English 103: Critical Thinking and Writing

02/05/2018-05/30/2018 1 Lecture Monday, Wednesday 12:30PM - 02:35PM, D - Dunlap Hall, Room D-204

 

48239 (48239) Critical Thinking and Writing

 

 

Mission Statement: The Santa Ana College English Department provides numerous opportunities for our students to develop and improve the reading, critical thinking, and writing skills required to succeed at their chosen careers, to meet the rigors of the writing demands at four-year transfer institutions, and to foster lifelong learning and an appreciation of literature.

 

Course Description: This course focuses on developing critical thinking, reading, and writing skills by studying established argumentative methods and models and applying them to contemporary issues. Emphasis will be on logical reasoning and analytical and argumentative skills necessary for critical writing.

 

Prerequisites: A grade “C” or better in English 101 or English 101H

 

Required Texts and Materials:

I will assign your texts individually, or I will print out essays and poems as I see fit. 

 

Student Learning Outcomes:

 

Students will read and discuss critically in order to identify premises, syllogisms, deduction and induction; to evaluate evidence, examples, and arguments for soundness; to assess authoritative testimony; to draw inferences from statistics; and to recognize rhetorical devices.

 

Students will synthesize information to produce academic argumentative and persuasive essays and a documented research paper by using resources ethically and MLA format, reflecting collegiate level writing standards.

Grading Policy

Total Grade                                         1000 points                            

HUMOR                                                 250

HISTORY                                               250

HORROR                                               250

HYPERREAL                                         250

 

• Email: In certain instances, I will email urgent updates to the class, I only have one email address on file, and that is the email address you have registered with the campus. If this is not your regular email address, it is your responsibility to change it. Check your email at least twice a week. If you need to contact me, my email address is the best way.       I do not check email on the weekends, but I will check my email during the week. I do not accept emailed submissions for homework or papers.

 

• Attendance: If you miss three classes, you may be dropped from the course. No more than three late appearances are accepted.

 

• Analyses: Each group of students will be assigned a topic from the book and will be responsible for presenting an analysis of the chapter to the class.

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• Workshops/ Style: We will be holding regular workshops throughout the semester to reinforce certain skills and to get feedback on your essays. You cannot make up any missed workshops. Workshops on your classmate’s essays count for double.       In Workshops, we will briefly practice clauses, sentence variety, comma usage, punctuation, passive voice, thesis statements and introductions, topic sentences and paragraphing, conclusions, quoting and in-text citation, bibliographies, among other topics.

 

• Essays: At certain points in the semester, you will turn in formal academic papers.       The Rhetorical Essay will primarily be based upon the Current Issues reader, but will include research elements. The Research Essay will require outside research. Topics, format, and page lengths will be discussed at least two weeks before the due date, and you will have ample opportunity to discuss and draft your papers in class.
• Format for All Formal Academic Papers:
• Always typewritten, 12 point Times New Roman Font.
• Always double-spaced.
• Proper bibliographies and in-text citations required.
• Must have your name, the class (ENGL 103F), my name, the due date, title, and page numbers.
• Final Essay Portfolio: The Essay Portfolio is not a required assignment unless you are revising your essays for a better grade.       Your Portfolio will be due the day of the final exam. You will turn in a portfolio only if you are revising your essays. In that portfolio, include each of your revised Diagnostic Essay and Rhetorical Essay. Your portfolio must also include your Research Paper.
• Revising Papers: If you are unhappy with either of your essay grades, you may choose to revise it and turn it in for a new grade; however, you may not start over with a new paper. Showing improvement on a revised paper will replace a lower mark with a higher mark—revising never hurts your grade.
• Research Paper: Our final paper will cohere all that we have learned during the course of the semester. Your Research paper is due the day of the final. You are expected to demonstrate confidence in proper grammar and punctuation, MLA style (including format, in-text citations and bibliographies), research, and thesis development through your choice of topic. While you may include one or two sources from our book, a majority of your sources should be from outside the class text. The topic of the final paper is up to you. Suggestion: choose a topic that is interesting and important to you.         We will go over more details about the research paper as the semester progresses.

 

• Mid-Term & Final Exams: The mid-term consists of an in-class essay on several readings; however, these readings should be from our book. Please come to me if you have ideas for outside readings you wish to include. The final will be cumulative, and that both the final and mid-term will be designed around Current Issues readings or outside sources I provide.       For the exams, you will need to obtain a Blue Book from the student store.

 

Late Work & Make-Up Policies: Your papers will be dropped one full letter grade for every day late beyond the due date; thus, you’ll have 72 hours (3 days) to turn in any late work with the hope of passing. Exemptions may be made in cases of illness or injury, family emergency, religious observances, government obligation, or University events. I will consider paper extensions without penalty provided you contact and inform me at least one week prior to the due date. Documentation will be required. Under any circumstances contact me immediately if you anticipate turning in a paper late or missing an exam. You cannot make up any Prompts, Writing Assignments, either Mid-Term of Final Exams, or the Research Paper without a documented exemption.

 

In-Class Behavior: We will be discussing several sensitive topics such as power, race, gender, sexuality, culture, and politics during the course of the semester; treat everyone in the class with dignity and respect. Violation of this policy will not be tolerated, and may result in dismissal from a day of class or a referral to the dean if problems persist.

 

 

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Your success in this course is important to me. Santa Ana College and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your ability to do well in this course, I encourage you to speak with me as soon as possible. Also, please contact Disabled Student Programs & Services so that we can all collaborate on your classroom accommodations in a timely manner. DSP&S is located in U-103, and their phone number is 714-564-6264. The DSP&S office requires documentation of your disability in order to receive reasonable accommodations. If you do not have documentation, they will work with you to acquire it. I look forward to supporting you to meet your learning goals.