The FInal

[Note: Week 10 assignment is below this post]

Instructions for the final:


Each student may give either a sermon or a closing argument of 8-12 minutes. You must sign up for a time slot on Prof. Osler’s door beginning on Monday, April 20.

Students will be allowed some latitude in choosing the topic of their closing or sermon. Two suggested cases and two sermon topics are listed below. If you choose to use a different topic you may, but must provide Prof. Osler with a description of your topic by Wednesday, April 22 at Mark_W_Osler@Baylor.edu. It may not be the re-use of an argument you have made for mock trial or practice court.

You are encouraged to invite friends to watch your sermon or closing.

Closing topics:

1) At the trial level, an argument for or against school integration in Texas in 1953. You can use any facts drawn from that time period as the basis for your argument. You should assume you are making the argument in 1953, before Brown v. Board of Education. This is a civil case pitting a black family against a white school district.

2) The case of United States v. Wixom, for which a short outline will be available in the Oral Advocacy box on the 3d floor. You may argue either side.

Sermon Topics:

1) Judgment and Grace
Supporting texts:
John 8:1-12
Matthew 20:1-16

2) The Call to Vocation
Supporting texts:
Exodus 3-4
Jeremiah 1
Isaiah 6

Week 10: Closing the Deal

President John F. Kennedy gave this speech at Rice University in 1962.

Week 9: Back to "On Rhetoric"

What did you make of our return to Aristotle?

Week 8: Sit Down and Write!

Just Say The Word, pp. 1-43. Last stop before we go back to Aristotle...

The Storytelling Exercise

[Note-- post your reading observations to the post below this one]

Each student will make a presentation of 5-7 minutes, and time will be strictly limited. The task of the presentation is to tell a story so as to either engender sympathy or antipathy for the subject of the story.

You will be graded on your presentation based on your use of the methods taught in this class. We will look for an articulation of ethos, logos and pathos, for example.

You may tell the story of an individual who is fairly well known (of your choosing). You may do any fact research you feel is necessary. It is allowable (and perhaps best) to limit yourself to one story from the person’s life, rather than trying to tell their entire life story. It is up to you whether to portray the subject in a positive or negative way. Your goal, of course, is to make us feel a certain way about your subject. Only use one of the following to discuss.

REMEMBER that the point of the exercise is storytelling, not argument.

A sign-up sheet for times to do the exercise will be available on Wednesday, March 24, on Prof. Osler's door.

Week 6: Just Say the Word, pp. 79-90

Is there something valuable here?

Week 5: Just Say the Word, pp. 55-78

Kinda different than Aristotle, huh? What did you think?

Week 4

So, what do you make of Aristotle's thoughts on pathos?

Week 3

This week we discuss logos, as described in Book 1, chapters 10-15 of Aristotle's On Rhetoric.