Response to Bauerlein

Newsweek reviewed Mark Bauerlein's "The Dumbest Generation," taking issue with his assertion that digital culture is making us dumb.

Are you the dumbest generation?

An English professor at Emory University says you are.

Memoir: Beginnings and endings

Her are some ideas from our class discussion. To begin a memoir, you can -

* Start with a related memory that relates to the theme of your memoir
* Start with a snapshot
* Start at the beginning of the story with
- Context
- Action
- Dialogue
* Start in the middle or at the end, then go back to the beginning
* Foreshadow the event with a reflection, teaser sentence, or "thesis statement"

To end a memoir, you can -

* Reflect on what you learned, or how you felt
* End abruptly after resolving the key question or conflict
* End with a question or mystery relating to an unresolved question
* Recall a moment in the present that relates to your memory
* End with the last action or dialogue

However you end, it is a good idea to connect your ending to your beginning.

LeBron James, Memoirist

NBA star LeBron James's memoir, "Shooting Stars," comes out Tuesday. He had a little help writing his.

What is rhetoric?

Rhetoric is the art of effective communication. Usually we think of rhetoric in terms of communication intended to persuade, so we can also define rhetoric as the art of persuasion. Richard Norquist has gathered some definitions through the ages on his rhetoric page at about.com. Does it seem like the definition has changed over the years?

Most people have a negative connotation of rhetoric. But ethical and reasonable communication is also rhetoric.