ERIC Number: EJ1097330
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0007-8034
EISSN: N/A
Using Political Cartoons as the Basis for a Freshman Comp Research Paper: Delineating the Reasons for the Failure of yet Another Clever Idea
Kich, Martin
CEA Forum, v34 n2 Sum-Fall 2005
At the Lake Campus of Wright State University, students are required to complete two courses in English composition. In the second, English 102, the focal assignment is an eight- to ten-page research essay, typically with either an argumentative slant or a topic that requires some sort of interpretive analysis. When the department selected an anthology of political essays as the reader for this course, English professor Martin Kich was uncomfortable with the choice and believed he had conceived an imaginative alternative research topic: the students would focus on some of the 300 or so cartoons that had to do with Clinton's various policies and problems, and, working from the premise that it was now the year 2025, they would explain the cartoons to people who were "now" only passingly familiar with the Clinton presidency--if they had any knowledge of its particulars at all. The treatment would require them to do three things: (1) describe each cartoon, (2) explain its political context, and (3) analyze the cartoonist's or cartoonists' bias. They could choose the number of cartoons, the number and variety of topics addressed, and the number of cartoonists represented. Despite his enthusiasm for the topic, with the exception of several non-traditional students, the majority of the students in five English 102 classes over two quarters pretty much hated it. Herein Kich describes nine misconceptions and/or misperceptions on his part which he believes are the reasons for the failure of the research topic.
Descriptors: Freshman Composition, Cartoons, Politics, Research Papers (Students), Failure, Misconceptions, Instructional Effectiveness, College Freshmen
College English Association. Web site: http://www.cea-web.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ohio
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A