Below is a working draft of a rhetorical listening paper based on Temple Grandin's "This I Believe" essay. Notice that this rough draft borrows heavily from the discussion board posts from Lessons 5 and 6. You can use those discussions to "jump-start" your essay. You'll need to continue to elaborate, revise, and edit as you move through the paper cycle. But, this gives you an idea of how to get started when writing your own essay!

(And, you'll also see the metatext in brackets in the rough draft. It's helpful to leave notes to yourself if you're struggling to finish a section, to know where you need to revise later, or to know where to add more support. In Lesson 8, you'll see more development and some of these textual markers addressed.)

__________

Introduction:

XXX [Paragraph with a brief summary of Grandin's essay "Seeing in Beautiful, Precise Pictures" introducing it to unfamiliar readers...]

Grandin's thesis in her essay is that her autism allows her to see and experience the world differently. This difference has helped her develop more humane slaughterhouses that promote the ethical treatment of cattle. To understand Grandin's thesis, it is important for readers to understand that 1) people with autism have not always been treated with dignity and 2) that it's important that we treat autistic individuals with dignity, respect, and compassion because when we do all of our lives are enriched for it.

Discussion 1 [need to change]:

In order to understand Grandin's essay and how her autism allowed her to see the world differently, it is important for readers to understand how mistreated and stigmatized people with autism have historically been in American society. In Inventing the Feeble Mind, James W. Trent, Jr. describes how in the 19th century and earlier, people with mental impairments lived at home and were cared for during their entire lives by the families, but in the 20th century, state-run institutions became more common. The result is that people with cognitive impairments were institutionalized, abandoned, and left to suffer in overcrowded and underfunded group homes (3-4). This was also the case for Grandin, who shares in her book, Thinking in Pictures, how her mother was encouraged to give up custody of Grandin to an institution because Grandin was difficult to manage and her outbursts were sometimes very aggressive. [more from the book here... quote for support?]

Unfortunately, the cultural logic that autistic people were not smart, capable, and meaningful members of society was often reiterated in doctors' medicals school textbooks, in parenting literature, and in film. For example, many Americans learned about autism in the 1980s and 90s from the film, RainMan, and Raymond's character was removed from his family and living in an institution. [connect to Grandin here] While a pervasive cultural logic was that those with autism were burdens on their families and should be hidden from society, Grandin's experience, as illustrated in her essay and book, shows that we have historically treated autistic people very badly.

Discussion 2:

Grandin's essay shows that previous cultural logics were wrong and that, rather than locking them away from society in an institution, autistic people should be integrated into society. Grandin's essay promotes the dignity of people with autism and offers readers the opportunity to see how, while not every autistic person is capable of getting a Ph.D. as Grandin did, autistic people should still have enriching and fulfilling experiences with families and friends. They should have job opportunities that are appropriate to their abilities because work means dignity, fulfillment, and community. For example, ... [need to finish this paragraph with an example from Grandin's life and another paragraph/example of other autistic people who have lived happy lives]

Conclusion:

XXX [need to write this]