This course focuses on the development of critical thinking skills. Students will apply these skills to the analysis of written arguments in various forms and genres, both classic and contemporary, and to the writing of effective persuasive essays. Students will learn to evaluate and interpret data, to recognize assumptions, to distinguish facts from opinions, to identify and avoid logical fallacies, to employ deductive and inductive reasoning, and to effectively assert and support argumentative claims. Language is a Trojan Horse" - Jed Rasula, The American Poetry Wax Museum.
Evaluate arguments in terms of bias, credibility, and relevance.
Assess an argument's claims by examining assumptions, by differentiating between facts and inferences, by recognizing errors in logic, by analyzing support, and by identifying both explicit and implied conclusions.
Recognize and assess argumentative claims embedded in literary works, advertisements, political tracts, and presentations in other media.
Express critical viewpoints and develop original arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.
Demonstrate the ability to evaluate electronic sources and databases, to incorporate research from on-line and print media, and to compose unified, coherent, fully supported argumentative essays that advance their claims by integrating primary and secondary sources, and by employing the tools of critical interpretation, evaluation, and analysis.
SLO #1 Compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources.
SLO #2 Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.
SLO #3 Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.
The Seagull Reader: Essays. Joseph Kelly
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned. Walter Mosley
The Things They Carried. Tim O'Brien
1984. George Orwell
Three Formal Essays, each worth 200 points
One Annotated Works Cited paper, worth 100 points
One Formal Argument Paper, worth 300 points
Two Socratic Seminars, each worth 200 points
Participation, worth 100 points
All outlines, drafts and papers are due on the date assigned on the syllabus.
Midterm and Final exams must be taken on the day that they are given because classroom participation is an integral part of these examinations. If you know that you are going to be absent on the date of an exam, schedule an appointment to take the test ahead of time. Makeup exams, while permitted, shall be marked down 10%, no exceptions. There is no makeup for the final exam.
Quizzes shall be administered at the beginning of classes. All quizzes must be taken in class and on the time and date that they are assigned. I do not publish the dates when you will be quizzed. As a result, it is imperative that you keep current on class readings because you will never know when I will bust out a pop quiz on you. There are no make up quizzes, no exceptions.
Late outlines and / or drafts shall not be accepted. On the day that an outline or a draft is due, you must be present in class, with a printed copy of your outline or draft, ready to work in peer-editing groups. An outline comprises 10% of your final grade on an assignment. Similarly, a Rough Draft is equal to 10% of your final grade on an assignment. Not being in class with your outline shall result in a 10% deduction from your final grade on that assignment. Failing to attend class with your Completed Rough Draft Shall result in a 10% deduction from your final grade on that assignment.
Final Essays handed in late shall be marked down 10%, no exceptions. If you know that you are going to miss class when an essay is due, make sure that you hand it in early.
To Wit: If you don't turn in an outline, a rough draft, and turn in your final draft late, THE BEST grade you can expect is 70% because you will have lost 10% of your grade for not turning in your Outline, another 10% for not turning in your Rough Draft, and a final 10% because you turned in the Completed Assignment late.
Bottom line: it is vitally important to be in class on the days when outlines and drafts are to be turned in.
Assignments shall be graded on a point system for turned in work. Assignments NOT turned in shall count as a ZERO. Simply put, it is far better to turn in something and receive a D or an F on it than to turn in nothing. At least a D or an F means that you did SOMETHING. As a result, you will receive a grade that is less than 70% on the assignment. However, if you turned in NOTHING, then you receive a 0% on the assignment. Zeroes are incredibly hard to come back from. Make sure you turn in something for every assignment.
Students are expected to attend their classes regularly. Students who miss the first class meeting or who are not in regular attendance during the add period for the class may be dropped by the instructor. Students whose absences from a class exceed 10% of the scheduled class meeting times may be dropped by the instructor. However, students are responsible for dropping a class within the deadlines published in the class schedule. PLEASE NOTE: MORE THAN THREE ABSENCES may result in the thrice-absented student being dropped from the class. Please discuss with me any anticipated absences.
Consistent and faithful attendance and participation in this class is a must. Regular exams and frequent quizzes on readings shall be administered to ensure consistent in-class participation. I will try to vary class activities so that everyone will be able to actively participate. It is crucial that you read all assignments by the dates given to you so that you will be able to fully participate. We may not always be able to cover everything assigned for reading in our class discussions, but you will still be responsible for all of them.
By now, many of you have possibly taken composition classes in which you have shared your writing with peer group members and/or the entire class. However, some of you may have reservations about sharing your writing with others. I strongly believe, and I think you will find, that a key to developing your writing skills is interaction with your peers. As editors of each other's work, you will learn to critique and improve the texts of others, thus internalizing skills necessary for strengthening your own writing effectiveness. From time to time, I may choose to read one of your papers aloud to class, or-better still-to have you read your paper aloud to the class. This is not meant to embarrass you; rather, I choose papers that demonstrate the landmarks of good college-level writing. I will ask permission before I read from a paper, and you will not be penalized for choosing not to have your paper read.
El Camino College places a high value on the integrity of its student scholars. When your instructor determines that there is evidence of dishonesty in any academic work (including, but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, or theft of exam materials), disciplinary action appropriate to the misconduct as defined in BP 5500 may be taken. A failing grade on an assignment in which academic dishonesty has occurred and suspension from class are among the disciplinary actions for academic dishonesty (per AP 5520).
This particular instructor defines plagiarism as the use of someone else’s words or ideas without acknowledging the sources from which they came. Because you will be working with many readings in your writing assignments, you must be careful to cite other people’s words and ideas that you incorporate—by way of quotation, paraphrase, and / or summary—into your essays. If you fail to do this, it is plagiarism.
Cheating on exams or quizzes is considered academic dishonesty, and it is unacceptable. This plagiarism, another form of academic dishonesty; it is likewise unacceptable. Plagiarizing on any assignments shall most definitely earn the scholarly transgressor a ZERO on that particular assignment.
Students with any further questions about the Academic Honesty and Plagiarism policies are encouraged to speak with their instructor in advance.
It is the policy of the El Camino Community College District to encourage full inclusion of people with disabilities in all programs and services. Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class should contact the campus Special Resource Center (310) 660-3295 as soon as possible. This will ensure that students are afforded as many opportunities to participate as possible.
Please be advised that if you reveal child abuse, child neglect, or gender-based or sexual misconduct (including harassment, sexual assault, stalking, or intimate partner violence) to any instructor, we are required by law to report the problem to the Office of Staff and Student Diversity. However, psychologists are not required to report your incident. To speak confidentially with a psychologist, contact the Student Health Center for an appointment: 310.660.3643. For more information on this subject, please visit http://www.elcamino.edu/about/depts/diversity/misconduct.aspx (Links to an external site.).
Consult a classroom peer for any missed information and / or missed class notes:
Peer _________________________ ECC email ______________________________
Peer _________________________ ECC email ______________________________
Peer _________________________ ECC email ______________________________
I have very high expectations of classroom behavior and will prevent any activity that is interfering with the learning experience of all students. Please respect your classroom, your peers, and yourself by
behaving professionally and respectfully at all times. The following is a paitial list of unacceptable activities from ECC's Behavior Guidelines:
1. Cheating, Plagiarism
2. Tardiness
3. Profanity
4. Pornography
5. Private conversations or inappropriate displays of affection
6. Uncooperativeness
7. Continually leaving one's seat
8. Reading unrelated materials
9. Use of ANY unauthorized electronic devices
There is a discipline process for violations of the Student Code of Conduct. I don't anticipate that we will have any incidents, but if you have any concerns about any of the classroom rules, please come see me before the drop deadline.