Learning Goals
By the end of this activity you will be able to:
Understand the purpose of the persuasive essay.

We’ll begin today with a note on the persuasive essay, then we’ll do a pre-reading exercise by responding to the following poem by Walt Whitman:

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time.

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Take a few moments and consider the degree to which you agree or disagree with the sentiment expressed in this poem and why.

What do you think of the opinion expressed in the above poem by Walt Whitman?

1. Do you think hearing the scientific explanation behind the stars detracts from their beauty? Or do you think the speaker would have been as happy to look at the real stars if he hadn’t just sat through a really boring talk? Does this complicate the poem’s message at all?
2. Do you think that learning about natural phenomena can help you appreciate them? Is the speaker saying that direct experience is the only way to understand nature, or is it merely the best way? What can we hope to learn about nature through our senses? Do you think the kind of alienation that Whitman describes is a modern problem, or has it always existed for human beings? Can you imagine a society in which the stars and other natural events have a direct presence in people’s everyday lives?

Next, you will read the essay “Science and Beauty” by Isaac Asimov and complete some analysis notes and discussion questions.

The questions are due Monday.

Please remember to check and update the tracking sheet. Also, continue to check for updates on your submitted work. Feedback on your submissions is an ongoing process and you should receive notifications when I have left comments. I also leave an appropriate assessment tool on the draft documents. After you have revised your work, assess yourself and submit the whole document to Sesame. Those of you who have submitted essays via Turnitin.com will be conferencing with me over the next few days.