Rhetoric I

 

RHET 101 - 61
Fall 2002
9:30-10:50 a.m. TF
Forcina 224
Business 206

Prof. G. Steinberg
Office: Bliss 216
Office Phone: 771-2106
Office Hours: 3:30-5:00 p.m. MR
and by appointment
E-mail: gsteinbe@tcnj.edu

TEXTBOOKS:
John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson, Writing Arguments (5th ed.), ISBN 0205324665.
Christine A. Hult and Thomas N. Huckin, eds., The New Century Handbook (2nd ed.), ISBN 0205329705.
Jan A. Pechenik, A Short Guide to Writing about Biology (4th ed.), ISBN 0321078438.

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  The Rhetoric Program at The College of New Jersey consists of a two-course sequence designed to develop skills in writing, speaking, and listening; logic and critical thinking; and library research.  The two courses are intended to support the college's comprehensive learning goals and outcomes, specifically those concerning effective communication.  The courses are designed to teach students the effective communication skills they will need to succeed in college and beyond.  The specific skills which the rhetoric program focuses upon are those directly related to the analysis and production of persuasive arguments, both written and oral.  For more information, visit the Rhetoric Program's home page.

This section of Rhetoric I is part of a pilot project designed to test new methods of teaching Rhetoric.  All students in this Rhetoric course are also concurrently enrolled in BIOL 183 (our "paired course").  During the course of the semester, our class discussions and writing assignments will take advantage of the fact that you all share BIOL 183.  While our Rhetoric class will not be a biology writing course (and I am not a biologist), we will often use topics, examples, and assignments from biology to help us learn and practice the skills that are normally covered in Rhetoric.  In our Rhetoric class, we will not go over your writing assignments for BIOL 183, but you should find ample connections between the skills that you are learning in Rhetoric and the writing tasks that you are assigned in BIOL 183, and you will sometimes need to call on what you are learning in BIOL 183 in order to complete the assignments in our Rhetoric class successfully.

The biggest difference between this Rhetoric course and most others this semester is that it is conceived of as a single-semester version of the normal two-semester sequence of Rhetoric I and Rhetoric II.  In other words, we will be working more intensively and covering more material in this class than is normally covered in a regular Rhetoric I.  But because of your participation in this more intensive pilot course, you will automatically be considered for exemption from Rhetoric II at the end of the semester.  A committee of faculty will assess the success of the pilot course by examining a portfolio of your writing and a video of your speeches.  This assessment committee will then determine whether you have satisfactorily mastered the material normally covered in both Rhetoric courses.  If so, you will be exempted from Rhetoric II.

When you register for spring 2003 later this semester, you should not enroll in RHET 102.  If the assessment committee concludes that exemption from RHET 102 would significantly disadvantage you, you will be given a chance to add RHET 102 to your spring schedule later, or you may wait and enroll in it next year.

GOALS.  As my goals for this course, I want you

    1. to perceive persuasion and argument primarily as a form of dialogue rather than as a form of debate or competition,
    2. to develop a greater sense of responsibility for your own learning and work,
    3. to become more independent and more adept in your ability to elicit and exploit effective feedback on your writing (from your professors, your peers, and even yourself),
    4. to develop better habits in terms of your process of writing -- from the invention stage to the revision, editing, and proofreading stages,
    5. to develop your ability to read and listen critically and to write and speak clearly and effectively in standard English,
    6. to develop your critical reasoning skills in the use of analogy, deduction, and induction,
    7. to develop your ability to collect, analyze, and interpret information and to communicate the results to others, and
    8. to develop your ability to make informed judgments concerning ethical values.
REQUIREMENTS.  For this course, you must complete the following assignments:
  1. the i-LION tutorial (with all three quiz scores e-mailed to me before October 15),
  2. the library experience (on October 15),
  3. four papers, and
  4. two speeches.

PAPER 1, PAPER 2, and PAPER 3 will each be worth 140 points; PAPER 4 will be worth 300 points; and SPEECH 1 and SPEECH 2 will each be worth 140 points -- making a total for the semester of 1000 points (3 X 140 + 300 + 2 X 140).  Your final grade will therefore be based on a 1000-point scale:  A = 930-1000, A- = 900-929, B+ = 870-899, B = 830-869, B- = 800-829, C+ = 770-799, C = 730-769, C- = 700-729, D+ = 670-699, D = 600-669, and F = below 600.  You will, in addition, have opportunities to earn up to 30 extra-credit points for various in-class activities over the course of the semester.  Click here to see my grading criteria for papers.  Click here to see my grading criteria for speeches.

ATTENDANCE.  Regular attendance is a virtual necessity for successful completion of the speeches and papers in this class.  Class discussion constitutes important, useful preparation for the course’s graded assignments.  If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of discussion from a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone).  If, however, you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out what you missed and to come fully prepared -- without excuses -- to the next class meeting.

OFFICE HOURS.  My office is Bliss 216.  My office hours this semester will be 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays.  If you cannot see me at this time, please, feel free as needed to call my office (771-2106) or talk to me before or after class to arrange an appointment at another time.  You may also contact me by e-mail (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu), or you may leave a message for me in my box at the English department offices in Bliss 124.  E-mail is generally the fastest way to contact me in an emergency.

EMAIL.  I may, on occasion, want to e-mail everyone in class.  I generally only have access to your TCNJ e-mail addresses, however.  As a result, if you regularly use an e-mail address other than your TCNJ address, I recommend that you have mail from your TCNJ address forwarded to the address you use more regularly.  That way, if I e-mail your TCNJ address, my message will be forwarded to your other address.  To forward mail from your TCNJ address, just go to http://managemail.tcnj.edu/  and click “Mail Forwarding Manager.”  Follow the directions there to set up the mail forwarding.

If you would like to send an e-mail message to one or more of your classmates, you can do so through SOCS.  To access SOCS, go to http://socs.tcnj.edu and, after you have logged in with your TCNJ e-mail username and password, choose this course (RHET 10161) from the drop-down menu.  Then, when our course page comes up, click the “Email” button.  From there, you can select individual e-mail addresses or the entire class and send a message to the addresses you’ve selected.

COURSE SCHEDULE.  (This schedule is subject to revision at the discretion of the professor.  Reading assignments are to be completed for -- i.e., before -- the class meeting assigned.)
Date Topic Assignment
T Aug 27 Introductions ----------
F Aug 30 Argument and Writing Read Writing Arguments, pp. 3-23 and 48-71.
T Sep 3 NO CLASS Monday schedule.
F Sep 6 Types of Argument and the Toulmin Schema Read Writing Arguments, pp. 75-106 and 183-191.  Come to class with a topic for PAPER 1 in mind.
T Sep 10 Causal Arguments (Click here for a web-based version) Read Writing Arguments, pp. 228-260.
F Sep 13 Evidence Read Writing Arguments, pp. 107-131.
T Sep 17 Paragraphing Read Writing Arguments, pp. 445-451.  Read The New Century Handbook, pp. 92-97 and 103-125.  Writing Workshop.
F Sep 20 Evaluating Sources PAPER 1 DUE.
T Sep 24 Summary and Evaluation Read Writing Arguments, pp. 24-47 and 280-306.  Look at the online article.
F Sep 27 Summary Practice Read Writing Arguments, pp. 607-622.  Before class, do Steps 1 and 2 of the summarizing process with Stephanie Riger's article (see Writing Arguments, p. 30).  Read the online article.
T Oct 1 Reading and Evaluating Science Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 23-41 and 53-69.  Before class, do Steps 1 and 2 of the summarizing process with the online article (see Writing Arguments, p. 30).
F Oct 4 Summary and Critique Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 3-22 and 135-143.  Review Writing Arguments, pp. 280-306.
T Oct 8 Style Skim A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 80-131.  Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 661-707.  Writing Workshop.
F Oct 11 Science Journalism PAPER 2 DUE.
T Oct 15 LIBRARY EXPERIENCE Skim Writing Arguments, pp. 361-386.  Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 42-52.  Meet in the lobby of the Library.  Come with a topic for PAPER 3 in mind.
F Oct 18 Using Sources and Quotation Read Writing Arguments, pp. 387-401.  Review Writing Arguments, pp. 607-622.
T Oct 22 NO CLASS Fall Break.
F Oct 25 Writing Popular Science Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 260-269. Review A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 3-22.  Click here to go to SOCS for an article about secondary sex characteristics in finches (once in SOCS and logged into our class, choose the “resources” tab to find the article).
T Oct 29 Oral Presentations Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 270-281.
F Nov 1 Audience Read Writing Arguments, pp. 132-178.
T Nov 5 Wording Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 708-760.  SPEECH 1.  Speech Feedback.
F Nov 8 Grammar Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 632-660.  SPEECH 1.  Speech Feedback.
T Nov 12 Documentation Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 276-346.  Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 70-79.  SPEECH 1.  Speech Feedback.
F Nov 15 Format Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 427-450.  Writing Workshop.
T Nov 19 Literature Reviews and Research Proposals PAPER 3 DUE.
F Nov 22 Research Proposals and Literature Reviews Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 241-251.  Bring a topic for PAPER 4 to class.
T Nov 26 Proposal Arguments Read Writing Arguments, pp. 307-345.
F Nov 29 NO CLASS Thanksgiving.
T Dec 3 Term Papers Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 144-155.  SPEECH 2.  Speech Feedback.
F Dec 6 Poster Presentations Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 252-259.  SPEECH 2.  Speech Feedback.
T Dec 10 Essay Exams Read A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, pp. 233-240.  SPEECH 2.  Speech Feedback.
F Dec 13 NO EXAM PAPER 4 and PORTFOLIO DUE in my box in Bliss 124.

Click here to go to my home page.