical Effects of Punctuation
    • October 14th: Choosing Adjectivals
    • October 21st: Choosing Nominals
    • October 28th: Stylistic Variations
      • Revising Prose: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Good
    • October 7th: Midterm Exam
    • September 16th: Verb is the Word!
    • September 23rd: Coordination and Subordination
      • A Practical Editing Situation
    • September 2nd: Rhetoric, Words, and Composing
    • September 30th: Form and Function
    • September 9th: Sentence Patterns
  • ENGL 4275: Rhetoric of Technology
    • April 13th: Authorities in Science and Technology
    • April 15th: Articles on Violence in Video Games
    • April 20th: Presentations
    • April 6th: Technology in the home
    • April 8th: Writing Discussion
    • Assignments for ENGL 4275
    • February 10th: Religion of Technology Part 3 of 3
    • February 12th: Is Love a Technology?
    • February 17th: Technology and Gender
    • February 19th: Technology and Expediency
    • February 24th: Semester Review
    • February 3rd: Religion of Technology Part 1 of 3
    • February 5th: Religion of Technology Part 2 of 3
    • January 13th: Technology and Meaning, a Humanist perspective
    • January 15th: Technology and Democracy
    • January 22nd: The Politics of Technology
    • January 27th: Discussion on Writing as Thinking
    • January 29th: Technology and Postmodernism
    • January 8th: Introduction to the Course
    • March 11th: Writing and Other Fun
    • March 16th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 1 of 2
    • March 18th: Neuromancer (1984) Day 2 of 2
    • March 23rd: Inception (2010)
    • March 25th: Writing and Reflecting Discussion
    • March 30th & April 1st: Count Zero
    • March 9th: William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984)
  • ENGL 6166: Rhetorical Theory
    • April 12th: Knoblauch. Ch. 4 and Ch. 5
    • April 19th: Jacques Derrida’s Positions
    • April 26th:  Feminisms and Rhetorics
    • April 5th: Knoblauch. Ch. 3 and More Constitutive Rhetoric
    • February 15th: Isocrates (Part 2)
    • February 1st: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Books 2 & 3
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 2
      • Aristotle’s On Rhetoric, Book 3
    • February 22nd: St. Augustine’s On Christian Doctrine [Rhetoric]
    • February 8th: Isocrates (Part 1)-2nd Half of Class
    • January 11th: Introduction to Class
    • January 18th: Plato’s Phaedrus
    • January 25th: Aristotle’s On Rhetoric Book 1
    • March 15th: Descartes, Rene, Discourse on Method
    • March 1st: Knoblauch. Ch. 1 and 2
    • March 22nd: Mary Wollstonecraft
    • March 29th: Second Wave Feminist Rhetoric
    • May 3rd: Knoblauch. Ch. 6, 7, and “Afterword”
    • Rhetorical Theory Assignments
  • LBST 2212-124, 125, 126, & 127
    • August 21st: Introduction to Class
    • August 23rd: Humanistic Approach to Science Fiction
    • August 26th: Robots and Zombies
    • August 28th: Futurism, an Introduction
    • August 30th: R. A. Lafferty “Slow Tuesday Night” (1965)
    • December 2nd: Technological Augmentation
    • December 4th: Posthumanism
    • November 11th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2)
    • November 13th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 2 con’t)
    • November 18th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 1)
      • More Questions than Answers
    • November 1st: Games Reality Plays (part II)
    • November 20th: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Part 2)
    • November 6th: Salt Fish Girl (Week 1)
    • October 14th: More Autonomous Fun
    • October 16th: Autonomous Conclusion
    • October 21st: Sci Fi in the Domestic Sphere
    • October 23rd: Social Aphasia
    • October 25th: Dust in the Wind
    • October 28th: Gender Liminality and Roles
    • October 2nd: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • October 30th: Games Reality Plays (part I)
    • October 9th: Approaching Autonomous
      • Analyzing Prose in Autonomous
    • September 11th: The Time Machine
    • September 16th: The Alien Other
    • September 18th: Post-apocalyptic Worlds
    • September 20th: Dystopian Visions
    • September 23rd: World’s Beyond
    • September 25th: Gender Studies and Science Fiction
    • September 30th: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
    • September 4th: Science Fiction and Social Breakdown
      • More on Ellison
      • More on Forster
    • September 9th: The Time Machine
  • LBST 2213-110: Science, Technology, and Society
    • August 24th: Science and Technology from a Humanistic Perspective
    • August 26th: More Introduction
    • August 31st: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Prefaces and Ch. 1
    • December 2nd: Violence in Video Games
    • December 7th: Video Games and Violence, a more nuanced view
    • November 11th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 18-26
    • November 16th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 27-end
    • November 18th: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Preface-Ch. 8
    • November 23rd: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Ch. 9-Ch. 16
    • November 2nd: Wells, H. G. The Time Machine Ch. 6-The End
    • November 30th: Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Ch. 17-Ch. 24
      • Dayna’s Frankenstein Class Notes
    • November 9th: Boulle, Pierre. Planet of the Apes. (1964) Ch. 1-17
    • October 14th: Lies Economists Tell
    • October 19th: Brief Histories of Medicine, Salerno, and Galen readings
    • October 21st: Politicization of Science
    • October 26th: COVID-19 Facial Covering Rhetoric
    • October 28th: Wells, H. G. Time Machine. Ch. 1-5
    • October 5th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • September 14th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 7 and Conclusion
    • September 16th: Test 1
    • September 21st: The Golem at Large (Technology), Prefaces and Ch. 1
    • September 28th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 2
    • September 2nd: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 2
    • September 30th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem at Large (Technology), Ch. 5 and 6
    • September 7th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 3 and 4
    • September 9th: Collins & Pinch’s The Golem (Science), Ch. 5 and 6
  • New Media: Gender, Culture, Technology (Spring 2021)
    • April 13th: Virtually ‘Real’ Environments
    • April 20th: Rhetoric/Composition Defines New Media
    • April 27th: Sub/Cultural Politics, Hegemony, and Agency
    • April 6th: Capitalist Realism
    • February 16: Misunderstanding the Internet
    • February 23rd: Our Public Sphere and the Media
    • February 2nd: Introduction to Cultural Studies
    • January 26th: Introduction to New Media
    • Major Assignments for New Media (Spring 2021)
    • March 16th: Identity Politics
    • March 23rd: Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality
    • March 2nd: Foundational Thinkers in Cultural Studies
    • March 30th: Hyperreality
    • March 9th: Globalization & Postmodernism
    • May 4th: Wrapping Up The Semester
      • Jodi Dean “The The Illusion of Democracy” & “Communicative Capitalism”
      • Social Construction of Sexuality
  • Science Fiction in American Culture (Summer I–2020)
    • Assignments for Science Fiction in American Culture
    • Cultural Studies and Science Fiction Films
    • June 10th: Interstellar and Exploration themes
    • June 11th: Bicentennial Man
    • June 15th: I’m Only Human…Or am I?
    • June 16th: Wall-E and Environment
    • June 17th: Wall-E (2008) and Technology
    • June 18th: Interactivity in Video Games
    • June 1st: Firefly (2002) and Myth
    • June 2nd: “Johnny Mnemonic”
    • June 3rd: “New Rose Hotel”
    • June 4th: “Burning Chrome”
    • June 8th: Conformity and Monotony
    • June 9th: Cultural Constructions of Beauty
    • May 18th: Introduction to Class
    • May 19th: American Culture, an Introduction
    • May 20th: The Matrix
    • May 21st: Gender and Science Fiction
    • May 25th: Goals for I, Robot
    • May 26th: Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot
    • May 27th: Hackers and Slackers
    • May 30th: Inception
  • Teaching Portfolio
  • Topics for Analysis
    • American Culture, an Introduction
    • Efficiency in Writing Reviews
    • Feminism, An Introduction
    • Fordism/Taylorism
    • Frankenstein Part I
    • Frankenstein Part II
    • Futurism Introduction
    • Langdon Winner Summary: The Politics of Technology
    • Marxist Theory (cultural analysis)
    • Oral Presentations
    • Oratory and Argument Analysis
    • Our Public Sphere
    • Postmodernism Introduction
    • Protesting Confederate Place
    • Punctuation Refresher
    • QT, the Existential Robot
    • Religion of Technology Discussion
    • Rhetoric, an Introduction
      • Analyzing the Culture of Technical Writer Ads
      • Rhetoric of Technology
      • Visual Culture
      • Visual Perception
      • Visual Perception, Culture, and Rhetoric
      • Visual Rhetoric
      • Visuals for Technical Communication
      • World War I Propaganda
    • The Great I, Robot Discussion
      • I, Robot Short Essay Topics
    • The Rhetoric of Video Games: A Cultural Perspective
      • Civilization, an Analysis
    • The Sopranos
    • Video Games and Violent Behavior: The Specious Link
    • Why Science Fiction?
    • Zombies and Consumption Satire
  • Video Games & American Culture
    • April 14th: Phallocentrism
    • April 21st: Video Games and Neoliberalism
    • April 7th: Video Games and Conquest
    • Assignments for Video Games & American Culture
    • February 10th: Aesthetics and Culture
    • February 17th: Narrative and Catharsis
    • February 24th: Serious Games
    • February 3rd: More History of Video Games
    • January 13th: Introduction to the course
    • January 20th: Introduction to Video Game Studies
    • January 27th: Games & Culture
      • Marxism for Video Game Analysis
      • Postmodernism for Video Game Analysis
    • March 24th: Realism, Interpretation(s), and Meaning Making
    • March 31st: Feminist Perspectives and Politics
    • March 3rd: Risky Business?

Contact Me

Office: Fretwell 280F
Phone: 704.687.0613
Email: atoscano@uncc.edu
ENGL 4275: Rhetoric of Technology » March 25th: Writing and Reflecting Discussion

March 25th: Writing and Reflecting Discussion

Plan for the Day

Originally, prior to the pandemic, this was going to be a face-to-face class where I dissected a passage and explained how the writing built towards an argument. This webpage will have to do it’s best to convey that.

I also have general statements on your Social Construction of Technology Essays. If you haven’t gotten feedback by today, you’ll get it by tomorrow. Remember, the final is due via Canvas next Wednesday–April 1st. I will not reread your essays prior to that deadline. If you want more feedback, set up a Webex video conference time with me. I also have Google Meets, Zoom, and Skype if those are better.

Social Construction of Technology Essays

I made a valiant effort to comment on all of these before today, but I couldn’t quite make it. I do have some general impressions I’d like to share. Here’s the big observation: It’s not that I don’t think most of you are reading; I just don’t think you’re reading carefully enough, and you’re having difficulty incorporating the readings into your essays. Synthesizing research (using the words of others) is an extremely important skill. When you do that well, you show that you both understand what the author is claiming and that you can relate it to your ideas. Because the topic was about values and cultures—the values and cultures embodied by technologies—I was surprised that few of you cited the following from our first reading (Bazerman):

  • “The rhetoric of technology shows how the objects of the built environment become part of our systems of goals, values, and meaning, part of our articulated interests, struggles, and activities” (p. 386)
  • The rhetoric of technology “is the rhetoric of all the discourses that surround and embed technology” (p. 387)

In my experience, students who don’t use course readings in their essays are either not reading or do not understand the reading enough to incorporate it into their essays.

I’m worried about this as we’re reading Neuromancer and Count Zero because these novels require you to use our cultural studies lens to interpret meaning. Unlike the other readings, William Gibson is trying to entertain and not convey information and ideas directly (even though he’s heavy handed in places). Therefore, readers (you) have to be aware of the approach to take in order not to get lost in wondering why we’re reading the novel. If you aren’t reading our other texts and paying attention to the theories, the novels will seem out of place.

Issues for Social Construction of Technology Essays

Purpose: What is the overall goal of your essay?

  • Is it to describe technologies and their uses? Not the best approach.
  • Is it to describe how things should be? That’s ok, but are you being thorough enough with your explanations, or are you just writing “it should” over and over.
  • Is it to discuss cultural values and explain how certain technologies embody those values? That’s good.

Don’t pad your essays with…

  • Long unnecessary quotations
  • Titles of articles and where an author is from

Synthesize Course Readings

If you’ve been reading, you should be able to incorporate some of that reading into your essays.

Example to Analyze

What is good writing? Better yet, what is effective writing? Is there a difference? Obviously, I have some great examples of good writing, and, although you may think I’m too modest to discuss my own work, I do so below.

Science Fiction as a Source of Technical Communication

In order to embrace science fiction as technical communication, readers must understand that science fiction is more a contemporary cultural comment than a prediction of the future. Predicting the future can be a reality of science fiction (e.g., the submarine in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [Verne 1870/1995]), but science fiction is a product of its culture. Even if the author (or director in the case of film) intends to predict the future, the author is still a member of a particular culture and absorbs that culture’s ideology. [S]cience fiction acclimates audiences to technology by adhering to a dichotomy. Science fiction narratives often present technology as benevolent or malevolent. The technologies that enslave humanity in films such as the Terminator series reflect a dis-ease in a culture that increasingly seems to give up autonomy to machines. In contemporary, real-life factories, robots and other automated technologies are more efficient than human labor and often make certain jobs obsolete, thus, contributing to anxiety about advancements in technology taking away jobs. Also, many science fiction narratives comment on the increased surveillance possible with technology (as is the case in Orwell’s [1949] 1984). On the other hand, narratives such as the Star Trek universe of films, television shows, and literature predominantly reflect an attitude of benevolence in technologies. In this universe, technology allows diverse groups (in the form of various alien life forms) to combine forces and explore the universe; medical treatments are expertly diagnosed by waving hand-held devices over patients; and weapons “humanely” stun victims.

Technology as benevolent and always good to pursue is not a universally held value, but it is a dominant value of Western cultures. American culture, especially, holds technological advances highly. Even accursed office products such as fax machines and desktop computers are considered better than the “old way” of communicating through typed correspondence. American media celebrate the release of new technologies by reporting on their initial sale and interviewing early adopters. Contemporary consumer products become characters, celebrities even, for the public much like technology in science fiction narratives can be seen by audiences as characters helping to move along plot elements. Whether the technology creates a setting as in the case of the galaxy-traveling spaceship in A Hitchhiker’s Guides to the Galaxy series (Adams 1979), which uses an “Improbability Drive,” or the robots acting as characters in the many stories by Isaac Asimov (1950/2004), technology and science are major characters of science fiction. Even though science fiction rarely focuses on possible, at least, contemporarily, technology or science, the narratives still acclimate audiences to perceptions of technology and science and implicitly or explicitly propose that science and technology, which are always advancing, continue to provide solutions and change conditions for humans and society overall. Although believing technology changes culture assumes a technological deterministic paradigm, technology is still socially constructed even if the public believes technology changes life. The commitment to the belief that scientific and technological advancements will improve life is necessary for society to believe in order to allow institutions to pursue advancements.

A major example of a science fiction narrative that explains how humans in industrialized societies commit to technological advancement is Isaac Asimov’s (1950/2004) I, Robot. Asimov’s novel, which is actually a compilation of short story serials, projects a future where machines take on humanlike qualities in the form of robots….

–excerpt from Toscano, Aaron (2012). Marconi’s Wireless and the Rhetoric of a New Technology. Dordrecht: Springer. 22-25.

Possible Outline–forget about the “exact” rules of an outline. Below is a possible outline based on the excerpt. Some writers (including me) like using outlines, and others find they stifle their writing. Outlines are just tools you may or may not choose to use. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s an absolute reason to always or never use them. Feel free to send them my way, and I’ll straighten them out.

  1. Science fiction comments on contemporary culture
    1. Not a predictor of the future
    2. Sci fi Acclimates audiences to technology by adhering to a dichotomy
      1. Technology as benevolent or malevolent
      2. The Terminator series reflects this dis-ease
        1. Giving up autonomy to machines.
        2. Anxiety about advancements in technology taking away jobs
      3. Sci fi on increased surveillance (1984)
      4. Some Sci fi narratives reflect an attitude of benevolence in technologies
        1. Star Trek and exploring the Universe
        2. Diverse groups
        3. Advanced medical technologies
        4. Humane weapons
  2. Technology as benevolent is a dominant value of Western cultures
    1. American culture holds technological advances highly
      1. Office products aren’t perfect but considered better
        1. Fax machines and desktop computers
        2. Disdain for previous “archaic” technologies
      2. Media report on new technologies
        1. Popularity surrounding new gadgets
        2. Technologies similar to characters in texts
          1. Plot devices, settings
          2.  Improbability Drive (Hitchhiker’s Guide)
          3. Robots in I, Robot
      3. Sci fi acclimates readers to technology
        1. Technology and science always seem to improve
        2. Technology and science often offer solutions to problems
      4. Public has a technological determinism view of technology
        1. Believe scientific and technological advancements improve life
        2. Public belief allows institutions to continue funding new R&D
  3. Industrialized societies commit to technological advancement
    1. I, Robot reflects this commitment
      1. Machines take on humanlike qualities
      2. Robots eventually run the world
      3. Humans slowly give over control to the machines
    2. Although I, Robot is fiction, it reflects culture
      1. Main character interviewed by a young reporter about robot history
        1. Robots, metaphors for hi-tech real-world tools, do not follow their programming
        2. Each chapter identifies the progression of the technology
        3. Eventually, super robots create new robots
      2. Always-advancing technology is a cultural belief
        1. Fiction can be a form of technical communication
        2. Reflects social attitudes
        3. The rhetoric of technology
  4. Asimov didn’t predict the future
    1. Communicated culturally mediated messages about technological development
      1. Effect of technology on Labor
      2. …

You get the point. Notice that the attempt is to start broad and then focus the reader by providing details or by on narrowing the topic. Using repetition, the author keeps the audience focused on the main idea while supporting the main argument. Remember, repetition isn’t the same as redundancy: “Let me forewarn you ahead of time”; “Charlotte’s economy reflects the overall economy as a whole”; others…Don’t mistake being thorough for being redundant. In fact, risk being redundant for the sake of being thorough–every assertion needs to be defended. Your thesis or topic sentence is an assertion that takes the entire essay or paragraph to defend. In longer works, you might find you need to remind readers what the purpose is.

Transitions–Transitioning between paragraphs is important for maintaining a good flow in your writing. Using headings helps for long documents, but there’s this technique called the Known-New Contract that helps for paragraphs within sections. Below are groups of sentences–the last and first of adjacent (consecutive) paragraphs:

Para 1 (last): In this universe, technology allows diverse groups (in the form of various alien life forms) to combine forces and explore the universe; medical treatments are expertly diagnosed by waving hand-held devices over patients; and weapons “humanely” stun victims.
Para 2: (first): Technology as benevolent and always good to pursue is not a universally held value, but it is a dominant value of Western cultures.

Para 2 (last): The commitment to the belief that scientific and technological advancements will improve life is necessary for society to believe in order to allow institutions to pursue advancements.
Para 3 (first): A major example of a science fiction narrative that explains how humans in industrialized societies commit to technological advancement is Isaac Asimov’s (1950/2004) I, Robot.

Para 3 (last): This is discourse surrounding the rhetoric of technology.
Para 4 (first): Asimov (1950/2004) did not accurately predict the future, but he communicated culturally mediated messages about technological development.

Wait a minute! Those last two violate what we’ve been talking about…don’t they?

The first two are what we’d call “implied” transitions. This is normal for the first paragraph of a new section–the topic paragraph. Readers expect the author will cover the assertions made in the paragraph in later paragraphs; therefore, as long as the author conforms to audience expectations about what will come next–doesn’t start writing about circus seals after introducing readers to I, Robot–readers shouldn’t have too much trouble following along. Remember, this discussion on transitions is a guide and not a prescription for exactly how to write. Writers have much leeway in how they communicate, but, in technical writing situations, you may find your prose is much more limited than in more creative endeavors.

Note: sometimes it’s impossible or awkward to reference the previous paragraph directly. However, readers shouldn’t be surprised by what comes in the next paragraph. They should be able to follow your train of thought without your jumping to a new topic without a clear transition. Even an implied one–one not written–could be helped but meta-discourse phrases such as, “In addition to the previous example, this is another similar topic…”; “Although the above is a prevailing attitude, it’s important to consider nuances in culture…”; “Next,…,” are helpful if not overused.

Outlines

While we’re on the subject of outlines, I have a very generic outline that might help you structure your Social Construction of Technology Essay. I referenced this in my feedback to some of you, so here is the example:

I. Introduction
     A. Mention an American value
     B. Mention another American value or one related to the first value
     C. Identify the technologies that embody these values
     D. Briefly mention that capitalism is driving much of technological production
II. Discuss American culture
     A. Example of first value
          * proof
     B. Another Example of first value
          * proof
     C. At least one more example
          * proof
III. Transition to discussion on second or related American value
     A. Example of first value
          * proof
     B. Example of first value
          * proof
     C. Example of first value
          * proof
IV. Now, discuss your technologies
     A. First Technology
     B. Second one
     C. Third one
V. Discuss how an American value (such as capitalism, profit motive, etc.) drives technological creation
     A. Discuss how important this value is for the economy, society, businesses, the military, etc.
     B. If you’re doing consumerism, here would be a good place to discuss planned obsolescence and how that conditions us to buy new things
VI. Conclusion
     A. Summarize your main argument
     B. Explain if future technologies will be dependent on capitalism
     C. What else?

Grammar Refresher

Many of you have asked about grammar rules, so I’m offering you a Web page that provides some details on big issues. Check out Sancho’s page from a different class.

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