Critical Thinker

McMahon English 1C Critical Thinking Syllabus Spring 2016

McMahon English 1C Critical Thinking Syllabus Spring 2016

Email: [email protected]  

Office: H121P; extension 5673  

Office Hours: M and W: 2:45-3:45 and 5:30-6; T and TH 12:30-1 and 3:30-4:15  

Students with Disabilities: 

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.  

Course Catalog Description:      

 

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.

 

Course Objectives:  

 

1. Evaluate arguments in terms of bias, credibility, and relevance.
2. 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.
3. Recognize and assess argumentative claims embedded in literary works, advertisements, political tracts, and presentations in other media.
4. Express critical viewpoints and develop original arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.
5. 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. 

 

Student Learning Outcomes:

 

Upon completion of this course, students will:

 

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.
2. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.
3. Write an essay that is correct in MLA format, paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.  

 

Essay Requirements: 

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.  

Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  

Three.  This paper will be approximately 5-6 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement. 

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.  

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary. 

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Course Catalog Description:         

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. 

English 1C Grammar Policy and Grading

Students in English 1C are expected to write clear, college-level essays with logical paragraph composition and sentence structure as well as correct grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation. If you feel you cannot be successful in this class due to struggles with grammar or other elements of essay composition, please see the instructor as early as possible to discuss resources and strategies for your improvement.  

Policy on Plagiarism   

Any attempt to commit fraud, misrepresenting someone else’s writing as your own, including turning in essays from previous semesters, will result in an automatic F grade, zero points, which mathematically, will disqualify you from earning a grade higher than a C for the semester. You will not be allowed to rewrite for a higher grade and because of the breach of trust it will be preferred that you drop the class. I will use turnitin to investigate plagiarism.  

Each essay must be submitted to www.turnitin.com where it will be checked for illegal copying/plagiarism.

 I cannot give credit for an essay that is not submitted to this site by the deadline.   

The process is very simple; if you need help, detailed instructions are available at http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/student-quickstart-guide 

You will need two pieces of information to use the site:  

Class ID and Enrollment Password, which I’ll give you first week of class. 

Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade  

Books You Need for This Class:

One. From Inquiry to Academic Writing, Third Edition, by Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky

Two. The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike

Three. Rules for Writers, 8th Edition, edited by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers

Other Materials: 4 large blue books for in-class writing exams

All 4 Typed Essays Need 3 credible sources to be used for in-text parenthetical citation and MLA formatted Works Cited page.

The first three essays are 1,000 words typed and double-spaced.

The fourth and final essay is 1,200 words and typed and double-spaced.

Essay One: From Critical Thinking to Argument

Choosing a debatable topic that we’ve covered in class or another current topic of your choice, utilize the argumentative principles in our text From Inquiry to Academic Writing to write a 4-page argumentative essay.

Essay Two: The Best American Short Stories

Using the principles of literary analysis for writing paragraphs and thesis statements, develop an argumentative, cause and effect analysis, or extended definition thesis that addresses one or more of the assigned short stories.

Essay Three: From Inquiry to Academic Writing, Chapters 12 and 13

Develop an argumentative thesis for a 4-page essay that addresses one or more of the assigned selections from Chapters 12 and 13.

Essay Four (Final): From Inquiry to Academic Writing, Chapters 14 and 17

Option A

Develop an argumentative thesis for a 5-page essay that addresses race, gender, and privilege in Chapter 14. Be sure to incorporate at least two essays from Chapter 14 to develop your essay.

Option B

Develop an argumentative thesis for a 5-page essay that addresses consumerism and economics in Chapter 17. Be sure to incorporate at least two essays from Chapter 17 to develop your essay. 

Because this is your Final, it is a bit longer than your previous typed papers. While they are four pages (1,000 words), this essay is five pages (closer to 1,200 words).

Be sure to have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources and be sure one of the sources is from the El Camino College database.

Grading 700 Total Points (6,000-word total)

Four in-class writing exams: 50 each for 200 point total (450-words per essay; 1,800 words)

Three typed 1,000-word essays: 100 each for 300 point total (3,000 words)

One Final 1,200-word essay 200 point total

Attendance and Class Participation

Deductions of 50 for more than 4 absences or more than 3 tardies; repeated use of smart phone in class or leaving class repeatedly to "take a call."

More than 5 absences or more than 4 tardies is a loss of 100 points. These rules are designed so that we will be complaint with Title 5 Contact Hour Laws prescribed by the State of California.

Reading and Writing Schedule

1-19 Introduction: What is critical thinking? We will study current events for our first typed essay. The essay will be structured from the critical writing tools we learn in the first 9 chapters of From Inquiry to Academic Writing.

1-21 FITAW (From Inquiry to Academic Writing) Chapters 1-2; Critical Writing and Thinking: Is College Worth the Cost?

1-26 FITAW Chapters 3 and 4; Identifying Claims and Analyzing Arguments: Continue College Debate.

1-28 FITAW Chapters 5 and 6; Developing a Thesis and Evaluating Sources: Is the Anti-Vaxxer Movement Defensible?

2-2 FITAW Chapter 7; From Summary to Thesis: Is Watching the NFL Morally Defensible?

2-4 FITAW Chapters 8 and 9; Ethos, Logos, and Pathos; Introductions and Conclusions: Is America Doomed to be a “Gun Country”?

2-9 In-Class Writing Exam 1 for 50 points

2-11 Typed Essay 1 Due; “The Other Woman” 38-44 from Best American Short Stories of the Century

2-16 “You’re Ugly, Too” 652-670. Theme of pride

2-18 “Greenleaf” 348-368. Theme of pride continued. Compare to “You’re Ugly, Too.”

2-23 “Where I’m Calling From” 581-594. Pride vs. Authenticity. Literary Paragraph Analysis

2-25 “The Country Husband” 325-347. Theme of Suburban Conformity

3-1 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” 450-465. Compare to “The Country Husband.”

3-3 “Defender of the Faith.” 384-410. Ethics and Duty.

3-8 In-Class Writing Exam 2

3-10 Typed Essay 2 due; FITAW “Growing Up Tethered” 428-443

3-22 “Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than Ourselves” 444-457

3-24 “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor” 482-489

3-29 “Still Separate, Still Unequal” 347-359

3-31 “Facts About the Achievement Gap” 360-367

4-5 “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” 374-388

4-7 “On the Uses of a Liberal Education” 389-404

4-12 In-Class Writing Exam 3

4-14 Typed Essay 3 due; “White Privilege” 536-543

4-19 “The Myth of Race” 515-535; “Why Do We Make So Much of Gender?” 544-550

4-21 “Gender, Class, and Terrorism” 588-594

4-26 “How I Discovered the Truth About Poverty” 606-610

4-28 “United States of Walmart” 789-796

5-3 “The Buyologist Is In” 796-809

5-5 “The Rise of the Rest” 816-829

5-10 In-Class Exam 4

5-12 Final Essay Due

McMahon English 1C Critical Thinking Syllabus Fall 2015

McMahon English 1C Critical Thinking Syllabus Fall 2015

Email: [email protected]  

Office: H121P; extension 5673  

Office Hours: M and W: 2:45-3:45 and 5:30-6; T and TH 12:30-1 and 3:30-4:15  

Students with Disabilities: 

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.   

English 1C SLOs 

English 1C Critical Thinking and Composition Students will: 

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.

2. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.

3. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

Essay Requirements: 

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.  

Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  

Three.  This paper will be approximately 5-6 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement. 

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.  

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary. 

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Course Catalog Description:         

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. 

Course Objectives:

One. Evaluate arguments in terms of bias, credibility, and relevance.

Two. 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.

Three. Recognize and assess argumentative claims embedded in literary works, advertisements, political tracts, and presentations in other media.

Four. Express critical viewpoints and develop original arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.

Five. 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.  

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, students will: 

One. Compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources. 

Two. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources. 

Three. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

Policy on Plagiarism   

Any attempt to commit fraud, misrepresenting someone else’s writing as your own, including turning in essays from previous semesters, will result in an automatic F grade, zero points, which mathematically, will disqualify you from earning a grade higher than a C for the semester. You will not be allowed to rewrite for a higher grade and because of the breach of trust it will be preferred that you drop the class. I will use turnitin to investigate plagiarism.  

Each essay must be submitted to www.turnitin.com where it will be checked for illegal copying/plagiarism.

 I cannot give credit for an essay that is not submitted to this site by the deadline.   

The process is very simple; if you need help, detailed instructions are available at http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/student-quickstart-guide 

You will need two pieces of information to use the site:  

Class ID and Enrollment Password, which I’ll give you first week of class. 

Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade  

English 1C Grammar Policy and Grading

Students in English 1C are expected to write clear, college-level essays with logical paragraph composition and sentence structure as well as correct grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation. If you feel you cannot be successful in this class due to struggles with grammar or other elements of essay composition, please see the instructor as early as possible to discuss resources and strategies for your improvement.  

 

Grading 800 Total Points (6,000-word total)

 

Four in-class writing exams: 75 each for 300 point total (450-words per essay; 1,800 words)

 

Three typed 1,000-word essays: 100 each for 300 point total (3,000 words)

 

One Final 1,200-word essay 200 point total

 

Attendance and Class Participation

 

Deductions of 50 for more than 4 absences or more than 3 tardies; repeated use of smart phone in class or leaving class repeatedly to "take a call."

 

More than 5 absences or more than 4 tardies is a loss of 100 points. These rules are designed so that we will be complaint with Title 5 Contact Hour Laws prescribed by the State of California.

 

Based on 800 points, the grades are assigned as follows:

 

720-800 is an A.

 

640-719 is a B.

 

560-639 is a C.

 

480-559 is a D.

 

479 and below is an F. 

 

Books You Need for This Class:

One. From Critical Thinking to Argument, Fourth Edition, by Sylavan Barnet and Hugo Bedau

Two. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Three. The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille

Four. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

All Essays Need 3 credible sources to be used for in-text parenthetical citation and MLA formatted Works Cited page.

The first three essays are 1,000 words typed and double-spaced.

The final essay is 1,200 words and typed and double-spaced.

Essay One: From Critical Thinking to Argument

Choosing a debatable topic that we’ve covered in class or another current topic of your choice, utilize the argumentative principles in our text From Critical Thinking to Argument to write a 4-page argumentative essay.

Here are some of the essay options we'll cover:

 

Option for Essay #1

In a 4-page essay, develop an argumentative thesis about the purpose of college in the context of "3 Reasons College Still Matters" by Andrew Delbanco.  

Consider the notion of specificity in your college goals. 

Micro: Specialize in major to make money 

Mid-level Macro: Learn fundamentals to apply to all classes and life challenges

 

Maximum Macro: Become a critical thinker rather than a mindless consumer

Option for Essay #1:

Support, refute, or complicate Steve Almond's argument in "Is It Immoral to Watch the Super Bowl?" that the NFL is an immoral institution unworthy of our patronage. 

Option for Essay #1

In a 4-page essay, defend, refute, or complicate Marc Lewis' argument that addiction is not a disease. 

Option for Essay #1

Support or refute the argument in Robby Soave's essay "Why Drug Testing Students Is Un-American" that drug testing students is an unacceptable violation of democratic freedoms that will cause far more harm than good.  

 

Essay Two: Man's Search for Meaning

Choice 1: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that Frankl Lite is a more compelling orientation than Full Potency Frankl. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model.

Choice 2: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that unless we can sacrifice on the scale described in Peter Singer's essay "What Should a Billionaire Give--What Should You?" we cannot live a life of true meaning as defined by Viktor Frankl. Use the Toulmin essay model.

Choice 3: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that the lifestyle described in Joseph Epstein's essay "The Perpetual Adolescent" is antithetical to the kind of meaning that Viktor Frankl defines in his book Man's Search for Meaning. Use the Toulmin essay model.

Essay Three: The Culture Code

Option A

One camp believes Rapaille is a marketing genius who uses invaluable psychological insights to gain codes that unlock the power of consumerism and as a result he is worth is huge asking price as a consultant. However, another camp esteems Rapaille as little more than a fraud who recycles the same archetypal “codes” and stereotypes and as a result he has no “secret sauce” to make him worth all the money he makes. In a 1,000-word essay, typed and double-spaced, support, refute, or complicate one of the assertions above.

Be sure to use Toulmin model of argumentation and have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Option B

In a 1,000 word essay, compare Clotaire Rapaille's vision of an adolescent America with Joseph Epstein's similar vision in his essay "The Perpetual Adolescent." Be sure to follow comparison essay guidelines for structure and transitions.  

Essay Four (Final): The New Jim Crow

Support, refute, or complicate Michelle Alexander's thesis that the current justice and prison system are perpetuating the old Jim Crow into a new Jim Crow. Use Toulmin or Refutation model.

Because this is your Final, it is a bit longer than your previous typed papers. While they are four pages (1,000 words), this essay is five pages (closer to 1,200 words).

Be sure to have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources and be sure one of the sources is from the El Camino College database.

 

Reading and Writing Schedule for Fall 2015

8-25 Introduction; Critical Reading

8-27 FCTA (From Critical Thinking to Argument) Chapters 1-2

9-1 FCTA Chapters 3-4

9-3 FCTA Chapters 5-6

9-8 FCTA Chapters 7-8

9-10 FCTA Chapter 9

9-15 Writing Exam 1 for 50 points

9-17 Essay 1 Due; Frankl Lesson 1

9-22 Frankl Lesson 2

9-24 Frankl Lesson 3

9-29 Frankl Lesson 4

10-1 Frankl Lesson 5

10-6 Frankl Lesson 6

10-8 Frankl Lesson 7

10-13 Writing Exam 2

10-15 Frankl Essay 2 due; Culture Code Lesson 1

10-20 Culture Code Lesson 2

10-22 Culture Code Lesson 3

10-27 Culture Code Lesson 4

10-29 Culture Code Lesson 5

11-3 Culture Code Lesson 6

11-5 Culture Code Lesson 7

11-10 Writing Exam 3

11-12 Culture Code Essay 3 due; New Jim Crow Lesson 1

11-17 New Jim Crow Lesson 2

11-19 New Jim Crow Lesson 3

11-24 New Jim Crow Lesson 4

12-1 New Jim Crow Lesson 5

12-3 New Jim Crow Lesson 6

12-8 Writing Exam 4

12-10 New Jim Crow Essay Final Due for 200 points

McMahon 1C Syllabus Spring 2015

McMahon 1C Syllabus Spring 2015

Email: [email protected]  

Office: H121P; extension 5673  

Office Hours: M and W: 2:45-3:45 and 5:30-6; T and TH 12:30-1 and 3:30-4:15  

Students with Disabilities: 

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.  

 

English 1C SLOs 

English 1C Critical Thinking and Composition Students will: 

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.

2. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.

3. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in

paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

Essay Requirements: 

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.  

Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  

Three.  This paper will be approximately 5-6 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement. 

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.  

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary. 

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Course Catalog Description:         

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. 

Course Objectives:

One. Evaluate arguments in terms of bias, credibility, and relevance.

Two. 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.

Three. Recognize and assess argumentative claims embedded in literary works, advertisements, political tracts, and presentations in other media.

Four. Express critical viewpoints and develop original arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.

Five. 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.  

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, students will: 

One. Compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources. 

Two. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources. 

Three. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

Policy on Plagiarism   

Any attempt to commit fraud, misrepresenting someone else’s writing as your own, including turning in essays from previous semesters, will result in an automatic F grade, zero points, which mathematically, will disqualify you from earning a grade higher than a C for the semester. You will not be allowed to rewrite for a higher grade and because of the breach of trust it will be preferred that you drop the class. I will use turnitin to investigate plagiarism.  

Each essay must be submitted to www.turnitin.com where it will be checked for illegal copying/plagiarism.

 I cannot give credit for an essay that is not submitted to this site by the deadline.   

The process is very simple; if you need help, detailed instructions are available at http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/student-quickstart-guide 

You will need two pieces of information to use the site:  

Class ID and Enrollment Password, which I’ll give you first week of class. 

Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade  

English 1C Grammar Policy and Grading

Students in English 1C are expected to write clear, college-level essays with logical paragraph composition and sentence structure as well as correct grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation. If you feel you cannot be successful in this class due to struggles with grammar or other elements of essay composition, please see the instructor as early as possible to discuss resources and strategies for your improvement.  

Books You Need for This Class:

One. From Critical Thinking to Argument, Fourth Edition, by Sylavan Barnet and Hugo Bedau

Two. Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Three. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner

Four. The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille

Five. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Essay One: Man's Search for Meaning (all options are 1,000 words)

Choice 1: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that Frankl Lite is a more compelling orientation than Full Potency Frankl. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. The essay should be 1,000 words with a Works Cited page of no fewer than three sources.

Choice 2: Develop a thesis that shows how Man's Search for Meaning can be applied to an analysis of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Silver Linings Playbook in a 4-page essay. Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page. For a comparison essay, you may want to consult these thesis templates.

Choice 3: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that unless we can sacrifice on the scale described in Peter Singer's essay "What Should a Billionaire Give--What Should You?" we cannot live a life of true meaning as defined by Viktor Frankl. Use the Toulmin essay model.

Choice 4: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that the lifestyle described in Joseph Epstein's essay "The Perpetual Adolescent" is antithetical to the kind of meaning that Viktor Frankl defines in his book Man's Search for Meaning. Use the Toulmin essay model.

Choice 5: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that logotherapy is vastly superior than traditional psychotherapy for achieving the kind of meaning Frankl defines in his book Man's Search for Meaning.

Essay Two: The Geography of Bliss

Support, refute, or complicate the notion that The Geography of Bliss evidences a strong connection between morality and happiness. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. The essay should be 1,000 words with a Works Cited page of no fewer than three sources.

Essay Three: The Culture Code

Option A

In a 1,000-word essay, typed and double-spaced, support, refute, or complicate the assertion that The Culture Code evidences that marketing and advertising are evil agencies preying on anthropology, sociology, human psychology, the unconscious, the reptilian, and neuroscience to manipulate people into becoming helpless consumers. Be sure to use Toulmin model of argumentation and have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Option B

In a 1,000 word essay, compare Clotaire Rapaille's vision of an adolescent America with Joseph Epstein's similar vision in his essay "The Perpetual Adolescent." Be sure to follow comparison essay guidelines for structure and transitions.  

Essay Four (Final): The New Jim Crow

Support, refute, or complicate Michelle Alexander's thesis that the current justice and prison system are perpetuating the old Jim Crow into a new Jim Crow. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. Because this is your Final, it is a bit longer than your previous typed papers. While they are four pages (1,000 words), this essay is five pages (closer to 1,200 words). Be sure to have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Grading 850 Total Points (6,800-word total)

Four in-class writing exams: 50 each for 200 point total (2,000 words)

Three pop quizzes: 200 words each and 50 points for 150 point total. (600 words)

Three typed 1,000-word essays: 100 each for 300 point total (3,000 words)

One Final 1,200-word essay 200 point total

850 Total

Attendance and Class Participation Deductions of 50 for more than 4 absences or more than 3 tardies; repeated use of smart phone in class or leaving class repeatedly to "take a call." More than 5 absences or more than 4 tardies is a loss of 100 points.

Reading and Writing Schedule for Spring 2015

1. January 20 Introduction to English 1C
2. January 22 Man's Search for Meaning 1-40; Barnet 1-23 
3. January 27 Man's Search for Meaning 41-80; Barnet 24-52
4. January 29 Man's Search for Meaning 81-120; Barnet 52-64
5. Feb 3 Man's Search for Meaning 121-160; Barnet 70-90
6. Feb 5 Man's Search for Meaning 161-end; Barnet 90-106
7. Feb 10 Reading Exam 1 for 50 points
8. Feb 12 Typed Essay 1 Due 100 pts; Geography of Bliss Chapter 1
9. Feb 17 Geography of Bliss Chapter 2; Barnet 106-116
10. Feb 19 Geography of Bliss Chapter 3; Barnet 147-166
11. Feb 24 Geography of Bliss Chapter 4; Barnet 168-178
12.  March 3 Geography of Bliss Chapter 5; Barnet 178-188
13. March 5  Geography of Bliss Chapter 6; Barnet 189-213
14. March 10 Geography of Bliss Chapter 7; Barnet 214-232
15. March 12 Reading Exam 2 for 50 points
16. March 24 Typed Essay 2 Due 100 pts; The Culture Code Chapters 1 and 2
17. March 26 The Culture Code Chapters 3
18. March 31 The Culture Code Chapters 5 and 6
19. April 2 The Culture Code Chapters 7 and 8
20. April 7 The Culture Code Chapters 9 and 10
21. April 9 The Culture Code Chapter 11
22. April 14 The Culture Code Chapter 12
23. April 16 Reading Exam 3 for 50 points
24. April 21  Typed Essay 3 Due 100 pts; New Jim Crow Lesson 1
25. April 23 New Jim Crow 2
26. April  28 NJC 3
27. April 30 NJC 4
28. May 5 NJC 5
29. May 7 NJC  6
30. May 12 In-Class Essay Exam 4 for 50 points
31. May 14 Final Research Paper Due 200

 

 

 

McMahon Fall 2014 English 1C Syllabus

English 1C Fall 2014 Syllabus for Jeff McMahon 

Email: [email protected]  

Office: H121P; extension 5673  

Office Hours: M and W: 2:45-3:45 and 5:30-6; T and TH 12:30-1 and 3:30-4:15  

Students with Disabilities: 

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.  

Grading

Four in-class essays, 100 points each

Attendance based on absences (no more than 2) tardies (no more than 2), participation, reading preparedness, staying off smartphones, not doing homework from other classes: 50  

Two Typed 1,000-word Research Papers, 200 points each

Final 1,200-word Student Learning Outcome Essay: 350

Annotated Bibliography with 5 sources (you need at least 3 for your final essay) 100

Extra Credit (see below) 50; Due no later than December 1

Grand Point Total: 1,300 

Essays cannot be revised for higher grade; however, you can earn extra credit, up to 50 points, by writing a 3-page essay that analyzes the pessimism in the James Lasdun story “Oh, Death.” The essay must be submitted to turnitin no later than December 1.  

Policy on Plagiarism   

Any attempt to commit fraud, misrepresenting someone else’s writing as your own, including turning in essays from previous semesters, will result in an automatic F grade, zero points, which mathematically, will disqualify you from earning a grade higher than a C for the semester. You will not be allowed to rewrite for a higher grade and because of the breach of trust it will be preferred that you drop the class. I will use turnitin to investigate plagiarism.  

Each essay must be submitted to www.turnitin.com where it will be checked for illegal copying/plagiarism.

 I cannot give credit for an essay that is not submitted to this site by the deadline.   

The process is very simple; if you need help, detailed instructions are available at http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/student-quickstart-guide 

You will need two pieces of information to use the site:  

Class ID and Enrollment Password, which I’ll give you first week of class. 

If you plagiarize in the form of stolen work or get “help” from tutors, friends, and family that is deemed to be not the work of your own, you will receive ZERO points for the submitted paper. Sometimes students who submit in-class writing with basic verb and diction errors miraculously turn in a sterling, shimmering piece of prose in their typed paper that evidences a disparity in writing samples that points to cheating. These situations compel me to do further investigation into possible plagiarism.

Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade 

Typed Research Paper 1 for 200 points based on It's Beginning to Hurt by James Lasdun 

Five Options for Essay: 1,000 words for all choices and 3 credible sources

Option 1  

Develop a thesis that answers the following question: How do characters in Lasdun's "love stories" reach the demonic state? Consider, the Faustian Bargain, settling, the dream of eternal adolescence, and the chimera for a comparison essay that includes at least 3 stories, "The Half Sister," "The Natural Order," and "Peter Khan's Third Wife." Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources. 

Option 2  

Analyze the dream of eternal adolescence and its corruption of the soul by comparing this dream to "The Natural Order" or "The Half Sister" and Joseph Epstein's essay "Perpetual Adolescence."    Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources. 

 Option 3 

Analyze the corruption of fatherly love in "Cleanness" or "Caterpillars" (or both) with Erich Fromm's notion of the Authoritarian Personality.  Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.  

Option 4 

 Compare the theme of the chimera (idealized love) and its resulting futility as it occurs in the "Peter Kahn's Third Wife" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams."  Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources. Here's another link to "Winter Dreams."  

Option Five 

Compare the Faustian Bargain in "The Half Sister" to the H.G. Wells short story, "The Country of the Blind."  

Option Six

Analyze "An Anxious Man" in terms of the Faustian Bargain described in the essay "Love People, Not Pleasure," by Arthur C. Brooks.

Essay 2 for 200 points based on Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Argumentation, Refutation 

In a 1,000-word essay (4 pages), address the following in an argumentative essay: 

Option 1 

Develop a thesis that argues for "Frankl Lite" or "Full Potency Frankl" in a 4-page essay. Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page. 

Option 2 

Develop a thesis that shows how Man's Search for Meaning can be applied to an analysis of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Silver Linings Playbook in a 4-page essay. Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page.

Final Student Learning Outcome Essay for 350 points 

In a 1,200-word essay defend, critique, or outright refute Michelle Alexander's argument that mass incarceration represents the "New Jim Crow" by analyzing the legitimacy of her claims, the quality of her rhetoric and moral appeals, and by examining possible opposition to her logic and reasoning. Be sure you have a thesis statement with mapping components that will direct the organization of your essay.  

 

English 1C SLO-aligned Assignment (Spring 2014)

The assignment designed using these criteria will be used to assess the course SLOs and should be assigned as a later (or last) essay.

 

 

1. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.

 

1. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one secondary source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.

 

1. This paper will be approximately 4-5 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.

 

1. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance in primary and secondary sources.

 

1. Demonstrate understanding of analytical methods and structural concepts such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and the recognition of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.

 

1. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

 

1. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.

 

1. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

 

English 1C SLOs

 

English 1C Critical Thinking and Composition Students will:

 

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.

2. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.

3. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in

paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

Essay Requirements: 

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources. 

 

 Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  

Three.  This paper will be approximately 5-6 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement. 

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.  

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary. 

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Course Catalog Description:         

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.

 

Course Objectives: 

 

1. Evaluate arguments in terms of bias, credibility, and relevance.
2. 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.
3. Recognize and assess argumentative claims embedded in literary works, advertisements, political tracts, and presentations in other media.
4. Express critical viewpoints and develop original arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.
5. 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.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, students will:

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.
2. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.
3. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

 

Reading and Writing Schedule for Fall Semester 2014

August 26 Introduction 

August 28 Weiner 1-60 

September 2 Weiner 61-120 

September 4 Weiner 121-200 

September 9 Weiner 201-244  

September 11 Weiner 244-end  

September 16 Reading Exam 1 for Weiner in class: bring blue book or college-ruled paper 

September 18 Intro to Lasdun options and themes

September 23 Lasdun “The Half Sister” 

September 25 Lasdun “The Natural Order” 

September 30 Lasdun “Peter Khan’s Third Wife” and “It’s Beginning to Hurt” 

October 2 Lasdun “Cleanness” and “Caterpillars” 

October 7 Lasdun “An Anxious Man”  

October 9 Lasdun “The Incalculable Life Gesture” 

October 14 Reading Exam 2 in class 

October 16 Frankl intro and essay options; Essay 2 due in class 

October 21 Frankl 1-40

October 23 Frankl 41-80

October 28 Frankl 81-120 

October 30 Frankl 121-end 

November 4 Frankl Review of Pros and Cons, refutation structure  

November 6 Reading Exam 3 due in class 

November 11 Holiday 

November 13 Alexander Chapter 1; Frankl Essay 2 due in class 

November 18 Alexander Chapter 2 

November 20 Alexander Chapter 3 

November 25 Alexander Chapters 4 

November 27 Holiday 

December 2 Alexander Chapter 5 

December 4 Alexander Chapter 6; Review and Counterargument; Annotated Bibliography Due

December 9 Reading Exam 4 written in class 

December 11 Student Learning Outcome Essay due in class; 350 points

 

McMahon English 1C Syllabus for Summer 2014

 

McMahon English 1C Syllabus for Summer 2014

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Office: H121P; extension 5673

 

Website: Critical Thinker

 

http://herculodge.typepad.com/critical_thinker/

 

Office Hours: Monday-Thursday: 3:15-3:45

 

Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.

 

One. Four In-Class Reading Exams, 500 words, 50 points each, 200 points total

Two. Attendance based on tardies, participation, reading preparedness, staying off smartphones, not doing homework from other classes: 50

Three. First Three 1,000-word essays: 150, 450

Five. Final 1,200 word essay: 400

Grand Point Final 1,100

990 is A

880 is B

770 is C

660 is D

 

 

Policy on Plagiarism   

 

The software turnitin will be used to investigate any writing suspected of plagiarism. Any attempt to commit fraud, misrepresenting someone else’s writing as your own, including turning in essays from previous semesters, will result in an automatic F grade, zero points, which mathematically, will disqualify you from earning a grade higher than a C for the semester. You will not be allowed to rewrite for a higher grade and because of the breach of trust it will be preferred that you drop the class.  

 

No rewrites since peer edit is your chance to rewrite your essay.  However, you can do an extra credit paper to earn up to 40 additional points.

 

Late papers deducted a full letter grade.

 

Essay 1 for 150 points: 1,000 words based on  The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner: Exploring Mythologies of Happiness

 

George Washington famously wrote, “Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.” Develop a thesis that argues that The Geography of Bliss contains implicit, sometimes explicit, links between happiness and moral development and likewise links between misery and moral decay. In other words, there is a correlation between happiness and moral development. Your thesis should show aforementioned correlation in 4 or 5 ways, which will be the mapping components that outline your essay.  

 

Essay 2 for 150 points based on It's Beginning to Hurt by James Lasdun

 

Five Options for Essay: 1,000 words

 

Option 1

 

Develop a thesis that answers the following question: How do characters in Lasdun's "love stories" reach the demonic state? Consider, the Faustian Bargain, settling, the dream of eternal adolescence, and the chimera for a comparison essay that includes at least 3 stories, "The Half Sister," "The Natural Order," and "Peter Khan's Third Wife." Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

 

Option 2

 

Analyze the dream of eternal adolescence and its corruption of the soul by comparing this dream to "The Natural Order" or "The Half Sister" and Joseph Epstein's essay "Perpetual Adolescence."    Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

 

Option 3

 

Analyze the corruption of fatherly love in "Cleanness" or "Caterpillars" (or both) with Erich Fromm's notion of the Authoritarian Personality.  Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

 

Option 4

 

Compare the theme of the chimera (idealized love) and its resulting futility as it occurs in the "Peter Kahn's Third Wife" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams."  Be sure your essay is 1,000 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources. Here's another link to "Winter Dreams."

 

Option Five

 

Compare the Faustian Bargain in "The Half Sister" to the H.G. Wells short story, "The Country of the Blind."

 

 Essay 3 for 150 points based on Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Argumentation, Refutation

 

In a 1,000-word essay (4 pages), address the following in an argumentative essay:

 

Option 1

 

Develop a thesis that argues for "Frankl Lite" or "Full Potency Frankl" in a 4-page essay. Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page.

 

Option 2

 

Develop a thesis that shows how Man's Search for Meaning can be applied to an analysis of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Silver Linings Playbook in a 4-page essay. Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page. 

 

Essay 4 for 400 points based on The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

 

In a 1,200-word essay defend, critique, or outright refute Michelle Alexander's argument that mass incarceration represents the "New Jim Crow" by analyzing the legitimacy of her claims, the quality of her rhetoric and moral appeals, and by examining possible opposition to her logic and reasoning. Be sure you have a thesis statement with mapping components that will direct the organization of your essay.

 

Essay Requirements:

 

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.

 

 Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.

 

Three.  This paper will be approximately 5-6 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.

 

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.

 

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.

 

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

 

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.

 

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

 

Writing and Reading Schedule

 

July 7  Introduction, Grading, turnitin, MLA pagination, Cell Phone Policy, etc.

 

July 8 Weiner 1-60 Hedonistic Fallacy, Envy and Ostentation; argumentative and analytical thesis; critical reading; avoiding plagiarism

 

July 9 Weiner 61-120 Moral Integrity, Accountability, Hakuna Matata Fallacy, impoverishment through substitution; support a claim; define a warrant; 4 pillars of argument

 

July 10 Weiner 120-end Happy Failure, schadenfreude, envy, victimization, self-pity, and resentment; using primary and secondary sources; using databases and using peer-reviewed websites; defining terms relevant to your essay; signal phrases

 

July 14 Reading Exam 1: 500 words in class for 50 points

 

July 15 Lasdun "The Half Sister"; Essay 1 due in class; Faustian Bargain; evaluating and integrating sources; analytical literary thesis and literary present tense; analytical writing; paragraph composition for essays and quizzes

 

July 16 Lasdun  “The Natural Order”; perpetual adolescence, going down a rabbit hole and the causes; cause and effect; causal argument

 

July 17 Lasdun “Peter Kahn’s Third Wife,” “Cleanness,” “Caterpillars”; chimera, unconscious in fiction, thanatos; analogy and allegory; MLA Works Cited page format for in-text citations

 

July 21 Reading Exam 2: 500 words in class for 50 points

 

July 22 Frankl introduction; Essay 2 due in class; inductive and deductive reasoning

 

July 23 Frankl 1-40; bias, credibility, and relevance

 

July 24 Frankl 41-100; logos, ethos, pathos

 

July 28 Frankl 101-150; Toulmin and Rogerian argument model

 

July 29 Frankl 151-end; argument transitions; fallacies and syllogism

 

July 30 Review of Frankl; making your essay more persuasive with refutation section and concession thesis clause; avoid common fallacy: ad hominem (don't attack "privileged" Frankl); ethical argument

 

July 31 Reading Exam 3: 500 words in class for 50 points

 

August 4 Intro to The New Jim Crow; Essay 3 due in class; line between victimization and reparation in the debate about racism (ongoing): Which narrative do we believe, the racism is over narrative or the racism lives in insidious ways narrative?
August 5 Alexander 1-96; Straw Man fallacy; Jim Crow and its effects discussed in reparations debate.

 

August 6 Alexander 97-177; claims, inductive and deductive reasoning

 

August 7 Alexander 178-220; opponents' views and review Toulmin and Rogerian argument

 

August 11 Alexander 221-end; refutation and counterargument

 

August 12 Alexander review, thesis workshop: using a concession clause and review of common fallacies

 

August 13 Reading Exam 4: 500 words in class for 50 points

 

August 14 Essay 4 due

 

• SLO 1 (Thesis Support) Essay shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources. Acceptable/Unacceptable

 

       SLO 2 (Critical Thinking) Argument reflects an ability to identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources. Acceptable/Unacceptable

 

       SLO 3 (MLA, grammar) Essay is well organized in proper MLA format AND is technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage. Acceptable/Unacceptable

 

English 1C Consistency Project—SLO Assignment   1. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.  2. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one secondary source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  3. This paper will be approximately 4-5 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.  4. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance in primary and secondary sources.  5. Demonstrate understanding of analytical methods and structural concepts such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and the recognition of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  6. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.  7. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.  8. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

 

 

 

 

McMahon Spring 2014 Second Half Syllabus Revised

 

Writing and Reading Schedule

 

March 25 Frankl 1-40

 

March 27 Frankl 41-100

 

April 1 Frankl 101-150

 

April 3 Quiz 4 due in classroom

 

April 8 Frankl 151-end

 

April 10 Quiz 5 due in class

 

April 15 Essay 3 Peer Review. Bring typed essay to class.  

 

April 17  Essay 3 due in class

 

April 22 Alexander 1-96

 

April 24 Alexander 97-177

 

April 29 Alexander 178-220

 

May 1 Alexander 221-end

 

May 6 Quiz 6 due in class

 

May 8 First 3 pages of essay typed for peer review questions

 

May 13 Essay 4 N-Z due in my office PE4

 

May 15 Essay 4 A-M due in my office PE4

 

Essay 3 for 180 points

 

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Argumentation, Refutation

 

In a 1,000-word essay (4 pages), address the following in an argumentative essay:

 

Many argue that Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is worthy manifesto that champions meaning as the antidote to the universal affliction, the existential vacuum. On the other hand, some critics dismiss Frankl’s message, arguing that meaning, as Frankl presents it, is the product of strict moral and religious dogma disguising itself as universal meaning; that Frankl’s critieria for meaning, Herculean in scope, is nearly impossible to adhere to; that unrealistic expectations for “Absolute Meaning” will lead to disappointment; that the obsessive search for meaning can be a neurosis that impedes us from living fully; and that, contrary to VK’s Gospel of Meaning, there are virtues, pleasures, and satisfactions from living a life in the existential vacuum and moral relativism that escape a rigid dogmatist such VK.

 

 In an argumentative essay, evaluate the defenders and critics of VK and develop a thesis that takes one of the two positions.

 

Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page.

 

Essay 4 for 280 points

 

In a 1,200-word essay defend, critique, or outright refute Michelle Alexander's argument that mass incarceration represents the "New Jim Crow" by analyzing the legitimacy of her claims, the quality of her rhetoric and moral appeals, and by examining possible opposition to her logic and reasoning. Be sure you have a thesis statement with mapping components that will direct the organization of your essay.

 

Essay Requirements:

 

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.

 

 Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.

 

Three.  This paper will be approximately 4-5 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.

 

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.

 

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.

 

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

 

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.

 

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

 

Peer Review Have Been Culled from Dartmouth Institute for Writing and Rhetoric

 

 Peer Review Questions

 

 

 

•  
• Summarize the argument. If a reader has trouble summarizing the writer's argument, it's likely that the argument has a gap, or that its logic is unclear. Summarizing can help students to see where and how an argument has gone awry.
• Predict the argument. After reading only the paper's introduction and thesis, can a reader predict the argument to follow? If not, then perhaps the introduction has failed to frame the argument, or the thesis has failed to make its point. This exercise is fruitful because it helps students to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a paper's introduction and thesis sentence. They will also see the link between a good, clear introduction and the overall structure of an argument.
• Ask questions. The most important aims of the peer review are to get the student writer to understand how it is that her paper needs to be revised, and to determine strategies for that revision. Questions are a good way to encourage this process. Students can ask questions about parts of the paper that they don't understand; they can ask questions about the writer's process; they can ask questions about a writer's intention; they can ask about the writer's rhetorical strategies. All will get the conversation started and keep it lively.
• Reflect what the writer is trying to say. If a particular point is unclear, it can be useful to try to reflect that point back to the writer: "What you seem to be saying here is..." The writer will usually see that his point is unclear and can then consider how to communicate the point more effectively to the reader.
• Label problems. Student writers appreciate it when their peers take the time to find and to name the problems in their papers. Student reviewers can make a list of the problems they find on their peers' papers and can then work together with the writer to correct these problems. In this case, students are teaching good writing to their peers. If students need additional help they can consult a grammar handbook, confer with you, or see an RWIT tutor.
• Make suggestions. Student writers seek advice. They don't simply want to know what's wrong with their writing; they want to know how to fix it. Their peers should therefore be prepared to make suggestions for improvement. Note that we use the word "suggestions" in the plural: a peer reviewer should not insist on one solution to a problem. Rather, reviewers should offer several strategies for solving the problem, allowing the writer to determine which of these solutions might work best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

English 1C SLOs

 

English 1C Critical Thinking and Composition Students will:

 

One. Compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources.

 

Two. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.

 

Three. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

 

 

 

English 1C Instructors Use an SLO (Student Learning Outcome) Check Form

 

SLO 1 (Thesis Support) Essay shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources. Acceptable/Unacceptable

 

SLO 2 (Critical Thinking) Argument reflects an ability to identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources. Acceptable/Unacceptable

 

SLO 3 (MLA, grammar) Essay is well organized in proper MLA format AND is technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage. Acceptable/Unacceptable

 

Grading Template

 

Three 1,000-word essays, 180 points each

 

Final 1,200-word essay, 280 points

 

Six 300-word quizzes, 30 each, 180

 

6,000 words; 1,000 points

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

McMahon English 1C Syllabus Spring 2014

Email: [email protected]

Office: PE4; extension 5673

Website: Critical Thinker

http://herculodge.typepad.com/critical_thinker/

Office Hours: MW 2:30-3:45; TTH 12:30-1:00 and 3:30-4:15

 Students with Disabilities:

 If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.

Essay 1 for 180 points

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner: Exploring Mythologies of Happiness

In a 4-page research paper, 1,000 words, critique the idea of happiness, its mythologies and fallacies. Use personal examples to illustrate your points. Use no fewer than 2 sources

Essay 2 for 180 points

Five Options for Essay

Option 1

Develop a thesis that answers the following question: How do characters in Lasdun's "love stories" reach the demonic state? Consider, the Faustian Bargain, settling, the dream of eternal adolescence, and the chimera for a comparison essay that includes at least 3 stories, "The Half Sister," "The Natural Order," and "Peter Khan's Third Wife." Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

 

Option 2

Analyze the dream of eternal adolescence and its corruption of the soul by comparing this dream to "The Natural Order" or "The Half Sister" and Joseph Epstein's essay "Perpetual Adolescence."    Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

Option 3

Analyze the corruption of fatherly love in "Cleanness" or "Caterpillars" (or both) with Erich Fromm's notion of the Authoritarian Personality.  Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

Option 4

Compare the theme of the chimera (idealized love) and its resulting futility as it occurs in the "Peter Kahn's Third Wife" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams."  Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources. Here's another link to "Winter Dreams."

 

Option Five

Compare the Faustian Bargain in "The Half Sister" to the H.G. Wells short story, "The Country of the Blind."

 Essay 3 for 180 points

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Argumentation, Refutation

In a 1,000-word essay (4 pages), address the following in an argumentative essay:

Many argue that Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is worthy manifesto that champions meaning as the antidote to the universal affliction, the existential vacuum. On the other hand, some critics dismiss Frankl’s message, arguing that meaning, as Frankl presents it, is the product of strict moral and religious dogma disguising itself as universal meaning; that Frankl’s critieria for meaning, Herculean in scope, is nearly impossible to adhere to; that unrealistic expectations for “Absolute Meaning” will lead to disappointment; that the obsessive search for meaning can be a neurosis that impedes us from living fully; and that, contrary to VK’s Gospel of Meaning, there are virtues, pleasures, and satisfactions from living a life in the existential vacuum and moral relativism that escape a rigid dogmatist such VK.

 In an argumentative essay, evaluate the defenders and critics of VK and develop a thesis that takes one of the two positions.

Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page.

Essay 4 for 280 points

In a 1,200-word essay defend, critique, or outright refute Michelle Alexander's argument that mass incarceration represents the "New Jim Crow" by analyzing the legitimacy of her claims, the quality of her rhetoric and moral appeals, and by examining possible opposition to her logic and reasoning. Be sure you have a thesis statement with mapping components that will direct the organization of your essay.

Essay Requirements:

One. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.

 Two. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one main source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.

Three.  This paper will be approximately 4-5 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.

Four. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance.

Five. Analyze and employ logical structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.

Six. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.

Seven. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.

Eight. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

English 1C SLOs

English 1C Critical Thinking and Composition Students will:

One. Compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources.

Two. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.

Three. Organize an essay in proper MLA format and will also be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

 

English 1C Instructors Use an SLO (Student Learning Outcome) Check Form

SLO 1 (Thesis Support) Essay shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources. Acceptable/Unacceptable

SLO 2 (Critical Thinking) Argument reflects an ability to identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources. Acceptable/Unacceptable

SLO 3 (MLA, grammar) Essay is well organized in proper MLA format AND is technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage. Acceptable/Unacceptable

Grading Template

Three 1,000-word essays, 180 points each

Final 1,200-word essay, 280 points

Six 300-word quizzes, 30 each, 180

6,000 words; 1,000 points

 

 

English 1C Consistency Project—SLO Assignment   1. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.  2. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one secondary source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  3. This paper will be approximately 4-5 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.  4. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance in primary and secondary sources.  5. Demonstrate understanding of analytical methods and structural concepts such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and the recognition of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  6. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.  7. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.  8. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Grand Point Total: 1,000 points. 900 is A. 800 is B. 700 is C. 600 is D.

You Can Revise Your Worst Essay for Higher Grade of a Maximum 20 Points

Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade

Things That Disqualify a Student from Receiving an A Grade

Misspelling author name, book title, my name.

Plagiarism: trying to deceive professor by representing other people’s work as your own. (automatic F on the essay, zero points). No headers. No Works Cited page

Classroom Decorum

No smart phones can be used in class. If you’re on your smart phone and I catch you, you get a warning the first time. Second time, you must leave the class and lose 25 points. Third time, you must leave the class and lose 50 points. Same with subsequent violations. 

The above also applies to talking and doing homework from other classes.

Writing and Reading Schedule

January 21Introduction, Grading, Cell Phone Policy, etc.

January 23 Weiner 1-60

January 28 Weiner 61-180

January 30 Weiner 181-245

February 4 Weiner 246-end

February 6 Quiz 1 due in my office PE4

February 11 Essay 1 due in my office PE4 (A-M)

February 14 Essay 1 due in my office PE4 (N-Z)

February 18 Lasdun “The Half Sister”

February 20 Quiz 2 due in my office PE4

February 25 Lasdun “The Natural Order”

February 27 Lasdun “Peter Kahn’s Third Wife”

March 4 Lasdun “Cleanness,” “Caterpillars”

March 6 Quiz 3 due in my office

March 11 Essay 2 N-Z due in my office PE4

March 13 Essay 2 A-M due in my office PE4; start It’s Beginning to Hurt by Lasdun

March 25 Frankl 1-40

March 27 Frankl 41-100

April 1 Frankl 101-150

April 3 Quiz 4 due in my office PE4

April 8 Frankl 151-end

April 10 Quiz 5 due in my office PE4

April 15 Essay 3 A-M due in my office PE4

April 17  Essay 3 N-Z in my office PE4

April 22 Alexander 1-96

April 24 Alexander 97-177

April 29 Alexander 178-220

May 1 Alexander 221-end

May 6 Quiz 6 due in my office PE4

May 8 Thesis and Works Cited due in my office PE4

May 13 Essay 4 N-Z due in my office PE4

May 15 Essay 4 A-M due in my office PE4

 

Student Learning Objective (SLO)

 

1. Students will compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources.  This essay will be well organized, follow proper MLA format, and be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

 Course Objectives

 The student will be able to: 

1. Read expository prose critically to distinguish between perception and inference, surface and implied meanings, fact and opinion. 

2. Analyze the way arguments are presented in readings and the media. 

3. Demonstrate the ability to organize and develop written arguments and compositions. 

4. Refine writing skills developed in English 1A: focusing a topic, formulating a thesis, providing support, and developing unity and coherence. 

5. Evaluate the accuracy and cogency of arguments by identifying logical fallacies and drawing inferences from readings and media presentations. 

6. Formulate and develop arguments and critical theories about issues, argumentative prose, and literary interpretations.

 

 Major Topics

Structures of argument: Thinking, reading, discussing. Evaluate data, credibility, and relevance.

Understanding and evaluating claims: Reasons, purposes, support, ambiguity, vagueness, complexity. Assessing credibility: Causal arguments, moral reasoning.

Evaluating arguments and explanations: Relevance, clarity, testability, and consistency. Identifying assumptions, developing counter arguments and justifications.

Writing argumentative, evaluative, and analytic essays: Prewriting, writing, and rewriting. Topic selection: Narrowing, evaluating validity and relevance. Developing parts of the argumentative essay: Strategies for organizing an argument or evaluation, including evidence, inductive and deductive reasoning. Avoiding logical fallacies.

Literary analysis: Evaluating point of view, inferences, and assumptions. Understanding diction, identification, aesthetic distance, and focus. Exploring rhetorical devices: Satire, irony, paradox, over-statement and understatement, evaluating authority.

Comparative analysis: Analyzing symbols, analogy, ambiguity, and imagery.

Deductive reasoning in expressive or expository literature: Recognizing assumptions in literary criticism and theory.

Political and advertising rhetoric: Slanders, euphemisms, innuendo, loaded questions, downplaying, avoidance, stereotyping, hyperbole, persuasive definitions. Information tailoring and the news media: Loaded language in reporting and advertising.

(Major writing assignments will consist of approximately 6 essays totaling 6000 words.)

 

Related articles

McMahon English 1A Spring 2014 Syllabus

Grading Template for Spring 2014 English 1C

Grading Based on 6,000 words and 1,000 points

Fall and Spring Semesters

Three 1,000-word essays, 180 points each

Final 1,200-word essay, 280 points

Six 300-word quizzes, 30 each, 180

6,000 words; 1,000 points

Summer Semesters

Three 1,200-word essays, 180 each

Final 1,500-word essay, 280

Three 333-word quizzes, 30 each

Total: 6,000 words; 1,000 points

 

 

McMahon English 1C Syllabus Fall 2013

Email: [email protected]

Office: PE4; extension 5673

Website: Critical Thinker

http://herculodge.typepad.com/critical_thinker/

 Students with Disabilities:

 If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.

Essay 1 for 190 points

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan: Critiquing the Pathologies of Nutritionism

In a 1,000 word essay, develop a thesis that critiques nutritionism, exposing its fallacies and mythologies and revealing the way nutritionism deludes and cripples the average consumer. Use no fewer than 2 sources.

Essay 2 for 190 points

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner: Exploring Mythologies of Happiness

In a 4-page research paper, 1,000 words, critique the idea of happiness, its mythologies and fallacies. Use personal examples to illustrate your points. Use no fewer than 2 sources

Essay 3 for 190 points

Five Options for Essay

Option 1

Develop a thesis that answers the following question: How do characters in Lasdun's "love stories" reach the demonic state? Consider, the Faustian Bargain, settling, the dream of eternal adolescence, and the chimera for a comparison essay that includes at least 3 stories, "The Half Sister," "The Natural Order," and "Peter Khan's Third Wife." Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

 

Option 2

Analyze the dream of eternal adolescence and its corruption of the soul by comparing this dream to "The Natural Order" or "The Half Sister" and Joseph Epstein's essay "Perpetual Adolescence."    Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

Option 3

Analyze the corruption of fatherly love in "Cleanness" or "Caterpillars" (or both) with Erich Fromm's notion of the Authoritarian Personality.  Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources.

Option 4

Compare the theme of the chimera (idealized love) and its resulting futility as it occurs in the "Peter Kahn's Third Wife" and F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams."  Be sure your essay is 1,200 words and includes a Works Cited page with a minimum of 2 sources. Here's another link to "Winter Dreams."

 

Option Five

Compare the Faustian Bargain in "The Half Sister" to the H.G. Wells short story, "The Country of the Blind."

 Essay 4 for 250 points

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Argumentation, Refutation

In a 1,000-word essay (4 pages), address the following in an argumentative essay:

Many argue that Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is worthy manifesto that champions meaning as the antidote to the universal affliction, the existential vacuum. On the other hand, some critics dismiss Frankl’s message, arguing that meaning, as Frankl presents it, is the product of strict moral and religious dogma disguising itself as universal meaning; that Frankl’s criteria for meaning, Herculean in scope, is nearly impossible to adhere to; that unrealistic expectations for “Absolute Meaning” will lead to disappointment; that the obsessive search for meaning can be a neurosis that impedes us from living fully; and that, contrary to VK’s Gospel of Meaning, there are virtues, pleasures, and satisfactions from living a life in the existential vacuum and moral relativism that escape a rigid dogmatist such VK.

 In an argumentative essay, evaluate the defenders and critics of VK and develop a thesis that takes one of the two positions.

Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page.

English 1C Consistency Project—SLO Assignment   1. Students will express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.  This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.  2. The paper should use at least three sources and not over-rely on one secondary source for most of the information.  Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.  3. This paper will be approximately 4-5 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  The Works Cited page does NOT count toward length requirement.  4. Within your argument, address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance in primary and secondary sources.  5. Demonstrate understanding of analytical methods and structural concepts such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and the recognition of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.  6. You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.  7. You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.  8. You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

 Grading

Four 1,000-word Research Papers (about 4 typed pages):

First 3 are 190 points each

Last essay is 250 points

6 333-word quizzes are 180 points

Grand Total: 1,000

Writing Word Total: 6,000

Grand Point Total: 1,000 points. 900 is A. 800 is B. 700 is C. 600 is D.

 You Can Revise Your Worst Essay for Higher Grade of a Maximum 20 Points

Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade

Things That Disqualify a Student from Receiving an A Grade

Misspelling author name, book title, my name.

Plagiarism: trying to deceive professor by representing other people’s work as your own. (automatic F on the essay, zero points). No headers. No Works Cited page

Classroom Decorum

No smart phones can be used in class. If you’re on your smart phone and I catch you, you get a warning the first time. Second time, you must leave the class and lose 25 points. Third time, you must leave the class and lose 50 points. Same with subsequent violations. 

The above also applies to talking and doing homework from other classes.

Writing and Reading Schedule

August 27 Introduction, Grading, Cell Phone Policy, etc.

August 29 Pollan 1-50

September 3 Pollan 51-100

September 5 Pollan 101-150

September 10 Pollan 151-end

September 12 Quiz 1 due in my office PE4

September 17 Essay 1 due in my office PE4 (A-M); start Geography of Bliss by Weiner

September 19 Essay 1 due in my office PE4 (N-Z)

September 24  Weiner 1-60 (We’re reading Chapters 1-7, not entire book)

September 26 Quiz 2 due in my office PE4

October 1 Weiner 61-180

October 3 Weiner 181-245

October 8 Weiner (finish)

October 10 Quiz 3 due in my office

October 15 Essay 2 N-Z due in my office PE4

October 17 Essay 2 A-M due in my office PE4; start It’s Beginning to Hurt by Lasdun

October 22 Lasdun “The Half Sister”

October 24 Lasdun “Natural Order”

October 29 Lasdun  “Peter Kahn’s Third Wife”

October 31 Quiz 4 due in my office PE4

November 5 Lasdun “Cleanness,” “Caterpillars”

November 7 Quiz 5 due in my office PE4

November 12 Essay 3 A-M due in my office PE4

November 14  Essay 3 N-Z in my office PE4; start Man’s Search for Meaning

November 19 Frankl 1-40

November 21 Frankl 41-100

November 26 Frankl 101-150

November 28 Holiday

December 3 Frankl 151-end

December 5 Quiz 6 due in my office PE4

December 10 Essay 4 N-Z due in my office PE4

December 12 Essay 4 A-M due in my office PE4

 

Student Learning Objective (SLO)

 

1. Students will compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources.  This essay will be well organized, follow proper MLA format, and be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

 Course Objectives

 The student will be able to: 

1. Read expository prose critically to distinguish between perception and inference, surface and implied meanings, fact and opinion. 

2. Analyze the way arguments are presented in readings and the media. 

3. Demonstrate the ability to organize and develop written arguments and compositions. 

4. Refine writing skills developed in English 1A: focusing a topic, formulating a thesis, providing support, and developing unity and coherence. 

5. Evaluate the accuracy and cogency of arguments by identifying logical fallacies and drawing inferences from readings and media presentations. 

6. Formulate and develop arguments and critical theories about issues, argumentative prose, and literary interpretations.

 

 Major Topics

Structures of argument: Thinking, reading, discussing. Evaluate data, credibility, and relevance.

Understanding and evaluating claims: Reasons, purposes, support, ambiguity, vagueness, complexity. Assessing credibility: Causal arguments, moral reasoning.

Evaluating arguments and explanations: Relevance, clarity, testability, and consistency. Identifying assumptions, developing counter arguments and justifications.

Writing argumentative, evaluative, and analytic essays: Prewriting, writing, and rewriting. Topic selection: Narrowing, evaluating validity and relevance. Developing parts of the argumentative essay: Strategies for organizing an argument or evaluation, including evidence, inductive and deductive reasoning. Avoiding logical fallacies.

Literary analysis: Evaluating point of view, inferences, and assumptions. Understanding diction, identification, aesthetic distance, and focus. Exploring rhetorical devices: Satire, irony, paradox, over-statement and understatement, evaluating authority.

Comparative analysis: Analyzing symbols, analogy, ambiguity, and imagery.

Deductive reasoning in expressive or expository literature: Recognizing assumptions in literary criticism and theory.

Political and advertising rhetoric: Slanders, euphemisms, innuendo, loaded questions, downplaying, avoidance, stereotyping, hyperbole, persuasive definitions. Information tailoring and the news media: Loaded language in reporting and advertising.

(Major writing assignments will consist of approximately 6 essays totaling 6000 words.)

 

English 1C Fall 2013 Readings, Writing Assignments, Grade Template

Essay 1 for 190 points

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan: Critiquing the Pathologies of Nutritionism

In a 1,000 word essay, develop a thesis that critiques nutritionism, exposing its fallacies and mythologies and revealing the way nutritionism deludes and cripples the average consumer. Use no fewer than 2 sources.

Essay 2 for 190 points

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner: Exploring Mythologies of Happiness

In a 4-page research paper, 1,000 words, critique the idea of happiness, its mythologies and fallacies. Use personal examples to illustrate your points. Use no fewer than 2 sources

Essay 3 for 190 points

It’s Beginning to Hurt by James Lasdun: Logical Fallacies of Love and the Irrational Mind:

In an 1,000-word essay, write an extended definition of The Irrational Mind or Irrational Love. Refer to no fewer than 2 stories. Use no fewer than 2 sources.

 Essay 4 for 250 points

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Argumentation, Refutation

In a 1,000-word essay (4 pages), address the following in an argumentative essay:

Many argue that Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is worthy manifesto that champions meaning as the antidote to the universal affliction, the existential vacuum. On the other hand, some critics dismiss Frankl’s message, arguing that meaning, as Frankl presents it, is the product of strict moral and religious dogma disguising itself as universal meaning; that Frankl’s critieria for meaning, Herculean in scope, is nearly impossible to adhere to; that unrealistic expectations for “Absolute Meaning” will lead to disappointment; that the obsessive search for meaning can be a neurosis that impedes us from living fully; and that, contrary to VK’s Gospel of Meaning, there are virtues, pleasures, and satisfactions from living a life in the existential vacuum and moral relativism that escape a rigid dogmatist such VK.

 In an argumentative essay, evaluate the defenders and critics of VK and develop a thesis that takes one of the two positions.

 Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page.

 

 

Grading

Four 1,000-word Research Papers (about 4 typed pages):

First 3 are 190 points each

Last essay is 250 points

6 333-word quizzes are 180 points

Grand Total: 1,000

 

Writing Word Total: 6,000

Grand Point Total: 1,000 points. 900 is A. 800 is B. 700 is C. 600 is D.