English Syllabus-Comp I

Introduction to Composition I

First-Year Composition

English Composition I is the first semester of first-year composition.

In Composition I, students learn about the academic writing processes, which include inventing, researching, writing, and writing on various topics. Students learn how to write for various audiences. They write with purpose. They utilize one or more citation referencing standards to attribute use of source materials. Students tend to quote extensively in Composition II.

General Perspectives

General Learning Outcomes

Last. rev. 10/27/2019

Learning Objectives & Outcomes

District & State

Copyright Disclaimer

The following institutional policies are specific to Richland College and State of Texas guidelines for core curriculum. Submission of syllabi are by semester and are subject to change. This page does not infringe on Richland College and State of Texas copyright and trademark intellectual property.

The current semester is Fall 2019. The full syllabus is a downloadable file.

Last. rev. 10/27/2019

Course Description

This course focuses on student writing. It emphasizes reading and analytical thinking and introduces research skills. Students practice writing for a variety of audiences and purposes. (3 Lec.) Coordinating Board Academic Approval Number 2313015112

DCCCD Catalog Information

ENGL 1301 - Composition 1 (3 Lec.)

This is a Texas Common Course Number. This is a Core Curriculum course selected by the colleges of DCCCD. Prerequisite: One of the following must be met: (1) DREA 0093 AND DWRI 0093; (2) English as a Second Language (ESOL) 0044 AND 0054; or (3) have met Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Reading and Writing standards AND the college Writing score prerequisite requirement. Coordinating Board Academic Approval Number 2313015112.

Compliance with Core Curriculum Guidelines

This course develops the following Core Curriculum Intellectual Competencies:

Reading—the ability to analyze and interpret a variety of printed materials—books, documents, and articles—above 12th grade level.
Writing—the ability to produce clear, correct, and coherent prose adapted to purpose, occasion, and audience—above 12th grade level. 
Critical Thinking—think and analyze at a critical level.
Computer Literacy—understand our technological society and use computer based technology in communication, solving problems, and acquiring information.

Core Curriculum Educational Objectives

This course addresses the following:

To understand and demonstrate writing and speaking processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing, and presentation
To understand the importance of specifying audience and purpose and to select appropriate communication choices
To understand and appropriately apply modes of expression, i.e., descriptive, expositive, narrative, scientific, and self-expressive, in written, visual, and oral communication
To participate effectively in groups with an emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding
To understand and apply basic principles of critical thinking, problem solving, and technical proficiency in the development of exposition and argument

Richland College Institutional/General Education Student-Learning Outcomes

This course addresses the following:

Communicate Effectively
Solve Problems
Evaluate Information
Respect Diversity
Ethical Reasoning

ENGL 1301 Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to do the following:

Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes.
Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution.
Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose.
Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts.
Use Edited American English in academic essays.

Required Texts

Channell, Carolyn E and Timothy W. Crusius. Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2017. Second edition. MLA Updated Edition (2016); ISBN: 978-1-259-98828-8.

Drop Policy

If you are unable to complete this course, it is your responsibility to withdraw formally. The State of Texas and DCCCD have set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses. If you are unable to complete this course, it is your responsibility to withdraw formally. The last day to drop WITHOUT a grade of “W” is September 9, 2019 and with a grade of “W” November 14, 2019. This is the official drop date for this course in eConnect. Failure to do so will result in your receiving a performance grade, usually an “F.” Non-participation after the November 15th day will result in an “N” and will become an “F.”

Repeating a Course

Effective for Fall Semester 2005, the Dallas County Community Colleges will charge additional tuition to students registering the third or subsequent time for a course. All third and subsequent attempts of the majority of credit and Continuing Education/Workforce Training courses will result in additional tuition to be charged.

Developmental Studies and some other courses will not be charged a higher tuition rate. Third attempts include courses taken at any of the Dallas County Community Colleges since the fall 2002 semester. Visit http://www.dcccd.edu/Current%20Students/Paying%20for%20College/Third%20Course%20Attempt/Pages/default.aspx for a list of courses and additional information.

Academic Progress

Students are encouraged to discuss academic goals and degree completion with their instructors. Specific advising is available throughout the semester. Check http://www.richlandcollege.edu/admissions/process.php for more details.

Texas Success Initiative

The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is a statewide program designed to ensure that students enrolled in Texas public colleges and universities have the basic academic skills needed to be successful in college-level-course work. The TSI requires assessment, remediation (if necessary), and advising of students who attend a public college or university in the state of Texas.

The program assesses a student’s basic academic skills in reading, writing, and math. Passing the assessment is a prerequisite for enrollment in many college-level classes such as English 1301/1302, History 1301/1302, Math 1414, etc.

Students who do not meet assessment standards may complete prerequisite requirements by taking developmental courses in the deficient areas and passing them with a grade of C or higher. In some cases, retesting will also be required. It is up to each student to be aware and informed about requirements that are subject to change.

Additional information is available at www.rlc.dcccd.edu/regi/resourse/tsi.htm and from the TSI Office in T170T or T170S (phone number 972-238-6115 or 972-238-3787).

Disclaimer

The instructor reserves the right to amend this syllabus as necessary.

Academic Honesty Statement

Note on Cheating, Plagiarism & Collusion

Institutional Statement

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on tests, plagiarism, and collusion.

Cheating includes copying from another student’s test or homework paper, using materials not authorized, collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test, knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, or soliciting the contents of an un-administered test, and substituting for another person to take a test.

Plagiarism is the appropriating, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one’s own written work.

Collusion is the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements.

Academic dishonesty is a serious offense in college. You can be given a failing grade on an assignment or test or even be suspended from college. Students who are determined to be involved in such activities shall be punished as prescribed by College and Board policies outlined in the Student Code of Conduct. You can access this information by going to https://www1.dcccd.edu/cat0506/ss/code.cfm .

Additional Statement on Cheating, Plagiarism, and Collusion (instructor)

All papers will undergo Safe Assign verification. If your paper has a high Safe Assign score, i.e., from 1% to 40%, and the report shows that you shared answers with another peer’s paper, and that paper is not a product of approved group/peer work, you will receive a zero (0) on that assignment. This applies to all papers and activities BEFORE THE END OF THE COURSE. You will have access to the Safe Assign Report. Instructor’s discretion applies based upon your content and the peer’s content.

AT THE END OF THE COURSE, if your formal research paper demonstrates cheating, plagiarism, and collusion via a high Safe Assign score, i.e., over 50% to 99%, and the matched content is not your content, you will receive a zero (0) on the formal research paper. A zero on the paper might contribute to you failing the course. Instructor’s discretion does not apply at the end of the course.

There is no opportunity for revision for activities/papers reflecting cheating, plagiarism, and collusion.

Assignments

In-Class Activities, Group Discussion & Essays

Power Point lecture, activities, and classroom discussions precede writing assignments.

There are fully developed English assignment sheets based on lecture, in-class only activities, and group-based discussions.

Part of the How Do You Learn? Research Project is the developing of teaching videos.

For right now, I will be developing teaching audios of current lecture Power Point materials as a way to test the process of instructional designing.

Development of audios are currently in progress. Progress to date include two Power Point presentations ready for audio.

Last. rev. 10/27/2019.

Module 1: Preparing for Transition Lectures

Assignment Descriptions

Overview

Preparing for Transition Lectures is a two-part process that includes the following objectives:

Annotated Bibliography: Preparing a research project regarding academic plans.

Personal Statement: Writing the personal statement as a pre-admissions assignment.

The purpose of lecturing and administering these two assignments is to usher students into a mindset of planning and transitioning. Students should adopt a two-year transition plan from the community college environment or the first two years at the university level to the next two levels that require greater conscientiousness. Students should be able to create and manage multiple options. Students should adopt a plan to close gaps.

Pre-Lecture Discussion & Writing

The following items are questions I ask students verbally at the beginning of the semester to gauge where students are in their academic planning processes.

1. What is your major?

2. What is your transfer school?

3. How have you prepared to date for transfer?

The extended goal of the assignments is to help students challenge their assumptions about their academic plans. Sometimes students choose a major simply because their parents wanted them to choose the major or because they think the major will help them in terms of financial value.

However, I get students to challenge their assumptions. For example, if a student reports that he or she is an accounting major, then I will ask that student this question:

Do you have a love for the numbers?

This question is important because students and later professionals can spend a lifetime in a career and field and be miserable. Accountants look at numbers all day, every day. If a professional gets to noon complaining that he or she is tired of looking at numbers, then it is likely that the field is not the most appropriate, even if the student is great at numbers. If a student does not have passion, lack of passion for the talent or the field might affect their contribution.

Challenging early assumptions will help students either to confirm and reinforce their contentions or challenge their assumptions.

Annotated Bibliography Prompt

Description

Creating an annotated bibliography affords you the opportunity to learn about your topic, prepare for a research project, and help to formulate a thesis. The annotated bibliography helps to determine if a source will be useful in shaping your argument.

You will create an annotated bibliography for the personal statement to help you prepare for the topic of “you,” which involves understanding your academic plans and where you want to take yourself professionally. It is not typical to create an annotated bibliography in preparation for a personal statement; however, it is crucial that you take the time to learn about the school and the career you are interested in as you go forward, ensuring that you will be a suitable fit.

With this in mind, you will create an annotated bibliography based upon the lecture and the preliminary research you have conducted to date regarding your transfer plans. The goal of this activity is to help you learn about your topic before sitting down to pen a personal statement.

Keep in mind that the bibliography and personal statement are useful during career development as well.

Learning Objectives

Create the annotated bibliography.

Synthesize ideas into a cohesive discussion.

Prompt

You will locate five (5) source materials: three (3) undergraduate programs, (1) graduate program; and career information from BLS.gov. Based upon the lecture, for each source, you will 1) summarize, 2) assess, and 3) reflect. There are exceptions to programs if you are currently enrolled in a university. See instructor.

You will summarize the main arguments of the source, including the topics covered. You will assess the source for its usefulness, determining if the information is reliable. This may be in contrast to the information provided by the school. Lastly, you will reflect on the source, determining also if it is helpful and if you can use it within your research project. You must dedicate a paragraph to the summary, the assessment, and the reflection. In essence, under each source material, you should have three paragraphs.

The assignment file audio lecture are attached below. (New Item)

Personal Statement Prompt

Description

The personal statement is essentially an argument, a document within which you express your desire for admission into both the school and the major and express your desire to learn and develop further in the field to which you have chosen. It is a type of initial pre-admissions assignment that requires you to demonstrate understanding of your special and unique qualities, explain how personal events and experiences have shaped and/or influenced your goals, and logically explore your interest in the field, detailing what you have learned and the insights you have gained as a result of your involvement.

The personal statement requires that you understand who you are, where you have been, where you are going, and how the educational institution might help you to accomplish your goals. Essentially, you are expected to demonstrate through writing how your involvement through work and/or study has reinforced your conviction that you are well suited for the field to which you have chosen. With this in mind, you will write a personal statement based upon the annotated bibliography, lecture, group discussion, and the writing prompt below.

Learning Objectives

Write the transfer admissions personal statement.

Synthesize ideas into a cohesive discussion.

Prompt

You will base the development of your personal statement on answering the following writing prompt:

What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field—such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities—what you have gained from your involvement (Source: University of California Undergraduate Admissions).

This writing prompt is popular among multiple institutions. This writing prompt offers a great structure for multiple areas of life and it makes it easier to add to it over time, from year to year and from graduate to career entry.

The assignment file and audio lecture are attached below. (New Item)

Module 2: Grit Essay Lectures

Assignment Description

Overview

The Grit Lectures is the next step in preparing students to gauge their conscientiousness or their potential to build conscientiousness for their academic work leading to their professional aspirations.

The most important aspect of the Grit Lectures is the goal of ushering students into an understanding that successes are measured by everyday completion of activities while grit is measured by achievement, i.e., the long-term commitment to completing a superordinate goal that might take years, decades, or a lifetime.

The base source for the students' essays is scholarly, peer-reviewed. Students use this source as a way to understand the purpose of a literature review. In English 1302, students use more base sources to create a literature review as a fully developed essay. For English 1301, students work with the one base source as a method to help them understand how to attend to the immediate text to do the following:

Discern the authors' argument/thesis.
Distinguish the use of sources: primary and secondary.
Examine the structure and organization of the base source.
Synthesize the different arguments and the total argument as well as the conclusions.

Students must learn the value of reading, critically thinking, and reflecting on the immediate text.

The additional aspect of this assignment is the attention given to understanding the structure of a writing prompt, which includes the following parts:

Topic Setup
Question
Directions

The writing prompt reflects this strategy.

The Grit Essay Lectures begins with a lecture and in-class activities,.

Pre-Writing Peer Teaching Process

Students begin learning about the base source titled "Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success" by Angela Duckworth and James J. Gross. The peer teaching exercise falls under the category of cooperative learning where student learn and teach the source to themselves as a part of adopting a student-centered instruction strategy. Peer Teaching makes students responsible for their own learning after lecture.

Here are the instructions for the peer teaching exercise:

Create groups of 2 or 3 members.

Create a teaching environment. Turn your desks to face each other.

Read the first section together.

Select a teacher. The teacher will attempt to explain what he/she just read.

Select a listener. The listener will review the teacher’s explanation.

Offer feedback.

Was the teacher’s explanation clear? Discuss observations.

Repeat steps for subsequent pages.

Take turns teaching/listening.

Grit Essay Writing Prompt

Description

Angela Duckworth and James J. Gross in “Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success” define grit as the ability to stick with a definable goal over the long term until you have mastered it. Duckworth and Gross suggest that “grit” is a “determinant of success”; it is “the tenacious pursuit of a dominant superordinate goal despite setbacks” (319). They also suggest that grit is strongly correlated, although not perfectly, with self-control, further implying that to achieve a definable, larger goal, one must align all actions with achieving that goal despite alternatives that are more alluring (Duckworth and Gross 319). To do this, individuals must employ self-control at multiple levels, addressing issues with mindset, and also build conscientiousness to improve adult well-being.

For example, Carol Dweck introduces mindset and suggests a difference between “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset” as it relates to one’s belief in achieving or not achieving a definable goal. As Dweck suggests using the “Changing Our Mindset” chart, fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence is static and is essentially determined at birth; however, “growth mindset,” in contrast, is defined as the belief that intelligence can be developed despite challenges, setbacks, and failures. People who exercise a growth mindset often reach higher levels by employing grit. This is a distinction Duckworth also makes in a YouTube video titled “The Key to Success? Grit.” Dweck’s discussion may also support notions concerning nature vs. nurture.

Lastly, Sarah E. Hampson in “Mechanisms by Which Childhood Personality Traits Influence Adult Well-Being” concludes that childhood conscientiousness predicts adult well-being; adults who were low in conscientiousness as adolescents often achieve less academically, professionally, and personally (264).

With these contexts in mind, do you think “grit” is a predictor of academic, professional, and personal success? Considering Angela Lee Duckworth’s and Carol Dweck’s videos and the journal articles and related videos discussed in class, define “grit” within the context of the works. Explore the difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset, assuming that one or both (i.e., fixed, growth) will help to contribute to the sustaining of grit and the shifting to a growth mindset. Use examples from the source material and/or videos. Life examples are appropriate as well.

Learning Objectives

Create and develop the grit essay.

Create a thesis.

Synthesize ideas into a cohesive discussion.

Requirements

The word length requirement for this essay is a range between 750 and 1,000 words. You are required to integrate the following source materials.

Students are required to integrate seven (7) sources at different point values. Integration of the base source is worth 40 points. This means that the student must spend more time on the base source than all the sources combined.

The assignment file audio lecture are attached below. (New Item)

Interpreting the Question

The prompt question requires students to do three things:

1. Answer the question. This is a yes or no answer. There may be an option where students may adopt another option.

2. Address all three additional elements: academic, professional, and personal success. "Goals" are not the same thing as success.

3. Use the word "predictor." Use of "determinant" may be appropriate because the authors use the term.

Students receive instruction on coordinating conjunctions. There is an "and" in the question, not an "or." This means that students must still address all three elements, even if they do not think grit is a predictor of at least one element.

There are three (3) possible theses:

1. Grit is a predictor of academic, professional, and personal success.

2. Grit is a predictor of academic and professional success but not necessarily personal success.

3. Grit is not a predictor of academic, professional, and personal success.

Students can choose their thesis angles, but they must address all elements of the prompt overall.

Structuring the Essay

Students are required to adopt a strict structure for the essay to prevent them from spending too much time on sources that may be worth five (5) or ten (10) points and not sufficient time on the base source.

Introduction

For this type of topic, the introduction sets up the paper.

First Two Body Paragraphs

The first two body paragraphs represent concept exploration. They set up the topic.

Proving Paragraphs

The argument development begins after concept exploration. Without an understanding of the base source, it would be difficult for the reader to have a sound understanding of the argument that follows.

For example, an obvious topic sentence would be: Grit is a predictor of academic success. Students would then use the required sources to support their argument.

This area of the paper prepares students for minor development of argument and prepares the student for the Argument Analysis Essay.

Conclusion

The conclusion is a summary of the concept as well as the argument.

The goal of structuring the essay in this manner is to help students understand the importance of presenting classical, theoretical, and conceptual arguments before creating their own arguments.

Required Sources

Duckworth, Angela and James J. Gross. “Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable

Determinants of Success.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 23, no. 5, 2014. Association for Psychological Science, 319-325, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721414541462. Accessed 06 Feb. 2018.

Duckworth, Angela Lee and Lauren Eskreis-Winkler. “True Grit.” Association for Psychological Science, vol. 26, no. 4, 2013. Observer, n. pag., https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/true-grit. Accessed 06 Feb. 2018.

Duckworth, Angela Lee. “Short Grit Scale.” Questionnaire, 08 Oct. 2015. https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/. Accessed 06 Feb. 2018.

Duckworth, Angela Lee. “The Key to Success? Grit.” YouTube, uploaded by TED Talks,

09 May 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8. Accessed 06 Feb. 2018.

Dweck, Carol. “Changing Our Mindset Chart.” Visual/Graph/PDF File, 8 Oct. 2015.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ee/4b/d9/ee4bd915191043797bc54af692050 4c1.jpg. Accessed 10 Jun. 2018.

Hampson, Sarah. “Mechanisms by Which Childhood Personality Traits Influence

Adult Well-Being.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 17, no.

4, 2008. Association for Psychological Science, 264-268,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2757085/pdf/nihms131094

.pdf. Accessed 06 Feb. 2018.

Rae-Dupree, Janet. “Unboxed: If You’re Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow.” Business Day, Unboxed. The New York Times, 06 Jul. 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06unbox.html?_r=1. Accessed 06 Feb. 2018.

The Grit Essay template is an attached file.

Module 3: What Did You Learn? Self-Assessment & Reflection

Assignment Description

Overview

Module 3 is a Fall 2019 test case.

Module 3 typically focuses on comparing and contrasting sources under a single topic. However, the previous module spilled over into this current module. It was important to ensure students met the requirements of the previous lecture series and the subsequent essay.

I extended the due date and used in-class instructor feedback as a tool to get students over the hump leading to formal submission.

Therefore, Module 3 became the best opportunity to test out the ideas of academic learning progress. This means that all activities surrounding the previous assignment were transformed to fit this new test case assignment.

What Did You Learn? is a test case essay assignment that helps students gauge their learning progress using the Grit Essay as the recent target. Students are required to write about what they learned regarding the processes and activities leading up to writing the essay, which include instructor verbal and written feedback and other in-class activities.

What Did You Learn? supports How Do You Learn? Research Project.

For this test case assignment, there were two additional activities transformed to coordinate with the essay:

1. Thinking Routine

2. Peer Review

For both activities, students gauged their learning progress regarding their participation in in-class only activities.

Thinking Routine

The Thinking Routine required students to gauge their learning style. Students answered the following questions in handwritten, in-class form:

1. What is your learning style?

2. How do you learn?

3. What are your student learning needs?

It is obvious that asking these questions at the beginning of the semester through a survey instrument might have been more beneficial, but then the students would not have had a target to which they could refer in creating their answers.

Students had completed different types of writing, from the annotated bibliography and personal statement to the Grit Essay. Students had also engaged in multiple in-class only, group-based discussions.

In addition, not every student knows their learning style or their student learning needs. Even though there may be some overlap in the construction of the questions, which is also tentative, the last question is the most significant because I have had students tell me at the end of the semester that they are autistic.

Students telling instructors about particular learning needs, without approved accommodations, at the end of the semester is not knowledge necessary or useful for resolving any issues the students may be having when issues with submissions may have been resolved throughout the semester. This is important when the student may not have submitted multiple assignments, which contributes to the failing grade.

Therefore, getting students to gauge their learning styles and learning needs is important.

This process is also central to the instructor gauging the students' learning progress, which will contribute to further study and research for How Do You Learn? Research Project.

Peer Review

The Peer Review required students to gauge the helpfulness of the peer review process. Students answered the following question:

1. How has Peer Review helped you to date?

It is a simple question. Students have peer reviewed multiple drafts leading to this question.

But gauging the students' learning progress for peer review is interesting.

What Did You Learn? Writing Prompt

Description

Given the lecturing, drafting, and writing processes surrounding the Grit Essay, you will write an essay on what you have learned to date.

This is a knowledge check and mid-semester self-assessment and reflection essay to gauge your progress regarding key composition-based principles and strategies. You will write this essay based upon your recent experience writing the Grit Essay, which required quote integration, minor argument building, and synthesis. You are not writing another Grit Essay. However, you are gauging what you learned during the learning, applying, and writing processes surrounding the topic and essay development.

You will consider all aspects of the processes leading up to writing the essay and the processes that followed writing the essay. Processes leading up to writing the essay include lecture, in-class only activities, reading summaries, any extra credit, discussion of sources, and peer review. This means that you can bring in sources that you wrote for a reading summary such as Taylor Wilson’s video that were not permitted in the Grit Essay. You will also consider the drafting processes as well as in-class instructor feedback, written (margin comments) and verbal, provided for your essay.

You may consider the source materials but at your discretion and your flexibility. This knowledge check essay can be interpreted as a free-write that may be narrative in form with some references to materials and/or as a semi-developed essay with multiple references and quoting. The answer to the question “What did you learn?” will be your thesis statement.

This is a completion essay with point considerations.

Learning Objectives

Gauge your learning and writing processes.

Create a thesis.

Synthesize ideas into a cohesive discussion.

Requirements

The word length requirement for this essay is 600 to 750 words. You are not required to integrate source materials, but you are required to reference activities. Your target is the Grit Essay and all activities surrounding it. You may use the categories as sub-titles within your paper. Be sure to add a main title for your essay.

Categories

Introduction (10)

Provide an introduction. Provide a thesis based on “What Did You Learn?”

Topic Overall (10)

What do you think about the topic of “grit” overall? Provide a general overview.

Essay Structure (20)

What is your view on the essay structure? Did it help or hinder your learning and writing processes? Do you know your learning style, i..e., visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic? Consider how you learn and your learning style in your response.

Required Sources (20)

How useful were the required sources, especially the base source? Consider the impact of learning about grit, self-control, fixed mindset, growth mindset, adolescence and risk-taking as mediators for adult well-being, and conscientiousness.

Instructor Feedback (20)

How useful was the in-class instructor feedback? What did you need? Did you get what you needed? Were you clear on what you needed? How would voice your need? Consider your student writing needs.

MLA Formatting (10)

How comfortable do you feel using MLA after peer teaching and writing the paper? Consider the importance of appropriately attributing source materials in an academic paper.

Conclusion (5)

Provide a conclusion that focuses on a summary of what you learned writing the essay.

Works Cited (5)

You must provide a Works Cited entry for the paper you wrote. See the SNHU document titled “FAQ: How should I cite my own work?” for more information.

Note: You may use any and/or all of the sources to make your points. You will not be penalized for not using any source materials, but you will need to reference at least activities that serve as a foundation for learning and writing the paper.

The full essay is worth 100 points. It is due in a week.

The assignment sheet is attached. An audio file may be forthcoming.

Module 4: Argument Analysis Essay Lectures

Assignment Description

Overview

Module 4 is the Argument Analysis Essay assignment that introduces students to the argument building process. Students learn what a claim, counterclaim, supporting evidence, and rebuttal mean.

Unlike my English 1302 course, students are expected to demonstrate competence in building an argument in at least one paragraph and sustain their argument whereas in 1302, students must demonstrate competence in building argument in multiple paragraphs and/or sections and sustaining that argument with effective rebuttals all the way to the end of the paper.

The Argument Analysis Essay lecture introduces students to rhetorical analysis, referencing ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos. They are introduced also to differing arguments that require critical thinking.

Students learn to choose a position on the topic and use the opposing argument as a counterargument to their main argument. The use of a counterargument should trigger students to rebut the counterargument, which helps to sustain their argument.

Board lecture revolves around exploring the topic of keeping or eliminating grades through examining each required source.

Students complete the following additional in-class only activities and take-home assignments that coordinate with the topic.

1. Take-Home Thinking Routine

2. In-Class Drafting

3. Peer Review

4. Reading Summary

English departmental guidelines require at least one in-class only drafting process of an essay.

Audio development of the Power Point lecture is in process.

The lecture series also includes multiple worksheets to help students practice. See the sections on this web page.

Take-Home Thinking Routine

Students are required to review a handout on "Argument." The source of the handout is part of University of North Carolina's Writing Center online. The handout is a resource. The Power Point also fully explores the concept of argument.

The Thinking Routine is titled "I used to think . . . Now I think" where students review the handout and then answer what they used to think and what they not think about "Argument." This process sets the tone for Module 4, which will help students identify the different arguments on the topic and prepare them for the arguments that they will encounter in the Formal Research Paper at the end of the course.

In-Class Drafting

In-Class Drafting is a department-based assignment where students learn how to write under time constraints, which is similar to a standardized testing environment most students encounter.

Writing under constraints will help students to focus on the arguments to sustain efficiency. The Formal Research Paper is a standardized writing prompt, so this process will provide insight for the last essay of the course.

Students are permitted to bring in a prepared cheat sheet of quotes they might desire to use. They may also bring in a copy of their reading summaries, but I advised that referring to a source might hinder their process to work efficiently within a 55-minute course day.

Students are prepared for in-class drafting through verbal lecture and written Power Point.

Peer Review

The Peer Review of the in-class draft will help students examine and asses their peer's argument to determine if it is effective.

The following questions will focus the student on providing effective peer review:

1. What is the student's argumentative thesis?

2. What is the student's first claim?

3. What is the student's counterclaim?

4. What is the student's use of evidence?

5. What is the student's rebuttal?

6. Does the student build an argument?

7. Are you persuaded by the student's argument?

The student will receive a pre-formatted document to record answers.

The student must write out the information from their peer's paper. This helps the student focus on the argument and not merely on the grammar, especially when the paper is an argumentative paper and not a grammar quiz.

Peer Review keeps the point of the assignment before all students. It consistently sustains the idea that the academic paper at the first-year composition level should move beyond narrative writing.

Reading Summary

The Reading Summary precedes the In-Class Drafting and Peer Review.

Students write a reading summary on the three base sources, which reflects major arguments and counterarguments. This gives students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the arguments before drafting the essay in class. The more time students live with and write on the arguments, the easier it becomes to pursue competence and mastery of the differences between each author's argument.

Students are not introduced to the arguments and then ushered into another topic. We spend roughly four weeks on identifying, assessing, and evaluating arguments and then further revising their own arguments when there is a lack of clarity.

Students must cite evidence in the reading summary.

The reading summary is also useful for helping students start reading the arguments.

Argument Analysis Writing Prompt

Description

The topic for the Argumentative Analysis Essay is the case in support of or the case in opposition to grades and related assessment marking systems including margin comments and the use of rubrics.

There is growing concern among students and scholars alike that grades, testing scores, and grading systems in general hinder learning. Modern writing assessment scholars such as Alfie Kohn suggests in “The Case against Grades” that we must “take a hard look at . . . the use of letters or numbers as evaluative summaries of how well students have done, regardless of the method used to arrive at those judgments” (233). Kohn further believes that “[g]rades tend to diminish students’ interest in whatever they’re learning . . . and reduce the quality of students’ thinking” (234). Grades and grading are both subjective and may be problematic because they might include a professor’s ideological beliefs, prejudices, and critical leanings. There might be concern for bias.

In David Fryman’s “Open Your Ears to Biased Professors,” he argues that professors, although they might assess a student’s writing with bias, offer a unique perspective about critical thinking and suggests that students should have a “critical respect” for their knowledge (211). However, J. R. Solomon, a student writer, disagrees with the notion that professors should be permitted to indoctrinate their beliefs. In “Indoctrination Is Not Education,” Solomon suggests that students should challenge professors’ views when they promote a one-sided perspective on topics, namely the “teacher’s side” (223). Professors should be more responsible with how they espouse critical views and promote critical thinking.

Learning Objectives

Develop and sustain an argument stance.

Summarize and paraphrase ideas presented.

Synthesize ideas into a cohesive discussion.

Cite appropriately for direct quotes and paraphrases.

Prompt

You are writing and developing an essay based upon the following writing prompt: Do you believe that grades should be eliminated, OR do you think we should keep grades?

You will need to develop a stance and sustain the argument throughout your paper. You must also incorporate the arguments and counterarguments from the three major readings discussed above. You may include additional arguments and counterarguments on the topic using related supporting evidence. The goal is to critique these arguments based upon your stance. You must choose one side and use the other side as a counterargument and/or rebuttal. Do not include subtitles.

Category, Points Possible & What to Do

Essay (60): You need a fully developed essay with an introduction, body paragraphs with topic sentences that support the thesis, and a conclusion. You must create an arguable thesis in which your goal is to prove and persuade using supporting evidence. You are required to use 3 sources, but at your discretion:

“The Case Against Grades,” Alfie Kohn, pp. 233 to 237
“Open Your Ears to Biased Professors,” David Fryman, pp. 210 to 211
“Indoctrination Is Not Education,” J.R. Solomon, pp. 222 to 224

You must integrate claims, counterclaims, and rebuttals on the topic. Use MLA.

You may use additional sources not to exceed five. Use MLA. There must be an attempt to build an argument overall, not necessarily within every paragraph as would be the standard in my English 1302 course.

Journal Article (10): You must incorporate “Why Grades Engender Performance-Avoidance Goals.”

Blog Entry (10): You must incorporate one of the blog/commentary entries.

MLA Formatting (10): You must format all in-text citations according to MLA format. Refer to pages 385 to 390 for in-text, pages 390 to 403 for works cited formatting, and pages 404 to 410 for how to format the document as a whole. You have received formal instruction on all pages.

Works Cited (10): This should be the last page of your paper. Use Work in an Anthology guidelines. Use Web-based guidelines for other sources. Use the appropriate MLA formatting for other sources you consider. Refer to the textbook.

Requirements

The length requirement for this assignment is a range between four and five total essay pages. The fourth page must be a full page, not half to make the points for this assignment. You must create a Works Cited page.

You must use the three course readings as primary sources + the journal article and one of the blog/commentary entries. You may use and integrate additional sources, not to exceed five total additional sources on the Works Cited list.

Grading Deductions

Here is an outline of the points I will deduct from your total score for missing elements.

For each missing required source material, I will subtract 10 points.

For each in-text citation (in the essay) not formatted properly according to MLA, I will subtract 5 points.

If you do not have a Works Cited page, I will subtract a total of 10 points.

If you are missing a required entry on that Works Cited page, I will subtract 5 points for each missing entry.

If you are missing a required page (i.e., four pages are required), then I will subtract 10 points.

If you submit a half page for the 4th page, then I will subtract 5 points.

You must include all sources referenced and cited in the paper on the Works Cited page. That includes additional sources you use. If you consider sources for the paper, but do not reference/cite them in the paper, you can use “Bibliography” as a title for what would be the Works Cited page.

Required Sources

Fryman, D. (2004, August 31). Open your ears to biased professors. In Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing, by Carolyn E. Channell & Timothy W. Crusius, 210-211. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kohn, A. (2011, November). The case against grades. Educational Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/case-grades/

Olson, K. (2006, November 7). The wounds of schooling. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/11/08/11olson.h26.html.

Pulfrey, C., Buchs, C., & Butera, F. (2011). Why grades engender performance-avoidance goals: The mediating role of autonomous motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(3), 683-700, Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/abed/f1836639dc4f6b68bd015f9b4762bafea333.pdf?_ga=2.218198042.201339665.1572661775-2029150938.1572661775

Sackstein, S. (2014, November 19). Students react to a classroom without grades. Education Week Teacher. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/11/08/11olson.h26.html

Solomon, J.R. (2015, October 12). Indoctrination is not education. In Engaging Questions: A Guide to Writing, by Carolyn E. Channell & Timothy W. Crusius, 222-224. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Last rev. 10/31/2019

Building an Argument Worksheet

Sample

Key Argument Concepts

Stance/Position

Your position must be arguable and reflect arguable thesis statement.

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence both supports the thesis and frames the paragraph.

Claim

The claim on the topic is in content you use to support your position.

Counterclaim

The counterclaim on the topic is content you use to oppose your position.

Evidence

The evidence is quotable content used to support a claim, counterclaim, and/or rebuttal.

Rebuttal

The rebuttal refutes the counterclaim; refute means to prove a statement is wrong or false.

Use the following worksheet to help you build an argument. Work as a group. Keep the sheet.

Position: ____________________________________________________________

Topic Sentence: ___________________________________________________________________

Claim: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interpret: ___________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Counterclaim: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Evidence: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Rebuttal: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Commentary:_________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Building an Argument Worksheet

Sample Position & Claim: Eliminate Grades

Key Argument Concepts

Stance/Position

Your position must be arguable and reflect arguable thesis statement.

Topic Sentence

The topic sentence both supports the thesis and frames the paragraph.

Claim

The claim on the topic is in content you use to support your position.

Counterclaim

The counterclaim on the topic is content you use to oppose your position.

Evidence

The evidence is quotable content used to support a claim, counterclaim, and/or rebuttal.

Rebuttal

The rebuttal refutes the counterclaim; refute means to prove a statement is wrong or false.

Use the following worksheet to help you build an argument. Work as a group. Keep the sheet.

Position: Grades should be eliminated

Topic Sentence:

___________________________________________________________________

Claim: “Grades promote a fear of failure even in high-achieving students . . .” (Kohn 234).