IAH 206Project One
Dr. Mike Ristich
Are science fiction movies credible sources of information about AI? Why/why not?
Rhetorical Situation
You should imagine yourself writing a blog post for the website of The Partnership on AI.
This should help you think about audience,
style, and delivery.
Rhetorical Situation Cont.
The film you watched will serve as your main source of invention. As such, your audience will need a summary. Too, you’ll need to provide an analysis of the film.
Rhetorical Invention
Rhetorical Invention Cont. (Analysis)
What was the tone/style of the film? How did the
representations of AI contribute to that style/tone?
How was AI portrayed in the film? Was AI a problem? What
was its relationship to humans?
W h
at w ere th
e ch
aracteristics of A I?
W h
at w
as t
h e
p lo
t?
How did people in the film interact with the AI? How did the AI interact with humans?
When was the film made?
Remember, to analyze means to break an object into its constituent parts.
Why do you think the film was made the way it was? Does your analysis support that interpretation?
Rhetorical Invention (Interpretation)
Remember, to interpret means to develop an explanation of how an object is constructed.
After developing a nuanced sense of your film
(summary, analysis, and interpretation), you can
compare your knowledge to the readings we’ve done.
Rhetorical Invention (synthesis)
Remember, to synthesize means to put things together in order to create and test knowledge.
When comparing the film to our readings, are there things that are similar, different, or somewhere in- between?
Rhetorical Invention (Synthesis Cont)
It’s at this point–where we’ve learned (through summary-analysis-interpretation) about the object
(film), and compared it to other bodies of knowledge (synthesis), that we can generate a new perspective.
Now you should have an answer to the question
you’ve been asked to answer?:
Is science fiction a credible source of knowledge of AI?
Why or why not?
New Knowledge? Anwers?
“Science fiction is (not) a credible source for knowlege of AI because…”
Turn your synthesis into a thesis & claims. Turn your analysis of the film and our readings into evidence.
The rest is up to you.
Make sure each section (introduction, summary, analysis, conclusion) of your writing does the appropriate
rhetorical work.
Of course, you’ll also be able to summarize,
analyze, interpret, synthesize, and
evaluate your essays’s effectiveness in your
cover letter. Email me with any questions:
