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Cypress College, Spring 2019
English 103: Critical Reasoning and Writing, CRN# 22727
Professor Kathleen McAlister’s Contact Information:
Office: H-222M Phone/Voice Mail: 484-7000 x48426
Email:kmcalister@cypresscollege.edu
Virtual Office Hours: by email Monday-Thursday. I will respond within 24 hours.
Welcome to English 103! This course is designed to continue developing critical thinking, reading, and writing strategies beyond the level achieved in English 100. In large part, English 103 is an argument course focusing on some of the important issues that face our society today. This course will develop and sharpen your logical reasoning, analytical, and argumentative writing skills. English 103 is a valuable course in that the writing assignments provide needed experience in research and MLA documentation style for academic papers.
Prerequisite:English 100 with a grade of “C” or better.
Required Texts:
Wood, Nancy V. Perspectives on Argument. 9th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2018. ISBN: 13: 978-0-13-439288-2
You may purchase your textbooks through the campus bookstore in person or online at: http://www.cypresscollegebookstore.com/ or other Internet sites such as Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/
Course Description: English 103 is a college level course in written communication. It is designed to develop reading, critical thinking and writing strategies and requires the use of research and documentation.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of the course, each student will be able to: Read and critically evaluate college-level material from a variety of sources; Identify and analyze the structure of arguments; Evaluate the validity and soundness of arguments; Understand various rhetorical terms and principles; Identify common formal and informal fallacies of language and thought; Distinguish and use both deductive and inductive reasoning; Identify some of the deliberate abuses and manipulations of rhetoric; Identify factual statements from judgmental statements; identify knowledge from opinion; Draw sound inferences from data given in a variety of forms; Discover and evaluate outside sources for use in support of arguments; Substantially revise writing in response to the critiques of others.
Course Student Learning Outcomes:
1) In a research essay, students will demonstrate understanding of one critical thinking and writing model.
2) In a research essay, students will demonstrate an ability to write effective claims and provide well-reasoned and logical supports.
3) In a research essay, students will demonstrate an ability to understand and apply appropriate research methods and formatting.
Recommended Browser:
Please note that you may encounter difficulty with timed assignments (quizzes/essays) and the discussion board in Canvas if you do not use a supported browser to access the online course site (Canvas). Google Chrome provides the optiminal interface for both Mac and PC.
Canvas Login Information: This class is conducted through a Website called Canvas and is accessed through this web address: http://cypresscollege.instructure.com (NOTE: There is no “www” in the address. This web address is case and space sensitive.) You should bookmark this site, or put it in your favorites, for easy access. To login to the course site, you must type in your MyGateway ID and password. Your MyGateway ID is your student ID number–excluding the @ sign and all zeroes, for example, 00001234. Your password is the same one that you use to register for classes. If you forgot your password, you may have to reset it.
When you log into the Canvas website, the “dashboard” will open. There you will find the links to your online course(s) which will appear as colored rectangular boxes. Click on the “English 103: Critical Reasoning and Writing” course link and you will be taken to the course “Homepage.” To stay current with the class, it is important that you “check-in” at least once per week. You must participate in each weekly lesson by submitting homework assignments/an essay, taking a quiz, or posting responses to the discussion board forum for that week. Failure to do so will be interpreted as withdrawal from the course, and you will be dropped from the course site.
Academic Honesty Policy:
All students should read the Cypress College Academic Honesty Policy in the schedule of classes and be certain that they fully understand it (see the instructor for further clarification if necessary). Understanding the policy is essential, as academic dishonesty is a serious offence that carries heavy penalties. Note: Coursework, including essays, speeches, outlines, etc., previously submitted in any class (including this one) cannot be resubmitted in this class. Only original work will be accepted in this course. Students who submit previously submitted work will receive a zero on the assignment. All submitted work is also scanned by a plagiarism detection Website.
Academic Accommodations:
Disability Support Services (DSS): A student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact Disability Support Services at 714-484-7104 or visit DSS on the first floor of the Cypress College Complex, Room 100. For students who have already been determined eligible for DSS services, please provide the instructor with the proper form from DSS in a timely manner, at the beginning of the semester and at least one week prior to the verified and identified need.
Sexual Harassment/Discrimination Policy: Students who believe they have been subjected to unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment, or who seek information regarding the District’s Unlawful Discrimination Policy, should contact the Office of
the District Director of Human Resources at (714) 808-4818.
Topics, Assignments and Due Dates:The instructor reserves the right to change the following topics, assignments, and due dates if necessary. Check the course announcements weekly for any such changes. New assignments will be posted once a week after midnight Sundays. Each week’s assignments are due by 11:59 PM Sunday, and no late assignments will be accepted. New assignments will be posted after 12:00 AM Monday. Be sure to note due dates. The Internet DOES go down, computers DO crash, and glitches DO happen. Be prepared for these things and do your work with time to spare.
Grading Policy:
Your final grade will be calculated using the following scale:
115 points—quizzes (10 quizzes, 5-20 points each)
50 points–discussion questions (10 assignments, 5 points each)
50 points–MLA documentation research exercise (mandatory)
105 points—discussion board postings (11 forums, 5-10 points each)
450 points—formal essays (all mandatory)
Essay 1 (Issue Proposal) = 50 pts.
Essay 2 (Exploratory Paper) = 100 pts.
Essay 3 (Position Paper) = 100 pts.
Essay 4 (Research Project) = 200 pts.
English 103 is graded A-F based on a standard scale: 90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, 70-79%=C, 60-69%=D, <59%=F.
You may complete lesson assignments any time during the week they are assigned, but late assignments will not be accepted, and quizzes cannot be made up. In order to pass the class, you must complete ALL writing assignments (essays), and your research paper must meet the minimum requirements for that assignment. If you fail to complete any of the required elements for this course you will receive a non-passing grade.
Schedule of readings (subject to change):
Week 1—Lesson One—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 2/3
Purchase Textbook
Read “Course Overview” and “Syllabus”
Reading Quiz
Lesson One Discussion Forum
Complete Diagnostic Writing Sample
Week 2—Lesson Two—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 2/10
Read Chapter 1 “A Perspective on Argument”
Chapter 1 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Two Discussion Forum
Review “Issue Areas” and essay selections in “The Reader”: Chapters 15-21 (pages 406-506)
Review Instructions for Essay 1–Issue Proposal
Week 3—Lesson Three—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 2/17
Read Chapter 2 “The Rhetorical Situation”
Chapter 2 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Three Discussion Forum
Begin Writing Essay 1–Issue Proposal
Week 4—Lesson Four—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 2/24
Read Chapter 3 “Reading, Thinking, and Writing about Issues”
Chapter 3 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Four Discussion Forum
Submit Essay 1–Issue Proposal due
Week 5—Lesson Five—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 3/3
Read Chapter 4 “The Essential Parts of an Argument: The Toulmin Model”
Chapter 4 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Five Discussion Forum
Begin research for Essay 2–Exploratory Paper
Week 6—Lesson Six—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 3/10
Read Chapter 5 “Types of Claims”
Chapter 5 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Six Discussion Forum
Begin writing Essay 2–Exploratory Paper
Week 7—Lesson Seven—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 3/17
Read selections from Chapter 11 “The Research Paper: Planning, Research, and Invention” (sections 11.5-11.8) on locating and evaluating sources.
Read selections from Chapter 12 “The Research Paper: Using Sources, Writing, and Revising” (section 12.4) on incorporating research into your first draft.
In the Appendix to Chapter 12, read “How to Document Sources Using MLA Style,” (sections 12.1-12.3) and make note of the formatting guidelines in the sample research paper on pages 348-357.
Complete the MLA documentation style research quiz.
Week 8—Lesson Eight—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 3/24
Submit Essay 2–Exploratory Paper due
Week 9—Lesson Nine—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 3/31
Read Chapter 6 “Types of Proof”
Chapter 6 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Nine Discussion Forum
Review Instructions for Essay 3–Position Paper
Week 10—Lesson Ten—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 4/7
Read Chapter 7 “The Fallacies and Ethical Argument”
Chapter 7 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Ten Discussion Forum
Complete pre-writing for Essay 3–Position Paper
Week 11—Lesson Eleven—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 4/14
Read Chapter 8 “Multimodal Argument”
Chapter 8 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Eleven Discussion Forum
Begin writing Essay 3–Position Paper
Week 12—Lesson Twelve—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 4/28
Submit Essay 3–Position Paper due
Week 13—LessonThirteen—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 5/5
Read Chapter 9 “Rogerian Argument and Common Ground”
Chapter 9 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Thirteen Discussion Forum
Review Instructions for Essay 4–Research Paper
Week 14—LessonFourteen—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 5/12
Read Chapter 10 “Review and Synthesis of Argument Strategies”
Chapter 10 Review Question(s)
Reading Quiz
Lesson Fourteen Discussion Forum
Begin writing Essay 4–Research Paper
Week 15—Lesson Fifteen—Due 11:59pm, Sunday, 5/19
Submit Essay 4–Research Paper due
Dear Online Student,
Welcome to English 103 Online! Please print out and then read this letter carefully as it contains important information for you to be successful in this course. It also provides the username and password information you will need to access our Canvas course site.
English 103 is an argument course focusing on some of the important issues that face our society today. This course will develop and sharpen your logical reasoning, analytical, and argumentative writing skills. English 103 is a valuable course in that the writing assignments provide needed experience in research and MLA documentation style for academic papers.
This 15-week online course is conducted according to a regular schedule with specific assignments and due dates from January 28—May 19. Failure to check-in at least once per week will be interpreted as a withdrawal from the course, and you will be dropped from the Canvas course site. Therefore, if you become ill, or have other circumstances that make it impossible for you to complete the assignments/discussion for a week’s lesson, you should email me and explain your situation so that you will not be dropped.
Please note that students must log in to the Canvas course site on or before midnight on the first day of class (1/28) to remain enrolled. Students who do not complete the first week’s assignments will also be treated as a “no shows.”
Things to do now:
- Purchase the textbook required for this course:
Wood, Nancy V. Perspectives on Argument. 9th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2018. ISBN: 13: 978-0-13-439288-2
You may purchase your textbook through the campus bookstore in person or online: http://www.cypresscollegebookstore.com. You will need your textbook to complete the lesson two assignments.
- Add my name and email address—Kathleen McAlister, kmcalister@cypresscollege.edu to your email address book immediately to ensure receipt of any “bulk” emails I send to the class. (I will send the class emails on a weekly basis; you cannot participate in this class if you do not have an email account. You should check your email at least once a day to make sure that you receive any urgent messages or notices from me.)
- Download a compatible browser to use when accessing the Canvas course site: You will encounter difficulty with timed assignments quizzes, essays, and the discussion board in Canvas if you do not use a supported browser to access the site. Google Chrome provides the best Canvas interface for both MAC and PC. Internet Explorer and Firefox are fully supported; Safari also works for MAC users. Make sure you have the most updated version of your preferred browser.
- Read “How to Send Email” below:
All of your emails to me must include the following:
- Subject box—the subject box should include the course in which you’re enrolled and a brief summation of the content of the email. For instance: “English 103 and question about Midterm.”
- Use salutations. Begin your email to me with one of the following: “Professor McAlister,” or “Hello Kathleen.”
- Use standard English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. This is a writing course, and text message-style abbreviations, sentence fragments, etc., are inappropriate.
I respond to all emails sent Monday-Thursday within 24 hours. If you send an email Friday-Sunday you may not receive a reply until the following Monday. I urge you, therefore, to carefully review each week’s lesson on Monday, and make sure that you email me early in the week if you have any questions about that week’s assignments.
- Login to Canvas, host of our course site, on or before 1/28 to confirm that there are no access issues:
- Go to http://cypresscollege.instructure.com (Please note: there is no www in this URL.)
- When prompted, enter your Mygateway ID number and password. Your Mygateway ID is your banner/student ID number excluding the “@” sign, for example: 00001234. Your password is the same password that you use for Mygateway.
- If you forgot your password, click the link “forgot your password” below the login. You may have to “reset” your password if it is less than eight characters; there is a reset link on the login page.
- When the “dashboard” appears, you will see a colored rectangular box for our course and any other Canvas courses you are enrolled in.
- To enter our English 103 course site, click on the box/link to English 103: Critical Reasoning and Writing. You will be taken to the “Home” page of our course site, and you can read my “welcome” message there.
- Print out and review our course syllabus. Once you have entered the course site, you will see navigation links to the left of your screen. Click on the “Syllabus” navigation link to access the course syllabus.
- You may begin lesson one any time after 1/28. Follow the instructions on the home page when you’re ready to begin “Lesson One,” and make sure that you complete all of the assignments for “Lesson One” before midnight on Sunday, 2/3.
If you have any problems, please contact me for help. And if you have any questions regarding the above or concerning the class, please email me immediately.
I’m looking forward to seeing you in class!
Kathleen McAlister