SS 100 Writing and Communication Spring 2018 Instructor Room No. Office Hours Email Telephone Secretary/TA TA Office Hours Course URL (if any) All Instructors SS Wings (Ground Floor) COURSE DESCRIPTION SS 100 is a four-credit academic writing core course designed for first year BA/BSc students at Lahore University of Management Sciences. Writing at the university level can be a daunting experience therefore this course has been designed to develop argumentative composition skills that are deemed essential to successful future university coursework. To address this aim a considerable amount of time is spent on honing writing skills to create clear forceful prose, to formulate and support a compelling thesis, to employ rhetorical strategies effectively, and to observe the conventions of academic writing. To further support this aim, some of the class time is spent on reading and analyzing prose written for various purposes and audiences. The course also aims to address a second minor aim, that of improving presentation skills through a constructive and practical approach to effective oral communication in academic settings. Specific goals for this course include: reading not only for comprehension but also critically for implications & inference, gaining a clear sense of audience and purpose in critical and persuasive writing; understanding and employing techniques of argument analysis; being aware of style and voice; developing fluency in various aspects of the writing process, such as pre-writing, paragraph organization, thesis development, evidence construction, revision techniques and finally, analysis & critical response to texts. Throughout the semester students will have regular reading assignments which are complementary to the lecture material. They will be expected to write three essays, in addition to several smaller writing tasks, and quizzes. Attendance for this course is mandatory and will be graded. Another essential component of this course is class participation which again will be graded. It is expected that at the end of the course students will be able to write argumentatively in a clear and concise manner in order to meet the multiple needs and purposes of academic situations. TOPICS COVERED The Rhetorical Situation Writing process Essay structure Critical thinking & reading Critical writing & synthesizing Using MLA citation style GOALS & OBJECTIVES Principles of clear writing Patterns of exposition Introductions and conclusions Paraphrasing, summarizing Persuasion & argumentation Tone & style Paragraph development Thesis statements Analyzing and responding Research essay
Goal 1: To enable students to write substantive, well-organized and coherent essays following a specified process of writing while displaying awareness of the rhetorical situation including audience awareness and a sense of purpose & style through solid grounding in the core concepts of academic writing. Objective 1: Students will be able to employ prewriting strategies to select and narrow a topic, then plan, draft, revise, edit and proofread their paragraphs & essays. Objective 2: Students will be able to develop well-structured paragraphs that are unified and relevant to the topic sentence, and to employ various strategies to achieve coherence. Objective 3: Students will be able to write an essay with a clear introductory section, a body with coherent developmental paragraphs and a conclusion that summarizes the main idea and takes it a step further. Objective 4: Students will be able to distill their primary purpose into a compelling thesis statement and develop it with supporting points organized in a convincing manner using examples, facts, reasons, incidents and specific details. Objective 5: Students will be familiarized with the basic principles of clear & coherent prose, and to the concept of tone & style in writing. Objective 6: Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to conduct academic research by writing a documented essay. Objective 7: Students will be able to format their papers, incorporate citations, integrate quotations and avoid plagiarism following guidelines provided by the MLA referencing guide. Goal 2: To instill in students an awareness of critical thinking and reading in order to logically analyze information and ideas from multiple perspectives and then being able to critique different types of texts. Objective 1: Students will be able to read texts & use effective techniques to paraphrase, summarize & synthesize information. Objective 2: Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to recognize and understand the use of different modes of exposition such as classification, definition, cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and process analysis. Objective 3: Students will be able to read texts with attention to ideas, structure, arguments, assumptions and support and to recognize the strategies that writers use to convey their ideas and explain what is difficult to understand. Objective 4: Students will be able to intensively read a text for purpose, tone, analogies, style and rhetorical devices. Objective 5: Students will learn how to respond critically to readings from different genres, and to paraphrase, synthesize, analyze and evaluate the views presented, and then write in-depth critiques. Goal 3: To equip students with the ability to engage with and reflect on position & proposal arguments in a critical manner and systematically develop their own arguments using a claim-evidence approach. Objective 1: Students will be familiarized with the differences between facts and opinions, and the use of modes of persuasion, namely, logos, ethos and pathos. Objective 2: Students will be able to evaluate points of view, claims, bias, inferences, assumptions and supporting arguments. Objective 3: Students will be able to plan and compose an argumentative essay which is free from logical fallacies, and which develops a clear point of view supported with reasons, facts, evidence, expert opinions and examples. Goal 4: To familiarize students with the dynamics of oral communication skills, with an emphasis on presentations. Objective 1: Students will be able to design, develop and deliver effective presentations with respect to purpose and audience awareness, appropriate content, idea organization, coherence, use of body language and appropriate tone.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Lahore University of Management Sciences The achievement of the goals & objectives will be evaluated using various assessment tools. Each tool will measure specific objectives. Students will be assessed using the following tools: Assignments 75% Essays Persuasive/argumentative 15% essay (upto 1500 words) Critique (upto 2000 words) 15% Argumentative research 30% essay (upto 3000 words) In-class writing Number and types of inclass 15% writings are at the discretion of the instructor Quizzes 5% Quizzes Number and types of quizzes 5% are the discretion of the instructor Presentations 10% Presentations Advertisements (group) 5% Research Essay (Individual) 5% Other oral communication 0% activities are for practice and refinement of skills Class Participation 10% CP Class participation (attendance will NOT be graded but absence from class will adversely affect CP) (minimum attendance = 80% - students who fall below 80% Will be penalized marks will be deducted from CP) 10% Absolute grading system with specified cut-offs will be followed to ensure standardization in assessment across all sections. Characteristics (with respect to essay writing) of letter grades A to F will be shared with the students. All sections will follow the following cut-offs: Letter Grade % Equivalent A+ 89.00 and above A 86.00 88.99 A- 83.00 85.99 B+ 80.00 82.99 B 75.00 79.99 B- 70.00 74.99 C+ 65.00 69.99 C 60.00 64.99 C- 55.00 59.99 D 51.00 54.99 F 50.99 and below Absolute grading is justified on the basis that: In a writing-based course students individual skills need to be assessed rather than comparing students writing with each other and assessing their skills relatively. This will provide a clear understanding of each student s proficiency in academic writing, his or her strengths and the specific areas for improvement. ESSAYS
Students will write 3 essays during the semester, each developing & assessing specific goals & objectives. Each essay will build on the concepts handled in previous essays. Students will move gradually from writing essays that require basic knowledge of the writing process, idea organization and structure to the longer final academic research essay that requires more complex skills. All essays will be thesis driven & written in the third person, following the conventions of academic writing. In this context the aim is step-by-step progression in the techniques & skills of writing academic essays. Students may be advised to discuss their essay outlines with the instructors and their first drafts with the teaching assistants before submitting their final drafts. Moreover students may seek assistance from the Academic Writing Lab. To bring uniformity to essay grading standardized analytical grading schemes will be used to assess all student essays. The schemes will not only define the characteristics of letter grades from A to F, but will also provide the cut-off points for them. The grading criteria will evaluate student essays on the basis of five characteristics: level of thought, support, organization, style and mechanics (refer to Appendix A). However, the weight age assigned to each category will vary for the 3 essays. PERSUASIVE AND ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY Students will write a 1500 words persuasive /argumentative essay in which they develop their point of view on a given issue. They will be required to support their position/claim with reasoning, facts & examples taken from their readings, experiences, or observations. Goals & Objectives Assessed: Goal 1 Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 Goal 2 Objective 1, 2 Goal 3 Objectives 1, 2, 3 (all objectives) Prompt: The persuasive essay should not be just research based therefore the students will be instructed to aim to convince their reader to their way of thinking through logic and reasoning. Their ability to formulate claims and use logos, ethos & pathos to support their views without any logical fallacies will be assessed. Moreover, they will be required to address the opposition & counter it in order to write an un-biased piece. Thus, students will be provided with the essay topics. CRITIQUE Students will critique a selected text in a 2000 words essay that will assess their ability to not only read critically but to also formulate a claim and then to provide appropriate support for their claim. Goals & Objectives Assessed: Goal 1 Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 Goal 2 Objectives, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (all objectives) Prompt: Students will be provided with texts that incite a strong reaction from any reader and will be required to select one after careful and critical reading of each. They will be instructed to analyse, interpret and evaluate their selected text in terms of its strengths & weaknesses keeping in mind the purpose & audience of the original piece. ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH ESSAY Students will select a debatable, controversial topic and write a 3000 words research essay that is argumentative in nature & develops their claim/thesis statement with a variety of supporting data from varied academic, literary & professional sources. Students may write position arguments, proposal arguments or comparative arguments. Goals & Objectives Assessed: Goal 1 Objectives 1 to 7 (all objectives) Goal 2 Objective 1, 2, 3, 4 Goal 3 Objectives 1, 2, 3 (all objectives)
Prompt: Students will be instructed to write in an unbiased manner, presenting the opposing arguments as fairly as possible, without detracting from the strength of their arguments. The essays will be assessed in terms of selection of a worthwhile topic, an interesting introduction, a specific, focused & detailed thesis statement, relevant background information if required, clarity in defining technical terms & issues if required, appropriate paragraph structure (unity, relevance, coherence, logic), appropriate use of logos, ethos & pathos, accurate, reliable & appropriate support, avoidance of logical fallacies, appropriate handling of the opposing arguments, effective choice of words, grammatical, mechanical and lexical accuracy, in-text referencing & works cited page using the MLA citation format and paper formatting & presentation. IN-CLASS WRITING Supplementary in-class writing assignments will be expected some will be graded other ungraded. The types and number of in-class writing assignments will be at the discretion of the instructor. Goals & Objectives Assessed: Goal 1 Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4 Goal 2 Objectives 2, 3, 4 Goal 3 Objectives 1, 2 QUIZZES The purpose of quizzes is not to ask students to learn & reproduce concepts taught in class, but to apply these concepts in new contexts. The quizzes will assess different goals & objectives and will help in the reinforcement of the course content. PRESENTATIONS Students will design and present on different occasions and for different purposes. Goal & Objectives Assessed: Goal 4 Objective 1 (all objectives) CLASS PARTICIPATION Class participation is essential in a freshman writing course as it demonstrates absorption and retention of the material. Students will be encouraged to be actively engaged in not just asking questions to gain more insight into the course material but will also be encouraged to provide new insights in the form of supporting arguments, personal views, opinions and experiences and to engage in discussion for exploring new perspectives. Class participation will also include working on short in-class reinforcement exercises, participating in group activities, providing feedback for any take-home reinforcement exercises, and discussions about the readings. There will be 28 sessions in 14 weeks and students are expected to attend at least 80% of these as without intensive contact & interaction with the instructor the students will not be in a position to understand the concept of effective academic writing. Therefore, attendance is mandatory. In case a student s attendance falls below 80% he/she will be penalized by deducting 5% from his/her CP marks. If a student s attendance falls below 65% he/she will be given a zero for class participation. Attendance below 60% will result in a failing grade for the course. CLASS POLICIES Students who arrive more than 5 minutes late will be marked absent for the session however they will be allowed to sit through the class. Quizzes will be unannounced There will be no make-up for quizzes unless a student provides a medical certificate in case of an illness. In these cases it is at the discretion of the instructor to either allow a student to take a make-up quiz or to give the student mean marks.
There is no make-up for missed in-class writings. If a student is absent on the day of an in-class writing task he/she will receive a zero for it. Under no circumstances will a student get mean marks or be allowed to attempt the in-class task as a home assignment. Late assignments will not be accepted however the instructors may accept late assignments under special conditions. These conditions will be defined by the instructors. However, if late assignments are accepted the following policy will apply: Late assignment policy: - Assignments will be accepted for only 1 day after the deadline - A late submission penalty will be applied: = minus 4% from the grade for the said assignment Soft copies for all assignments must be uploaded on LMS within the stipulated deadline. Assignments must be word-processed and formatted according to the MLA style guide. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and may lead to a grade reduction or a zero in the related assignment. Moreover, plagiarism may be reported to the Disciplinary Committee in accordance with the University Policy on Plagiarism. Attendance is mandatory & failure to maintain 80% attendance will result in severe penalties (refer to the section on CP). SCHEME OF STUDIES SESSIONS TOPICS & PAGE NUMBERS 1 1 2 3 Introduction to the course Introduction to Critical Thinking & Reading + The Rhetorical Situation Modes of Exposition IN-CLASS - Course description - Grading criteria - Intro to College Writing - Plagiarism - Critical thinking & reading - Writing & its rhetorical situation - Reading critically for the rhetorical situation - What it says & what it does - Discussion: On Teenagers & Tattoos - Reading critically for modes of exposition + the writer s tone OUT-OF-CLASS (to be done before the following class) - Critical Reading & Writing at College - Plagiarism: a student s guide - On Teenagers & Tattoos by Andres Martin (attempt task 1 as you read) - Reading & Responding - The Process of Academic Writing - Reading & Responding 2 4 The Process of Academic Writing + Responding to the Writer s Message - Discussion: the process of academic writing - Critical Reading of Hunks & Handmaidens - In-Class Writing: personal response (reflection) - Dawkins Ironic Hypocrisy by James Patrick Holding - Writing: a one-paragraph response to the main message
3 5 6 Lahore University of Management Sciences Introduction to Persuasion & Argumentation Aristotelian Appeals + Understanding & Evaluating Support - What is Argumentation - Introduction to claims, support, warrants - Types of Claims - The Declaration of Independence - Modes of Persuasion / Aristotelian Appeals: Ethos, Logos, Pathos - Understanding & Evaluating Support (Evidence & Appeals to Needs & Values) - Introduction to Argument Establishing Claims thinking like a skeptic - Position & Proposal Arguments - Understanding & Evaluating Support Self-study: - What is a Paragraph? - Unity and Outlining - Coherence Group Task*: Create a print advertisement for the given product the advertisement should contain text as well as visuals. It should make a logical claim & have an attention-gripping tag line and use a blend of ethos, logos and pathos to sell the product or service. However, one of the persuasive appeals should be more dominant to the other 2. Present this advertisement on multi-media (1 slide) (5 minutes per group) and explain why you think this is a persuasive ad where you have used the 3 appeals highlight the dominant appeal and explain why you selected it as the dominant one. Discuss the important of the claim and the tag line in increasing the persuasiveness of the advert. BE CREATIVE. To be presented in Session 12 4 7 8 Logical Fallacies Paragraph Development & Organization - Using logic and avoiding logical fallacies - Group task: Island activity - Discussion: Paragraph structuring: unity, relevance & coherence - In-Class Writing: Paragraph Writing (pair work) - Logic in Argumentation Tasks: - Evaluating: Disconnecting a Respirator 5 9 10 Writing an Academic Essay Presentation Skills - Writing Thesis Statements - Writing Introductions - Writing Conclusions (using tasks & exercises) - Guidelines for designing & delivering effective presentations - The Essay - The Thesis Statement - Beginnings and Endings As specified by the instructor 6 11 12 Writing an Argumentative Essay Visual Arguments (Presentations) - Shaping & Structuring the Argumentative Essay - Position & Proposal Arguments - Group Presentations & discussion on advertisements Argumentation PROMPT 1
Mandatory AWC Workshop: The MLA Format (before session 13) 13 MLA Referencing - MLA Reinforcement session 7 8 14 Academic Writing Style 15 Academic Writing Style 16 Essential Skills for Critical Writing - The Writer s Style - Features of Academic Writing - Writing Effective Sentences - Choosing Appropriate Words - The Writer s Style - Features of Academic Writing - Writing Effective Sentences - Choosing Appropriate Words - Paraphrasing - Summarizing - Synthesis - The Writer s Style - Writing Effective Sentences - Choosing Appropriate Words - The Writer s Style - Writing Effective Sentences - Choosing Appropriate Words SUBMISSION 1 17 Critical Analysis - Rhetorical Analysis As specified by the instructor 9 18 Critical Analysis (Rhetorical Analysis) - Rhetorical Analysis - In-Class Writing: Rhetorical Analysis: Letter from President Bush As specified by the instructor 19 Writing a Critique - Writing a Critique (putting together analysis & response) - Writing a Critique PROMPT 2 10 20 Comparative Arguments - 21 Comparative Arguments - 11 22 - Impromptu presentations / other oral communication skills activities
12 23 + 24 Lahore University of Management Sciences Oral Communication Skills Introduction to Writing a Research Essay - The Research Essay - Choosing a Research Topic - Developing a Research Question - Formulating a Working Thesis - Writing a Research Essay Research Topic Approval (after session 23 & before session 25) As specified by the instructor SUBMISSION 2 PROMPT 3 PROMPT FOR INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS 25 13 14 26 Research Presentations 27 Research Presentations 28 Research Essay & Winding Up - Individual Presentations - Individual Presentations - Research Essay Outline - Feedback for Essay 3 - Winding Up TIMELINE FOR ESSAYS Assignment Prompt-to-be-Given Submission Deadline Word Limit Persuasive/Argumentative Session 11 Session 16 1300-1500 Critique Session 19 Session 23 1800-2000 Comparative Argument / Research Essay Session 23 To be announced later 2800-3000