Syllabus

Mt. Hood Community College
WR 122 English Composition: Critical Thinking   Class time: 2:40- 4:30 p.m.
Humanities Division – Spring 2015 – 4 Credits
Instructor: Joe Van Zutphen   Email: Joe.VanZutphen@mhcc.edu
Office and mailbox: Humanities Division, AC 1582 Office Hours: 12:00 – 1:00 TTH
Blogspot: http://wr122mhccvanzutphen.blogspot.com/

COURSE INFORMATION _________________________________________________________________________

MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE MISSION STATEMENT

A commitment to the community: Mt. Hood Community College affords all people a knowledge-based education, giving them the ability to make life choices: adapt to change; build strong communities; contribute to and derive benefit from the new economy; and become part of a skilled workforce.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This four-credit class is designed to focus on specific ways to develop critical argumentative essays.  These essays will be in response to increasingly complex contexts, competing arguments and issues in politics, rhetoric, media, and philosophical issues. The practice and mastery will revolve around concise theses, adept organization, and effective reasoning, while using academically sound grammar and sentence structure. Students will learn to find appropriate, reliable sources in a variety of contexts in order to write research essays.

PREREQUISITE: Completion of WR 121 with C or better

Instructional Methods Used:

Writing 122 is a class best taught by a combination of instructional methods. The method students will encounter most frequently is the class discussion, in which the teacher is not so much a lecturer as a facilitator of student conversation. We will use class discussion to explore the issues we will be writing about. Additionally, students will often evaluate their writing or explore class concepts using small group discussions or workshops. On a few occasions during the quarter I will give formal lectures, particularly to explain grammar or citation concepts. Finally, and most importantly, students will spend a good deal of time writing in class, both as a tool for discovery, for assessment of student ability, and for practicing our writing skills.

Course Requirements:

The bulk of the work for this class will involve reading challenging, college-level essays and articles, as well as writing several essays, summaries, responses, and other writing assignments. More specifically, you will write four essays over the course of the quarter, three of which will be written as take home assignments over a period of roughly two weeks each. The other essay will be in-class writing exams which will occur at midterm and during finals week. Each of these essay assignments will be different, with different length requirements, structures, and topics, though all will require that you analyze the topic critically and respond to it with college-level writing.

In addition to your writing essays and tests, I will ask you to practice your writing with shorter day-to-day assignments. Most of these assignments will be short—summaries, reader responses, and the like—and you will submit them for a quick “check-off” grade. For some assignments, I may ask you to provide evidence of active reading or to fill out a brief grammar exercise, but most of the day-to-day assignments will involve writing. Research (and common sense) suggests that if you want to be a better writer you must write, and these day-to-day assignments offer you an opportunity to practice your skills.

Finally, because good writing depends so much on revision, I will ask you to help one another revise essays by working in peer response groups. These groups will meet several times during the class and you will be graded on the quality of your participation in these groups.

Grading

As you can see by the grade scale below, your work is graded more heavily at the end of the quarter than at the beginning. This is deliberate. It really isn’t very important to me how strong (or weak) a writer and reader you are at the beginning of the quarter; what matters to me is how much you learn in this class and how competently you can write at the end.

Assignment	Points of Final Grade
Take-Home Essay 1	20
Take-Home Essay 2	25
In-Class Essay 3	15
Take-Home Essay 4	45
In-Class Exam 1	10
In-Class Exam 2	10
In-class writing and other homework	25
Peer response, attendance, participation	30 180

I accept no assignments via e-mail.

Points and Final grades

162 -- 180 = A

144 -- 161 = B

126 – 143 = C

108 – 125 = D

Below 108 = F

Regarding the question of how these assignments will be graded, the end of this syllabus contains a chart of my grading criteria for the essays and day-to-day assignments. I will also post documents soon that describe these grading criteria in greater detail. Your peer response participation grade will depend on the quality and quantity of written comments and suggestions you make on your classmates’ papers during peer response workshops.

All students have the opportunity to turn in any one assignment up to five days late without incurring a grade penalty. There’s a One-Time-Only-Due-Date-Extender to fill out and email to me; you can find it on the class web page (http://wr122vanzutphen.blogspot.com/). Once you have used this permission, though, any other late assignments you turn in late will not be accepted. Note that the permission slip is good for turning in only ONE paper up to five days late. Papers are due at the start of class and an assignment that is turned in later that day is considered a day late. Please understand also that I will always grade assignments which have been turned in on time before I will grade a late assignment; therefore, if you turn in an assignment late, it will not be graded as promptly. Finally, keep in mind that no late assignment may be turned in for any reason after the last regular class day of the quarter.

Texts and Materials

 Required text: Envision. Alfano. ISBN 9780205758470 Publisher Longman. Ed. 4

Other Materials:

You will need to have access to a computer with a word processor and an Internet connection. Don’t despair if you don’t own a computer: there are many computer labs at MHCC for student use. While we’re on the subject, it’s a good idea to save your work in two places, such as on a thumb drive and in an email account: please back up your work frequently, as essays which are erased/virus-infected/eaten by computers are your responsibility.

Finally, you’ll need some kind of paper notebook or folder for day-to-day writing. A single spiral bound notebook should be fine.

Class Policies

Attendance: Please come to class and be on time. While I am happy to work with students who must miss a class because of a genuine emergency, students simply will not do well in the course if they make a habit of missing class. You only get one chance this quarter to turn your work in late, and a good share of your final grade corresponds to work you will be doing in class. Also, students are given credit for peer response workshops only if they participate in the workshops during class time. In short, you need to be here regularly if you want to do well. I will be taking attendance to encourage your staying caught up with the challenging class material. Students may miss up to five class days for any reason; after that, each subsequent absence will lower the student’s overall grade by 3%. Students who have missed more than ten class days will automatically receive a final class grade of C- or lower.

The only exception to these rules occurs in the first week of the quarter. During that time, in accordance with English department policy, I will drop any student who misses a class during the first two class meetings and does not get in touch with me.

Class Courtesy: Having a safe and civil atmosphere for learning depends on all of us. When we speak with one another, especially when disagreeing, it is vital that we do so with mutual respect. Students who are disruptive or abusive towards others may be asked to leave the class. On a related note, it is both disruptive and rude to leave your cell phone on in the classroom. Please turn it off when you come to class.

Plagiarism: Students who copy the words or ideas of any other writer without acknowledging the original author of those words or ideas are engaging in plagiarism. Plagiarism is grounds for failing this course. One of the goals of this course is to understand how to use information effectively and ethically in your writing. Once those concepts have been introduced, any instances of plagiarism will result in severe grade penalties for the student. In most cases, these penalties lead to failure of the class.

For more information about the English department’s plagiarism policy, please follow this link:

http://www.clark.edu/Library/PDF/eng_dept_statement_plagiarism.pdf

Americans with Disabilities Act Accommodations:

Please allow the kind and helpful people in the Disabilities Services Office to guide you in documenting your disability and in helping you attain the accommodations that you need to succeed in college. Please do contact this office or stop by to make an appointment.   FOR ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT MHCC POLICIES AND SAFETY INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE: http://home.mhcc.edu/office_of_instruction/pdf%20forms/syllabus_addendum_Gresham_Bruning.pdf TUTORING Many of you may wish to work with a tutor periodically throughout this course. In some cases, I may require that you do so. FREE tutoring is available through the Learning Success Center in AC 3300 on the third floor above the Library. Call 503-491-7108 for an appointment. Keep in mind that tutors are not there to proofread your work. When visiting with a tutor, please make sure to bring your textbook so the tutor understands what assignment you are working on and try to be as specific as possible as to what you want help with. Also, don’t wait till the last minute to seek out tutoring; the tutoring/learning process doesn’t work if you try to meet with a tutor the day your assignment is due. The LSC also offers individual learning skills consultation and academic success seminars. The LSC Computer Lab is available for individual academic use and has a variety of skill-building software available.

Tentative Schedule

Date		Class Activities		What’s Due?
Week 1		Introduction to the course; discussion of syllabus; discussion of active reading and summaries; introduction to writing process. Essay 1 assigned.		Diagnostic       Writing
Week 2		Sentence grammar review; introduction to peer response; review of paragraphing; discussion of common reading for essay 1. Peer response of essay 1.		Essay 1
Week 3		Review of comma usage; basic citation methods introduced; The Aristotelian Rhetoric; discussion of revision strategies. Essay 2 assigned.
Week 4		The Rogerian argument; discussion of common readings for essay 2; peer response of essay 2.		Essay 2
Week 5		Essay 3 assigned. Discussion of common readings for essay 3. Practice with impromptu writing.		In-Class Exam 1
Week 6		Discussion of common readings for essay 3; peer response for essay 3. Practice with impromptu writing.		Essay 3
Week 7		Essay 4 assigned. Advanced citation methods introduced; evaluating logic; Toulmin analysis. Discussion of common readings for essay 4;
Week 8
	Peer response for essay 4; discussion of logical fallacies; discussion of writing style.
Week 9	Discussion of common readings for essay 4; peer response for essay 4; discussion of logical fallacies; discussion of writing style.		Essay 4
Week 10 Week 11	Review and final revisions; final practice on impromptu writing Final exam		In-class exam 2

What Makes a Good Writing 122 Essay?

Most students can read another student’s essay and tell whether it is good or not so good. Just like teachers, when you read a classmate’s work you get a first impression about whether the essay is strong or weak. However, answering why an essay is strong or weak becomes more difficult. Though this is a difficult question to answer when looking at a classmate’s essay, it is an even tougher question to apply to your own writing.

What follows is a brief list of qualities that make your writing strong. When looking at another student’s writing or evaluating your own, think of the essay in these terms. If you ever wonder why you received a certain grade on an essay in this class, the answer has to do with the qualities listed below.

Focus: A well-focused essay speaks about one main topic, called the thesis, and does not stray from it. In the case of short 101 essays, this main topic can often be identified in a single statement in the essay, called the thesis statement. Even when there is no single explicit thesis statement, however, the essay should be focused around a single idea. The main topic of the essay is not so broad that you cannot explore it fully in your paper; also, it is not so narrow that you cannot develop it (for more on development, see below). Though you may write an essay of many paragraphs with many different arguments and pieces of evidence, everything in the essay should ultimately support your main idea.

Development: An essay is well developed when every claim you make is supported by evidence of some kind, as well as by a sound and logical argument. This evidence should be appropriate to the argument you are making, relevant to the case at hand, and reputable. In addition, a good writer uses logic that is sound and well thought-out. A well-developed essay does not claim anything to be true without offering evidence to show why or how it is true.

Audience Awareness: Good writers tailor their essays towards the needs of the audience, or reader. For example, a good writer chooses a tone that does not insult or talk down to the reader; similarly, good essays are written at a level that the audience is likely to be able to comprehend. In other words, a writer with good audience awareness writes in a style that is readable and which sounds natural. In all communication, what we mean to say and what we actually do say can be very different things; however, good writers work hard to minimize this difference. A writer with good audience awareness also does not make unfair assumptions about the reader’s gender, race, religion, class, sexuality, or value system.

Organization: Strong essays are well organized into paragraphs. Each paragraph focuses on a single idea—often this one idea can be conveyed in a single topic sentence—and displays a logical strategy for conveying its information. Each paragraph should be unified by intelligent use of transitions and key words. Similarly, a good writer uses transitions to link paragraphs into a sequence. This sequence of paragraphs should be logical and should serve to support the essay’s thesis.

Correctness: Strong essays display correct sentence grammar, punctuation, sentence unity, agreement, syntax, and spelling. While it is normal for English 101 students to make grammatical mistakes once in a while, by the time you finish this class you should have pretty strong control over sentence structure and sentence form.

Research and Citations: When it’s called for, students should know how to find outside information to support their arguments. They should also know how to cite this outside information correctly, giving proper credit wherever another writer’s words were used.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Academic Discourse and Conventions
A. Engage in and value a respectful and free exchange of ideas.
B. Practice active reading of challenging college-level texts, including: annotation, cultivation/development of vocabulary, objective summary, identification, and analysis of the thesis and main ideas of source material
C. Participate in class discussion and activities; speak, read, respond, and listen reflectively, recognizing self as part of a larger community and the stakeholders in an issue
D. Appreciate and reflect on challenging points of view through reading and writing; fairly and objectively measure a writer’s viewpoint against personal experience and assumptions and the experience of others
E. Identify, explain, and evaluate basic structural components of written arguments such as claims, support, evidence, rebuttal, refutation, and final appeal
F. Evaluate elements of argument such as logic, credibility, evidence, psychological appeals, and fallacies, and distinguish differences among observations, inferences, fact, and opinion
G. Use appropriate technologies in the service of writing and learning. For example: use word processing tools to prepare and edit formal writing assignments (spell check/grammar check, find and replace); understand the limitations of such tools; locate course materials and resources online; and use online communication tools such as e-mail
H. Word process and format final drafts with appropriate headings, titles, spacing, margins, demonstrating an understanding of MLA citation style
I. Demonstrate the ability to use Edited Standard Written English to address an academic audience
J. Use a writer's handbook and/or other resources with increasing sophistication for style, grammar, citation, and documentation

2. Organization, Thesis and Development
A. Use argument as a means of inquiry as well as persuasion
B. Try more than one organizational strategy in essay drafts considering multiple implications of various claims
C. Write well-focused and logically organized essays, using introductions, transitions, discussion, and conclusions in which the relationship of ideas to one another is clear
D. Support conclusions with evidence by using appropriate outside sources, presenting good reasons, showing logical relationships, clarifying inferences, choosing appropriate language, and using the most convincing evidence for the target audience
E. Use the elements of formal argumentation
F. Select appropriate methods for developing ideas in paragraphs and essays, such as analysis, facts, explanations,
examples, descriptions, quotations, and/or narratives
G. Thoroughly develop and support an argumentative thesis with a balanced and insightful presentation of evidence

3. Audience, Purpose, and Voice
Apply rhetorical competence:
a. Evaluate the effectiveness of audience analysis in written arguments
b. Assess audience’s knowledge, assumptions, beliefs, values, attitudes, and needs and respond with appropriate
c. voice, tone, and level of formality
d. Assess and question personal knowledge, beliefs and assumptions
e. Make conscious choices about how to project oneself as a writer
f. Articulate varying points of view, particularly opposing ones, in a fair and objective way
g. Anticipate and prepare for reactions to written work by audiences outside the classroom

4. Writing Process
A. Explore the ideas of others in both informal and formal writing
B. Recognize that strong organization, thesis, and development result from a recursive writing process
C. Define and focus original and specific topics that reflect curiosity and interest
D. Develop substantial essays through a flexible writing process, making controlled rhetorical choices at all stages, from exploration, research and invention, through drafting, peer review, revision, editing, and proofreading
E. Work effectively and collaboratively with other writers to evaluate and revise essays, sharing work in process and providing constructive feedback to others according to established guidelines
F. Reflect on own problem solving process and use self-assessment to improve writing
G. Work through multiple drafts of several longer pieces of writing with time to separate the acts of writing and revising and improve essays through revision
H. Revise essay drafts to emphasize a claim, considering what support is appropriate to the purpose of essay
I. Develop discipline and organizational skills necessary to pursue an in-depth writing and research project
K. Use available writing assistance

5. Research and Documentation
A. Use library resources, online databases, and the internet to locate information and evidence, recognizing that there are different resources available for different purposes/subjects
B. Use some advanced research techniques to locate sources (subject indexes, Boolean search terms, etc.)
C. Record and organize information resources to track the research process
D. Demonstrate an ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources in a manner that distinguishes the writer's voice from that of his/her sources and that gives evidence of understanding the implications of choosing one method of representing a source's ideas over another
E. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate source material for authority, currency, reliability, bias, sound reasoning, and validity of evidence. These abilities may include but are not limited to: distinguishing between observation, fact, inference; understanding invalid evidence, bias, fallacies, and unfair emotional appeals; distinguishing between objective and subjective approaches
F. Assemble a bibliography using a discipline-appropriate documentation style

The One-Time-Only Due-Date Extender

Instructions: Fill in your name, the date, and the name of the assignment you’d like to turn in late or make up. Then attach the form to the same email that you are using to turn in your assignment.

 I am requesting permission to turn in the attached assignment, or make up a missed test, up to three calendar days late with no grade penalty. I agree not to ask for extensions on any other assignments I may turn in for this class, and I understand that any other assignment I turn in after the class period in which it is due, for whatever reason, will not be accepted.

 Note: no assignments will be accepted for any reason after the last regular day of classes (i.e. no assignments are accepted during finals week).

 ___________________________________

Name of assignment

 ___________________________________

Name of student

 ___________________________________ Date:____________