Instructor: C. L. Eastman
Ticket/Time: 0517/ Monday, 7-10 p.m.
Location: A-204
Phone/Email: 909.594.5611x3049 or ceastman@whittier.edu
Office/Hours: Communications Dept. , by appt. only

Required Text: Rottenberg, Elements of Argument (St. Martins, 7th edition)
Strongly Recommended Supplemental Text: MLA Handbook
Just Slightly Less Strongly Recommended Text: Blackburn, ed., Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
You Will Also Need: One Student Composition Book, 10 1/4 by 7 7/8, and at least four examination booklets ("Blue Books")

Course Description: An intensive composition course which aims to develop critical thinking, reading, and argumentative/persuasive writing skills beyond the level achieved in English 101.

Procedural Ground Rules:
1. All readings and assignments are due on the date listed in the syllabus. No late or "dropped off" work will be accepted except in cases of excused absence (medical with verification or school-sanctioned trip, as per college policy).
2. It is the student's responsibility to keep abreast of all assignment deadlines, specific guidelines for particular assignments, and the inevitable changes of schedule. Towards this end the student is advised to have both the instructor's phone number as well as that of a classmate in his or her data bank.
3. All written assignments, with the obvious exception of those produced in class, should be typed or "word-processed" on white 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.
4. I can not state this forcefully enough: Keep all returned assignments in a separate notebook until the end of the semester!
5. No student who accumulates more than nine hours of unexcused absence will receive credit for the class. Prior to the drop deadline (March 22) the instructor will drop a student from the roll after nine hours of unexcused absence. A student who remains on the roll after the drop deadline and accumulates nine hours of unexcused absence will receive a grade of "F" or "No Credit" for the class. Time missed because the student has arrived late or left early will be counted against the nine hour total. If a student arrives late to class, he or she must make sure, at an appropriate time, that the instructor has not charged a full class absence against his or her attendance record.
6. Under no circumstances will the instructor allow class time to be used for the discussion of an individual student's grade or attendance status. The student wishing clarification or discussion of such matters must make an appointment to see the instructor outside of scheduled class time or during scheduled office hours.

Grading: All work will be given a point value based on this scale:
A=10 A-=9 B=8 C=7 D=6 F=5 Late or Unsubmitted =0
The course grade will be determined on the following percentages:
3 Position papers (outside of class) 20%
3 Unit/Theme papers (in class) 20%
1 research paper 20%
Journal/Presentations/Assts./Hwk. 20%
Final Examination 20%

Incompletes: Because of the ephemeral nature of the relationship between part-time faculty and the college, no incompletes will be approved.
Electronic Device/Class Disruption: Please switch off pagers, phones and any other noise making device before class starts. A student whose pager/phone goes off audibly in class, or who causes any other type of class disruption, will be warned on a first occurrence; on a second occurrence the Dean of Humanities will be notified and the student will be suspended from class; on any subsequent occurrence, the student will be expelled from the class and receive no credit. Only those who can verify that they are peace officers, fire fighters, or emergency service personnel on active duty (not student/academy/volunteer) will be exempted from this policy.
A Final Caveat Regarding Plagiarism: Plagiarism, according to the editors of the third edition of the MLA Handbook, comes from the Latin plagiarius ("kidnapper") and constitutes "the act of using another person's ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging the source" (21). Depending on the severity and extent of the offense, the penalties for plagiarism in this class may include an "F" grade on the assignment for the first occurrence and an "F" grade for the course on a second occurrence.

Week of: Schedule of Assignments

1/12 Diagnostic Writing; Discussion of Syllabus; Classmate Introduction

1/19 Martin Luther King Jr. birthday observed

1/26 Journal 1A; "Understanding Argument" and "Responding to Argument" (Rottenberg 3-56); Journal 1B

2/2 Journal 2A; discussion of "Claims" (Rottenberg, 57-110); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Journal 2B

2/9 Journal 3A; discussion of "Definition" (Rottenberg, 111-154);
Unit Theme Paper #1 (in-class): "Definition and Analysis"

2/16 President's Day Holiday observed

2/23 Journal 4A; discussion of "Support" and "Warrants" (Rottenberg, 155-236); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations ; Journal 4B

3/1 Journal 5A; discussion of "Language and Thought" (Rottenberg, 237-274); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Position Paper #1: "Defensible Opinions: Exhortation and Evidence" due; Journal 5B

3/8 Journal 6A; discussion of "Induction, Deduction, and Logical Fallacies" (Rottenberg, 275-319); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Journal 6B

3/15 Journal 7A; discussion of "Criminal Justice" (Rottenberg, 453-489); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Journal 7B

3/22 Journal 8A; Unit Theme Paper #2 (in class): "Criminal Justice: Choices and Limitations"

3/29 Journal 9A; discussion of "Freedom of Speech" (Rottenberg, 513-530); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Journal 9B

4/5 No Class Meeting-Spring Break (so called)

4/12 Journal 10A; discussion of "Writing and Researching Arguments" (Rottenberg, 323-428); Journal 10B

4/19 Journal 11A; discussion of "Reparations for Slavery" (Rottenberg 562-586); Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Position Paper #2: "The Evolving First Amendment: Stance, Slant and Spin" due; Journal 11B

4/26 Journal 12A; discussion of "Sex and Violence in Popular Culture" (Rottenberg, 609-632) Readings for Analysis--Student Presentations; Journal 12B

5/3 Journal 12A; Unit Theme Paper #3 (in class): "Do Popular Media Influence Behavior?"; Journal 12B

5/10 Journal 13A; Discussion of "Classic Arguments" (Rottenberg, 633-711); Research Presentations; Research Papers due

5/17 Final Exam
subject-"Classic Arguments"