#Official OpenStax
Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 1
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
1
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Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 2
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
Chapter 1
The Digital World
Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1 introduces critical thinking, reading, and writing and asks students to write a critical
response to a text. Examples in the chapter include a biographical sketch of Selena Gomez (1.2),
a fictional social media thread (1.2), a brief excerpt from the statement delivered by former
President Harry S. Truman after the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (1.5), and
annotated paragraphs drawn from “The Case of Jean Gianini” (1915) by Henry Herbert
Goddard. There is a drag-and-drop media asset on responding to texts in 1.5. Tips for using this
chapter’s Toolkits are in 1.5, and Toolkit 1.3 reprints an excerpt from the statement delivered
by former President Barack Obama on July 7, 2016, following the fatal shootings of Alton
Sterling and Philando Castile by police. The PowerPoint deck includes slides for every section of
the chapter.
1.0 Introduction
The chapter introduction proposes the idea that students bring their prior experiences with
language, culture, and literacy with them into the classroom and that these experiences have
shaped their identities and given each of them a unique viewpoint. This theme runs through the
textbook. In addition, the introduction defines rhetoric and rhetorical situation, key terms that
are used in each chapter, and connects them to the photo of young people on their phones at
the start of the chapter.
1.1 “Reading” to Understand and Respond
The section opens with an explanation of the agents and conditions involved in a rhetorical
situation and concludes with a caution about the digital footprints social media users leave
behind them.
Classroom Idea Have students analyze the agents and conditions of a social media post made
by a famous person or someone else. (You may want to provide a list of people for groups to
choose from.) Place students in groups of three to four, and ask one student to take notes for
the group. Have them choose a post and analyze the rhetorical situation by responding to these
questions:
● Who is the originator?
● Is the audience real or anticipated?
● What are the conditions of the rhetorical situation?
o What is the genre? What is the mode?
2
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Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
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Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
o What is the purpose, or reason for the post?
o What is the originator’s stance?
o What is the context, or setting?
o What are the cultural traits of the intended audience?
Have the groups report their findings to the class. Conclude by having students choose another
post by the same person (or someone else) and analyze it on their own. Have them turn in their
analysis for formative assessment.
1.2 Social Media Trailblazer: Selena Gomez
Singer, actor, philanthropist, and influencer Selena Gomez is the subject of this chapter’s
Trailblazer feature.
Teaching Tip Have students read a week or two of Gomez’s Twitter or Instagram account along
with this section of the chapter. Doing so may help them answer questions 3, 4, and 5.
Classroom Idea Assign 1.2 as homework, and have students bring their responses to class for
discussion. Place students in groups of three to four. Ask one to be the notetaker for the group.
Give the groups 15–20 minutes to discuss and compare their responses. If you did not assign
Gomez’s Twitter or Instagram account, have the groups read a selection of her posts to answer
question 5.
Possible Responses to Discussion Questions (Selena Gomez)
1. Have you heard of Selena Gomez What did you know about her before reading this
feature?
Answers will vary.
2. If you consider her background, what skills do you think have helped Gomez establish her
savvy rhetorical presence on social media? Which skills do you relate to, and how might
you use them?
Answers will vary. Students may point to her singing and acting career described in
paragraph 1. She has been a celebrity and a public figure since she was a child.
3. In what ways has Gomez used her struggles with mental and physical health to amplify her
platform? How might this context affect the rhetorical situation?
Refer students to the chapter introduction for a definition of the rhetorical situation: “the
terms and conditions, or circumstances, of the communication and the agents, or people
involved, in that communication.” Paragraph 1 provides the numbers of Gomez’s Twitter
and Instagram followers. Paragraph 2 quotes Gomez describing her social media strategy
as “intentional” and explains that she has used her platforms to advocate for mental and
3
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, #Official OpenStax
Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 4
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
physical health causes, which she can speak to personally; she has been public about her
diagnoses of lupus and bipolar disorder.
4. Explain how authenticity helps Gomez communicate. What influence does one’s
experience have on the rhetorical situation?
Students might question Gomez’s authenticity since she no longer manages her own social
media accounts; however, paragraphs 2 and 4 speak to and suggest her authenticity.
Paragraph 2 explains that her “intentional, open approach to her personal difficulties and
her emphasis on building positivity out of struggle generates an intimacy with fans. . . .”
Paragraph 4 explains that her “relationship with social media remains strong” and that the
“deliberate . . . vulnerability” she cultivates allows her to engage with issues that are
important to her.
5. In what ways does Gomez rely on emotional appeals to her audience? In what ways does
she incorporate ethics, logic, or timeliness?
To answer this question, have students read Gomez’s Twitter or Instagram. Short of that,
students may suggest that in discussing her struggles with lupus and bipolar disorder,
Gomez is able to use emotional appeals to create understanding and empathy, ethical
appeals to speak as an expert on her conditions, and logical appeals to provide facts about
the subjects she writes about. In handing over her Instagram account to Stacey Abrams as
part of the #ShareTheMicNow campaign, Gomez has demonstrated timeliness, or kairos.
1.3 Glance at Critical Response: Rhetoric and Critical Thinking
This section provides advice for reading texts critically and discusses the ways in which readers
can approach visuals. It gives the history of memes, defines them, and offers examples. The
chapter’s key terms are defined in the following order: analysis, authority, context, culture,
evaluation, evidence, media literacy, meme, paraphrase, rhetoric, rhetorical situation, social
media, summary, and tone.
1.4 Annotated Student Sample: Social Media Post and Responses on
Voter Suppression
The social media thread in 1.4 is fictional. It consists of a post by Proud Immigrant Citizen about
immigration and voter suppression and comments by multiple people with different views on
the topic. The concluding remarks point out that the users are engaged in a particular rhetorical
situation.
Classroom Idea The discussion questions following the social media thread encourage personal
reflection. Assign 1.4 as homework, including the discussion questions. In class, place students
in groups of three to four and ask one student to be the notetaker for each group. Give the
groups 15–20 minutes to research to find data to support the items they identified in question
4
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Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 1
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
1
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,#Official OpenStax
Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 2
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
Chapter 1
The Digital World
Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1 introduces critical thinking, reading, and writing and asks students to write a critical
response to a text. Examples in the chapter include a biographical sketch of Selena Gomez (1.2),
a fictional social media thread (1.2), a brief excerpt from the statement delivered by former
President Harry S. Truman after the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (1.5), and
annotated paragraphs drawn from “The Case of Jean Gianini” (1915) by Henry Herbert
Goddard. There is a drag-and-drop media asset on responding to texts in 1.5. Tips for using this
chapter’s Toolkits are in 1.5, and Toolkit 1.3 reprints an excerpt from the statement delivered
by former President Barack Obama on July 7, 2016, following the fatal shootings of Alton
Sterling and Philando Castile by police. The PowerPoint deck includes slides for every section of
the chapter.
1.0 Introduction
The chapter introduction proposes the idea that students bring their prior experiences with
language, culture, and literacy with them into the classroom and that these experiences have
shaped their identities and given each of them a unique viewpoint. This theme runs through the
textbook. In addition, the introduction defines rhetoric and rhetorical situation, key terms that
are used in each chapter, and connects them to the photo of young people on their phones at
the start of the chapter.
1.1 “Reading” to Understand and Respond
The section opens with an explanation of the agents and conditions involved in a rhetorical
situation and concludes with a caution about the digital footprints social media users leave
behind them.
Classroom Idea Have students analyze the agents and conditions of a social media post made
by a famous person or someone else. (You may want to provide a list of people for groups to
choose from.) Place students in groups of three to four, and ask one student to take notes for
the group. Have them choose a post and analyze the rhetorical situation by responding to these
questions:
● Who is the originator?
● Is the audience real or anticipated?
● What are the conditions of the rhetorical situation?
o What is the genre? What is the mode?
2
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,#Official OpenStax
Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 3
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
o What is the purpose, or reason for the post?
o What is the originator’s stance?
o What is the context, or setting?
o What are the cultural traits of the intended audience?
Have the groups report their findings to the class. Conclude by having students choose another
post by the same person (or someone else) and analyze it on their own. Have them turn in their
analysis for formative assessment.
1.2 Social Media Trailblazer: Selena Gomez
Singer, actor, philanthropist, and influencer Selena Gomez is the subject of this chapter’s
Trailblazer feature.
Teaching Tip Have students read a week or two of Gomez’s Twitter or Instagram account along
with this section of the chapter. Doing so may help them answer questions 3, 4, and 5.
Classroom Idea Assign 1.2 as homework, and have students bring their responses to class for
discussion. Place students in groups of three to four. Ask one to be the notetaker for the group.
Give the groups 15–20 minutes to discuss and compare their responses. If you did not assign
Gomez’s Twitter or Instagram account, have the groups read a selection of her posts to answer
question 5.
Possible Responses to Discussion Questions (Selena Gomez)
1. Have you heard of Selena Gomez What did you know about her before reading this
feature?
Answers will vary.
2. If you consider her background, what skills do you think have helped Gomez establish her
savvy rhetorical presence on social media? Which skills do you relate to, and how might
you use them?
Answers will vary. Students may point to her singing and acting career described in
paragraph 1. She has been a celebrity and a public figure since she was a child.
3. In what ways has Gomez used her struggles with mental and physical health to amplify her
platform? How might this context affect the rhetorical situation?
Refer students to the chapter introduction for a definition of the rhetorical situation: “the
terms and conditions, or circumstances, of the communication and the agents, or people
involved, in that communication.” Paragraph 1 provides the numbers of Gomez’s Twitter
and Instagram followers. Paragraph 2 quotes Gomez describing her social media strategy
as “intentional” and explains that she has used her platforms to advocate for mental and
3
Page 3 WritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx WritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1
, #Official OpenStax
Instructor?s
| Instructor?s
Manual for Manual
Writing Guide
for Writing
with Guide
Handbook
with OpenStaxWritingGuidewithHandbook-IM_Ch1.docx
Handbook OpenStax 4
Instructor’s Manual for Writing Guide with Handbook
physical health causes, which she can speak to personally; she has been public about her
diagnoses of lupus and bipolar disorder.
4. Explain how authenticity helps Gomez communicate. What influence does one’s
experience have on the rhetorical situation?
Students might question Gomez’s authenticity since she no longer manages her own social
media accounts; however, paragraphs 2 and 4 speak to and suggest her authenticity.
Paragraph 2 explains that her “intentional, open approach to her personal difficulties and
her emphasis on building positivity out of struggle generates an intimacy with fans. . . .”
Paragraph 4 explains that her “relationship with social media remains strong” and that the
“deliberate . . . vulnerability” she cultivates allows her to engage with issues that are
important to her.
5. In what ways does Gomez rely on emotional appeals to her audience? In what ways does
she incorporate ethics, logic, or timeliness?
To answer this question, have students read Gomez’s Twitter or Instagram. Short of that,
students may suggest that in discussing her struggles with lupus and bipolar disorder,
Gomez is able to use emotional appeals to create understanding and empathy, ethical
appeals to speak as an expert on her conditions, and logical appeals to provide facts about
the subjects she writes about. In handing over her Instagram account to Stacey Abrams as
part of the #ShareTheMicNow campaign, Gomez has demonstrated timeliness, or kairos.
1.3 Glance at Critical Response: Rhetoric and Critical Thinking
This section provides advice for reading texts critically and discusses the ways in which readers
can approach visuals. It gives the history of memes, defines them, and offers examples. The
chapter’s key terms are defined in the following order: analysis, authority, context, culture,
evaluation, evidence, media literacy, meme, paraphrase, rhetoric, rhetorical situation, social
media, summary, and tone.
1.4 Annotated Student Sample: Social Media Post and Responses on
Voter Suppression
The social media thread in 1.4 is fictional. It consists of a post by Proud Immigrant Citizen about
immigration and voter suppression and comments by multiple people with different views on
the topic. The concluding remarks point out that the users are engaged in a particular rhetorical
situation.
Classroom Idea The discussion questions following the social media thread encourage personal
reflection. Assign 1.4 as homework, including the discussion questions. In class, place students
in groups of three to four and ask one student to be the notetaker for each group. Give the
groups 15–20 minutes to research to find data to support the items they identified in question
4
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