University of Florida
ENC 1102: Introduction to Argument and Persuasion
Section 4431, Summer B 2006
MTWRF Period 3 [11:00am - 12:15pm]
Classroom: MAT 113


Instructor: Angelique V. Nixon
E-mail: angelnix@ufl.edu
Office: Institute of Black Culture (IBC)
Office Hours: W Period 4 [12:30-1:45pm]
Phone: (352) 392-6650 (English Dept)
Website: www.clas.ufl.edu/users/angelnix

COURSE DESCRIPTION

ENC 1102: Introduction to Argument and Persuasion focuses on the essential stylistics of writing clearly and efficiently within the framework of argumentative research writing. You will learn how to formulate a coherent thesis and defend it logically with evidence drawn from research in your various fields. You will also learn how to work through the stages of planning, research, organizing, and revising your writing. ENC 1102 will introduce you to techniques and forms of argument in a broad range of disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, business, and natural sciences. This course encourages students to investigate the relationship between writing and knowledge, and to discover how writing can create, rather than merely transmit, knowledge. Class discussions will reveal the complementary relationship between writing and research and demonstrate how persuasive techniques and genres vary from discipline to discipline. You will learn how writing effectively and correctly in your fields will help to integrate you as professionals into your "knowledge communities."

Course Outcomes
" Evaluate the forms, sources, and focus of research in various fields
" Comprehend the value, purposes, and forms of written texts in the disciplines
" Deploy the discipline-specific conventions of usage, specialized vocabulary, and accepted documentation methods in various fields
" Write persuasively and coherently in a variety of academic styles, voices, and genres
" Integrate their own ideas into the ongoing written conversations in their disciplines
" Think and write about their academic roles, situations, and texts
" Select and consider the use of primary and secondary research and sources, including print and electronic resources.

Required Texts and Materials
" Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Brief Edition. New York: Longman, 2007. 2nd ed.
" Lester Faigley, The Brief Penguin Handbook. New York: Pearson Education, 2005. 2nd ed.
" A Good Dictionary and Thesaurus; Folder/Notebook to hold notes and papers


COURSE POLICIES

Email and Class Web page
You are expected to check your email regularly; I will frequently give class information, assignments, and links in emails for which you will be responsible. The Class Web page will be on my website [www.clas.ufl.edu/users/angelnix], click Teaching, then ENC 1102.

Courtesy
Pagers or cellular phones should be turned off or turned to silence during class. Any disruptive behavior, as defined in the Student Handbook, will not be tolerated.

Attendance
Attendance is required. The policy of the University Writing Program is that if you miss more than six periods during the term, you will fail the entire course. The UWP exempts from this policy only those absences involving university-sponsored events, such as athletics and band, and religious holidays. ENC 1102 is a participation-oriented, skills-based writing course, which means that you will build your skills incrementally and systematically in each class throughout the semester. Much of the learning that takes place is spontaneous and difficult to reproduce outside of class. If you are absent, it is still your responsibility to make yourself aware of all due dates and any work you miss. You are still responsible for turning assignments in on time.

Tardiness: Students are expected to be in their seats and ready to begin at 11:00 AM. Chronic tardiness will not be tolerated. Students who are excessively tardy will have their final grades reduced. Students who miss more than 15 minutes of class will automatically be marked as absent. This policy applies to leaving class early, as well.

Late Work: Papers are to be handed in at the beginning of class on the due date indicated on the course schedule. Any paper turned in after the beginning of class is considered one class period late and will be penalized accordingly. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade per class period. After one week, the essay will not be accepted. Essays submitted more than one week after the due date or not submitted at all will receive a zero. Allow sufficient time for printing documents. Printing problems and computer or file inaccessibility are easily prevented. These are not acceptable excuses for late papers.

General Education Learning Outcomes
You must pass this course with a grade of C or better to receive 6,000-word Gordon Rule credit (E6). You must turn in all papers to receive credit for writing 6,000 words. A grade of D or better satisfies the University's General Education Composition (C) requirement. You must pass with a grade of C or better if this course is to satisfy the CLAS requirement of a second course in Composition (C). If you are not in CLAS, check the catalog or with your advisor to see if your college has other writing requirements.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious violation of the Student Honor Code. You commit plagiarism when you present the ideas or words of someone else as your own. Remember, you are responsible for understanding the University's definitions of plagiarism and academic dishonesty, which include the following:
" Submitting all or part of someone else's work as if it is your own.
" "Borrowing," without crediting the source, any of the following:
" Any part of song lyrics, poetry, or movie scripts
" Any part of another person's essay, speech, or ideas
" Any part of an article in a magazine, journal, newspaper
" Any part of a book, encyclopedia, CD-ROM, online WWW page, etc.
" Any idea from another person or writer, even if you express that idea in your own words.
" "Borrowing" verbatim text without enclosing in quotation marks and citing the source.
" Making "duplicate submissions" of assignments - that is, submitting work in one class that you also submit in another class
" "Collaborating" or receiving substantive help in writing your assignment unless such collaboration is part of the given assignment. (However, you may receive general advice from tutors, writing lab instructors, or OWL staff.)
" Failing to cite sources, or citing them improperly.

Academic Honesty
As a University of Florida student, your performance is governed by the UF Honor Code, available in its full form at http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/students.html . The Honor Code requires Florida students to neither give nor receive unauthorized aid in completing all assignments. Violations include cheating, plagiarism, bribery, double submissions, and misrepresentation. For more details, visit http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/procedures/academicguide.php.

Classroom Behavior

Please keep in mind that we all come from diverse cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Some of the texts we will discuss and write about engage controversial topics and opinions. Diverse student backgrounds combined with provocative texts require that you demonstrate respect for ideas that may differ from your own.

Students with Disabilities
The University of Florida complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students requesting accommodation should contact the Students with Disabilities Office, Peabody 202. That office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

ASSIGNMENTS

Written Assignments: Each student will be required to write and submit (complete details TBA):

Diagnostic Essay (2 pages - 500 words min): You will respond to a series of quotes from prominent theorists on the topics of College Writing and Education (on a handout which will be give to you during the first week of class); you are expected to think about and reflect on the issues that these quotes raise for you and then pick two to focus on and write a response to in terms of your own experiences.

Paper One - Critique (3 pages - 750 words min): You will write a persuasive critique of a selected article from the assigned readings from our text book; this critique should determine the author's purpose and success in writing the article.

Paper Two - Analysis (4 pages - 1000 words min): You will choose 2-3 advertisements from the chapter on Advertising that you are most interested in studying and writing about; you will perform an analysis of these ads in which you will posit an argument about what these ads are doing.

Annotated Bibliography (at least 8 sources): This is a works cited page or bibliography of sources with a paragraph that summarizes each source and explains how you will be using this source in your research paper. This assignment will assist you in researching and early stages of writing paper three.

Paper Three - Research
(8 pages - 2000 words min): You will write a research paper on a topic of your choosing; however, you will be given possible research topics from our text book. You will be expected to use the writing and argument skills you will be learning all semester to effectively write this research paper. You must have a minimum of eight sources that are reliable and academic, and these sources must be used to support an argument that you have developed based on your research and critical thinking.

Guidelines for Written Assignments
" All assignments must use MLA style. All disciplines at the university use a particular style manual. In English, we use MLA. You will need to consult a handbook for directions on how to cite and quote texts in MLA style.
" All assignments must be typed. You must use a word processor. The ink must be black, Font must be Times New Roman, 12 point, and the paper must be white.
" All assignments must be double-spaced so comments can be written between the lines.
" All assignments must have one-inch margins on all four sides and must be stapled.
" All assignments must be paginated using MLA style guidelines (Top Right Corner).
" All assignments must be proofread for technical/grammatical correctness.
" Always save your writing on a disk or CD, hard drive, via email, as well as a paper copy. It is a good policy to always save copies of work for all your classes.

In-Class Performance: Students will receive a portion of their grade through evaluation on a variety of areas collectively referred to as "In-Class Performance." Such areas may include attendance, in-class writing assignments, preparation for class, homework, peer evaluations, writing portfolios, participation, and group work. Students are expected to read all materials assigned, and prepare the exercises assigned each week for class and group discussions and projects. The instructor may randomly call on individual students to answer questions about the reading and exercises. Those students who demonstrate a lack of preparedness in more than three separate class periods will automatically have their final course grade decreased by one letter grade.

Final Grade Distribution:

Diagnostic Essay (2 pages): 10%
Paper 1 - Critique (3 pages): 15%
Paper 2 - Analysis (4 pages): 20%
Annotated Bibliography: 15%
Paper 3 - Research (8 pages): 25%
In-Class Performance: 15%

" Course work will be returned to you with a letter grade. When calculating your final grade, letters will be counted as follows.
A+ = 100 B+ = 89 C+ = 79 D = 65
A = 95 B = 85 C = 75 E = 50
A- = 91 B- = 81 C- = 71
" At the end of the semester, your number grades will be averaged and your final grade for the course will be calculated as follows.
100-90 = A 89-86 = B+ 79-76 = C+ 69-65 = D
85-80 = B 75-70 = C below 65 = E


COURSE SCHEDULE

You must bring both text books to each class (Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum and the Brief Penguin Handbook). All readings and assignments must be completed for the designated class period. All chapters and essays are from Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. All papers must conform to the guidelines for written assignments outlined earlier. This schedule is subject to change with notice and needs of the class.

Week 1: July 3-7

M Introduction of Course - Review Course Outline, Policies, and Schedule
Brainstorm common research topics

T HOLIDAY - No Class

W Review Course Expectations and Discuss Assignments
Chapter 1 - Summary (pgs. 3-23)
Group Work - ex. 1.1 & Review Common Errors in Penguin Handbook

R Chapter 2 - Critical Reading and Critique (pgs. 24-44)
Group Work - ex. 2.1 & 2.3

F Diagnostic essay DUE; Readings from Penguin Handbook (Part One & Two)
Discuss Paper One (Assignment pg. 44) and Academic Writing Strategies

Week 2: July 10-14

M Chapter 6 - Obedience to Authority - Read the Introduction (pgs. 170-172) and Essays by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, Philip Zimbardo, Erich Fromm, and Crispin Sartwell

T In-Class Work on Paper One
Readings from Penguin Handbook (Part Three)

W Paper One DUE
Chapter 3 - Synthesis (pgs. 45-53 & 76-84)
Group Work - ex. 3.1

R Chapter 5 - Cyperspace and Identity - Read the Introduction (pgs. 107-109) and Essays
by Andrew Leonard, Jennifer Lee, and Sherry Turkle

F Library Orientation - Meet in Marston Science Library (Room MSL 308)
Readings from Penguin Handbook (Read Part Five & Skim Part Six)

Week 3: July 17-21

M Chapter 4 - Analysis (pgs. 85-104)
In-Class Work - ex. 4.1 and Discuss Paper Two (Assignment on Handout)

T Chapter 9 - New and Improved: Six Decades of Advertising - Read the Introduction
(pgs. 409-412) and Essays by Fowles and Bovee & Arens; Review the Portfolio of Advertisements 1945-2003, and Pick at least two that you find intriguing

W Readings from Penguin Handbook (Part Four)
In-Class Work on Paper Two

R Paper Two DUE
Discuss Paper Three (Assignment on Handout); Planning Research & Writing Strategies

F Research Day

Week 4: July 14-28

M Readings from Penguin Handbook (Part Seven)
Discuss Annotated Bibliography Requirements & How to Evaluate Sources

T Chapter 7 - What's Happening at the Mall? - Read Introduction (pgs. 245-248) and
Essays by James Farrell and Lizabeth Cohen

W In-Class Work on Annotated Bibliographies

R Annotated Bibliography DUE

F Research and Writing Day

Week 5: July 31 - Aug 4

M Review common problems with research papers
How to use your annotated bibliographies

T The Writing Process: Critical Thinking, Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Documentation
In-Class Work on Paper Three

W In-Class Work on Paper Three

R Paper Three First Draft DUE - Peer Review

F Suggestions for the Revision Process

Week 6: August 7-11

M Conferences
T Conferences

W Bring Revised Papers for Second Round of Peer Reviews

R Paper Three DUE

F Final Class - Evaluations and Course Wrap-up

 

 

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