| Professor Stephen
Cohen Willard Hall 320 860-832-2751 cohens@ccsu.edu |
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Dr. Stephen Cohen Fall 2002
English 110 MWF 9:00-9:50
Freshman Composition
While this course will involve many types of writing and motives to write, our primary focus will be on argumentative or persuasive writing. In one sense, all writing is (or should be) persuasive: even a description endeavors to make its audience see or know something in a new way. We will, however, be focusing on what might be considered the most practical form of argumentative writing, that which persuades its audience not just to believe but to act. Over the course of the semester you will write five related papers in which you will define, explain, and eventually attempt to solve a problem in your immediate environment?your school, home, workplace or community?with the ultimate goal of persuading a specific audience to act upon your proposed solution. In so doing, you will be introduced to the thinking, writing, and research skills that will help you not only to succeed in the classroom and the workplace, but more importantly to become an effective participant in the public conversation that comprises active citizenship.
Success in this action-oriented course
will, perhaps more than many other courses, require considerable action on your
part. You will be responsible
for choosing and pursuing your own project, and while your classmates and I
will be offering you considerable guidance along the way, your
success will depend largely on your own enthusiasm for and engagement with the
problem you choose to address. You will also need to be
active in the classroom, completing
readings on time and being prepared to discuss them, participating in peer editing
and workshops, and presenting
your ideas to the class. Your active engagement with the class will both
prepare you for and help you with your engagement with the community,
in your project and beyond.
TEXTS
Rottenberg, Annette T. Elements of Argument. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. (EA)
O’Hare, Frank, and Robert Funk. The Modern Writer’s Handbook. 5th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000. (MWH)
Additional reading materials
will be distributed on occasion. All assigned readings are to be
completed by the class for which they are listed on
the schedule below. Please
bring both texts to class with you every day, unless otherwise instructed.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Paper One: Prospectus.
Identify, describe, and demonstrate the importance of a problem in your
community. 750-1000 words. 10%.
2. Paper Two: Audience
Analysis. Determine, describe, and analyze the ultimate audience
for your project, the person or group that can
implement the solution to your
problem. 750-1000 words. 15%.
3. Paper Three: Causal
Analysis. Identify and demonstrate the significance of the cause(s)
of the problem your project addresses. 1000-1250
words. 15%.
4. Paper Four: Refutation of
Counterarguments. Present and refute the major counter- argument(s)
to your identification and/or analysis of your
problem. 1250-1500 words.
15%.
5. Paper Five: Proposal.
Based on your earlier analysis, present and defend a solution to your problem,
addressed to the appropriate audience.
You are strongly encouraged,
though not required, to give your proposal to its intended audience.
2000-2500 words. 25%.
6. Peer Editing. 10%.
7. Participation/Quizzes.
10%.
Papers: All of the papers you will
write for this course are connected and cumulative, part of a semester-long
project devoted to identifying, researching,
analyzing and proposing a solution for a single problem. When we begin
work on each paper, I will give you an assignment sheet describing
the assignment in detail. In addition to the final version of each paper,
you will write at least one and usually two drafts (or more if
you prefer); with the exception of the
first week of class and Thanksgiving week, a draft or final paper will be due
each Friday. The first draft of each
paper will be peer edited (see below); the second draft (or the first, if there
to be is only one) will be read and commented on by me.
Drafts will not be graded, but must
be turned in: late drafts, like late final papers, will lower your paper grade,
and if a draft is never turned in, the final
paper will fail. Final papers must be handed in accompanied by all drafts
so that I can be sure that each draft represents a significant
revision; drafts that do not will not
be considered acceptable. Final papers will be graded, but will receive
less commentary than drafts.
Paper Format: All papers, including drafts, must be typed or word-processed in black ink in a standard font on 8_ x 11 inch white paper, double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. Pages should be numbered, and should be paper-clipped (not stapled or otherwise bound) together. Papers that do not meet these criteria will be returned unread. Final papers must be submitted in a folder (not a file folder and not a binder) containing the peer editing sheets you received as well as all earlier drafts of the paper with your peers’ or my comments on them. Papers handed in without such drafts will be treated as if those drafts never existed.
Peer Editing: When the first draft of each paper is due, you will bring two copies to class (in addition to your own), to be given to members of your peer editing group. Before the next class meeting you will be required to read the two papers you receive from your peers and complete a per editing sheet for each; the ensuing class will be devoted to discussion of the papers in peer groups. You will receive peer editing sheets from each of your peer readers, which you should turn in with your final paper. Your peer editing grade will be based on (1) your participation in peer editing sessions, and (2) the completeness and thoughtfulness of your peer editing sheets.
Participation/Quizzes: Because this class will emphasize discussion and activity rather than lectures, your participation is essential to the success of the class. Be sure to complete the relevant assignments before each class, and come prepared with questions and comments. I prefer not to give quizzes, but if participation is low and you seem not to be keeping up with the reading, I will give them unannounced. I may also occasionally give you exercises, either in-class or take-home, to allow you to apply some of the skills we will discuss; they will be incorporated into your participation grade, as will your end-of-semester class presentation (see below).
Presentations: During the last two weeks of class, you will orally present your project to the class and receive feedback. Presentations should be 5-10 minutes long, may (but need not) be accompanied by handouts or other illustrations, and should be carefully prepared in advance?either written out or presented from notes.
Conferences: While you are strongly encouraged to come see me as often as you wish during the semester, I will require you to schedule a conference with me during the 10th or 11th week of the semester to assess your project as it draws to a conclusion.
Extra Credit: Throughout the semester, you should be looking for examples of printed arguments from sources other than our textbooks that help you--and may help others--to think about the issues we discuss. Give me copies of any arguments you find that seem particularly interesting or useful; if I use them in class you will receive extra credit, and if I do not use them I will still remember them when deciding on your participation grade.
COURSE POLICIES
1. Attendance: Because of our participation-based
format, your attendance is crucial not only to your own success in the course,
but to your classmates’
as well. You are allowed four unexcused absences; each additional absence
will reduce your final grade by one increment (e.g. a B becomes
a B-). More than eight absences are grounds for failure of the course.
Absences are excused only in the case of university-sponsored
travel or confinement for illness, and
must be verified by a note from a doctor or the appropriate university official.
2. Late Arrivals: Please be on time;
late entrances disrupt the class. If you arrive after I have taken attendance,
you are late. Two late arrivals (or two
early departures, or one of each) equal one absence.
3. Late Assignments: Quizzes,
in-class exercises, and peer editing may be made up only if you have an
excused absence on the day they took place.
Late papers, including drafts, will
lower your paper grade by one increment per day. Unless by special arrangement,
I do not accept papers via e-mail.
4. Plagiarism: Presenting the words
or ideas of others as your own--be it taking phrases or concepts from your sources
without acknowledgment or turning in under your own name a paper written by
someone else--is plagiarism, and is unacceptable in this class. The minimum
penalty for plagiarism
is failure of the paper in question; severe or repeated instances may result
in failure of the course or worse. We will discuss the do’s
and don’ts of plagiarism at length;
when in doubt, see me or the relevant sections of your textbook.
4. Special Needs: Disabled students
or students with other special needs should inform me as soon as possible, and
I will make every effort to accommodate
you.
5. Office Hours: Willard 329, MWF 11:00-12:00,
Tues. 3:00-5:00, and by appointment. I am also available by phone (Office:
832-2751; Home: 232-1396)
and e-mail (cohens@ccsu.edu). Keep in touch!
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Note: I say that this is tentative because
we will try to maintain enough flexibility to give more time to the texts and
topics that interest us, and less
to those that do not.
Week 1: Mon. 9/2: LABOR DAY:
NO CLASS
Wed. 9/4: Introduction
to Course and Paper 1: The Prospectus
Fri. 9/6: Introduction
to Argument; Diagnostic
Read: EA 3-17,
MWH 2-17
Week 2: Mon. 9/9: Library Visit:
Meet in Lobby of Library
Read: EA 346-357,
(MWH 425-439)
Wed. 9/11: Brainstorming
Topics
Read: EA 325-340,
MWH 18-30
Fri. 9/13: Introduction
to Revision
Read: EA 340-345,
MWH 33-48
First Draft of
Paper 1 Due
Week 3: Mon. 9/16: Peer Editing
Wed. 9/18: Analyzing
a “Presentation of Problem” Essay
Reading TBA
Fri. 9/20: Introduction
to Paper 2: Audience Analysis
Read: EA 13-17,
MWH 14-17
Final Draft of
Paper 1 Due
Week 4: Mon. 9/23: Addressing
an Audience
Reading TBA
Wed. 9/25: Introduction
to Research
Read: EA 346-377,
MWH 423-447
Fri. 9/27: Introduction
to Bibliography and MLA Style
Read: EA 377-386,
(MWH 459-476)
First Draft of
Paper 2 Due
Week 5: Mon. 9/30: Peer Editing
Wed. 10/2: Plagiarism
Workshop
Read: EA 371-376,
MWH 453-459
Fri. 10/4: More on Citation;
Open Discussion
Second Draft of
Paper 2 Due
Week 6: Mon. 10/7: Paper Workshop
Wed. 10/9: Addressing
an Audience
Reading TBA
Fri. 10/11: Introduction
to Paper 3: Causal Analysis
Read: EA 57-79
Final Draft of
Paper 2 Due
Week 7: Mon. 10/14: Introduction
to Support and Evidence
Read: EA 155-176
Wed. 10/16: Evaluating
Causal Analysis Arguments
Reading TBA
Fri. 10/18: Open Discussion
First Draft
of Paper 3 Due
Week 8: Mon. 10/21: Peer Editing
Wed. 10/23: Induction,
Deduction and Logical Fallacies
Read: EA 275-301,
(MWH 105-115)
Fri. 10/25: Logical
Fallacies Exercise
Second Draft of
Paper 3 Due
Week 9: Mon. 10/28: Paper Workshop
Wed. 10/30: Evaluating
Causal Analysis Arguments
Reading TBA
Fri. 11/1: Introduction
to Paper 4: Refutation of Counterarguments
Read: EA 332-333,
MWH 101-102
Final Draft of
Paper 3 Due
Week 10: Mon. 11/4: Refuting
Counterarguments
Read Martin Luther
King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Wed. 11/6: “Letter from
Birmingham Jail” continued
Fri. 11/8: Conferences
First Draft of
Paper 4 Due
Week 11: Mon. 11/11: Peer Editing
Wed. 11/13: Conferences
Fri. 11/15: Conferences
Second Draft of
Paper 4 Due
Week 12: Mon. 11/18: Paper Workshop
Wed. 11/20: Refuting Counterarguments
Reading TBA
Fri. 11/22: Introduction
to Paper 5: The Proposal
Read: EA 77-83
Final Draft of
Paper 4 Due
Week 13: Mon. 11/25: Evaluating
Proposals
Reading TBA
Wed. 11/27 & Fri. 11/29:
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY: NO CLASS
Week 14: Mon. 12/2: Presentations
First Draft of
Paper 5 Due
Wed. 12/4: Peer Editing
Fri. 12/6: Presentations
Week 15: Mon. 12/9: Presentations
Wed. 12/11: Catch-Up
and Wrap-Up
Final Draft of
Paper 5 Due