Rhetoric II

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.

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 homepage.

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 work on developing better habits in terms of your process of writing -- from the invention stage to the revision, editing, and proofreading stages,
5. to strengthen your skills in summarizing and evaluating sources with accuracy, clarity, insight, and integrity,
6. to develop the ability to read and listen critically, and to write and speak clearly and effectively in standard English,
7. to develop the ability to collect, analyze, and interpret information and to communicate the results to others,
8. to develop critical reasoning skills in the use of analogy, deduction, and induction, and
9. to develop the ability to make informed judgments concerning ethical values.

REQUIREMENTS.  For this course, you must complete the following assignments:

1. the library experience,
2. three short papers (1,000-1,200 words each)
3. a longer research paper (2,500 words), and
4. two speeches (5-8 minutes each).

The three shorter papers will each be worth 140 points; the research paper will be worth 300 points; and the two speeches 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 for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone).  In addition, you will receive extra credit for certain in-class assignments during the course of the semester, and you will not receive this extra credit if you are absent from class on the relevant days.  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 9:30-10:50 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.  If you cannot see me at this time, however, 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 automatically.  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 (RHET10225) from the list of your courses this semester.  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
M Jan 20	Introductions	----------
R Jan 23	Types of Argument and Summary	Review Writing Arguments, pp. 24-47 and 88-106.  Read Writing Arguments, pp. 183-191.
M Jan 27	Summary Practice	Read Writing Arguments, pp. 607-622.  Before class, do Steps 1 and 2 of the summarizing process (Writing Arguments, p. 30) with Stephanie Riger’s article.  What type of claim (Writing Arguments, pp. 184-187) is Riger making as her main point?
R Jan 30	Causal Arguments	Read Writing Arguments, pp. 228-260, and the article, “Alcohol and Sexual Aggression in a National Sample of College Men,” by Ullman, Karabatsos, and Koss.  What type of claim (Writing Arguments, pp. 184-187) is the article making?  NOTE:  The article is available through SOCS under “Resources.”  Click here to go to SOCS.
M Feb 3	Evidence and Audience	Review Writing Arguments, pp. 107-178.
R Feb 6	Paragraphing and Writing Workshop (sample peer feedback forms)	Read The New Century Handbook, pp. 92-97 and 103-125.  Skim Writing Arguments, pp. 445-451.
M Feb 10	Evaluating Sources	PAPER 1 DUE.
R Feb 13	LIBRARY EXPERIENCE	Meet in the main lobby of the Library.  Come with a topic for PAPER 2 in mind.
M Feb 17	Evaluation and Good Criteria	Read Writing Arguments, pp. 280-306.
R Feb 20	Evaluation Practice	Review Writing Arguments, pp. 607-622.  Come to class with some possible criteria in mind for evaluating Riger’s article.
M Feb 24	Using Sources and Quotation	Read Writing Arguments, pp. 387-401, and The New Century Handbook, pp. 224-242.  Review Writing Arguments, pp. 607-622.
R Feb 27	Speech Feedback	SPEECH 1.
M Mar 3	Speech Feedback	SPEECH 1.
R Mar 6	Speech Feedback	SPEECH 1.
M Mar 10	NO CLASS	Spring Break.
R Mar 13	NO CLASS	Spring Break.
M Mar 17	Style, Wording, and Writing Workshop	Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 661-760.
R Mar 20	Literature Reviews	PAPER 2 DUE.
M Mar 24	Re-Search	Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 155-223, and Writing Arguments, pp. 361-386.
R Mar 27	Evaluating the Research on a Topic	Review Evaluation and Writing Arguments, pp. 280-306.
M Mar 31	NO CLASS	Conferences.
R Apr 3	NO CLASS	Conferences.
M Apr 7	Documentation, Grammar, and Writing Workshop	Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 276-346 and 632-660.
R Apr 10	Research Proposals	PAPER 3 DUE.
M Apr 14	Proposals (Click here to go to SOCS.)	Read Writing Arguments, pp. 307-345.
R Apr 17	Documentation Revisited	Review The New Century Handbook, pp. 276-346.
M Apr 21	Speech Feedback	SPEECH 2.
R Apr 24	Speech Feedback	SPEECH 2.
M Apr 28	Speech Feedback	SPEECH 2.
R May 1	Format	Skim The New Century Handbook, pp. 427-450.
Finals Week	NO EXAM	PAPER 4 DUE in my box in Bliss 124 by the end of Final Exams.

Click here to go to my home page.