SYLLABUS
ENGL 1302 - COMPOSITION 2
Semester:
Class:
Campus and Room:
Instructor:
Office Hours:
Email Address:
FALL 2013
COM2
Tuesday Morning (7:30 - 10:40)
R204, SaigonTech Tower, Quang Trung Software City, Dist 12, HCM City
DINH THI LAN
By appointment
landt@saigontech.edu.vn
1. Course Overview:
Prerequisite: ENGL 1301
Credit: 3
This is an advanced academic writing course for students majoring in all areas at college level such
as Information Technology, International Business, Business Administration, and Marketing. The
course aims to teach students to make effective arguments in writing. They are expected to defend
their claims as directly and efficiently as possible in an argumentative piece of writing. It is adapted
to classroom instruction by helping the students read and comprehend controversial topics in
written texts such as essays, articles, news reports, editorial opinions, excerpts from online
sources… Applying critical thinking approaches, in their argumentative papers, they present their
claims and show evidence and appeals to needs and values to support their view.
Academic Discipline/CTE Program Learning Outcomes
Write in appropriate genres using varied rhetorical strategies.
Write in appropriate genres to explain and evaluate rhetorical and/or literary strategies
employed in argument, persuasion, and various genres.
Analyze various genres of writing for form, method, meaning, and interpretation.
Employ research in academic writing styles and use appropriate documentation style.
Rebut the opposing views with effective support via finding fallacies made by the
opponents.
2. Course SLOs and course LOs:
1
2
3
4
5
1.1
1.2
2.1
2.2
2.3
Course SLOs (Students Learning Outcomes)
Apply basic principles of rhetorical analysis.
Write essays that classify, explain, and evaluate rhetorical and literary strategies
employed in argument, persuasion, and various forms of literature.
Identify, differentiate, integrate, and synthesize research materials into argumentative
and/or analytical essays.
Employ appropriate documentation style and format across the spectrum of in-class
and out-of-class written discourse.
Demonstrate library literacy.
LOs (Learning Objectives)
Identify the author’s thesis/stance on an issue.
Understand the basic notions in argumentation: Claim, Quantifier, Warrant, Backing,
and Support.
Construct an outline for an essay based on Toulmin’s model.
Understand the similarities between Toulmin argument and deductive reasoning.
Make refutation/ rebuttal strategies (Insufficient Claim, Partially Correct Claim,
Completely Incorrect Claim)
Defend the claim by making support (Facts: statistics, expert opinions …)
1
2.4
2.5
2.6
3.1
3.2
4.1
4.2
Make appeals to needs and values
Understand flawed logic: Ad Hominem, Over-generalization, Confusing Correlation
and Causation, Post Hoc, Straw-man, Slippery Slope, Non Sequitur, Two Wrongs
Make A Right
Identify the weaknesses in opposing views via their understanding flaws.
Search for relevant documents from various sources
Extract necessary information from texts for factual evidence
Steps followed in paraphrasing and summarizing texts
Documenting the sources of reference information
Avoiding plagiarism via skills in making in - text citations and direct quotations
3. Textbook:
Rottenberg A.T. & Winchell D.H.( 2009). Elements of Arguments: A Text and Reader. 9th ed.
Boston, New York: Bedford/ St. Martins.
4. Course Evaluation:
Percent
20
20
30
30
100%
Item
Quiz & Participation
Homework
Midterm test
Final test
Total
Note on Assignments & Examinations:
Writing submission is accepted only on or before the due dates specified by the instructor. For each
day an assignment is late, one letter grade will be deducted from the assignment grade. If students
are absent from class, they are responsible for making arrangements to have their work handed in
on the due date, and for informing themselves of the information covered in class during the period
of their absence. If a regularly scheduled examination is missed due to illness (properly and
specifically documented in writing from a medical practitioner), an authorized school activity, or
another approved reason, an opportunity will be provided to make up the exam. No other make-up
work will be assigned or accepted.
Attendance Policy:
Saigon Tech policy stipulates that if a student misses 12.5% of class hours of instruction, then
he/she will be dropped from the course at the instructor’s discretion
Grade Equivalents:
Grade
A-Excellent
B-Good
C-Fair
F-Fail
Score
90-100 %
80-89 %
70-79 %
0-69 %
2
Course Calendar: 16 weeks (3 hours/week)
WEEK
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
TEACHING CONTENT
COURSE ORIENTATION
CHAPTER ONE: (pp. 3-30)
The Nature of Argument & Why Study Argument
Argument Example: Group Discussion
The terms of argument
Practice (pp 14 - 15)
Reading a model text and making an analysis
Why US Health Care Costs aren’t Too High? (pp.
28-29)
CHAPTER TWO (pp. 31 - 56)
STRATEGIES FOR COMPREHENDING
ARGUMENTS (pp. 36 - 37)
STRATEGIES FOR EVALUATING
ARGUMENTS (pp 41- 43)
In-class reading in GROUPS
Sample Annotated Essay: No - Win Situations
(pp. 49 - 53)
Week 6
CHAPTER FOUR (pp. 80 - 101)
Writing the Claim
Providing support - extracting from experts’ texts
(summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting,
documenting your sources)
Week 7
CHAPTER FIVE (pp. 122 - 137)
Types of Definition
Writing Definitions and why to write them in the
essays
Week 8
Review for the Midterm Test
MIDTERM
Feedbacks on the Midterm Test
CHAPTER SIX (pp. 157 - 210)
Practice writing: CLAIM of FACT, CLAIM of
POLICY and CLAIM of VALUE
Sample Annotated Essay for reading: KIDS in the
MALLS (CLAIM of VALUE)
CHAPTER SEVEN (pp. 211 - 233)
Types of Support
Analyzing a few Topics and Oral Presentation of
the supporting points and Details
Evidence & Evaluation of Evidence
Practice - Interpretations of the Facts (pp. 215 220)
Appeals to Needs & Values
Evaluation of Appeals to needs and values
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
ASSIGNMENTS & QUIZES
Group work
List the CLAIM and SUBCLAIMS of
the writer in the text.
Develop an argument against the
writer’s (Examples, expert
opinions…)
Quiz on TYPES of CLAIM,
various WAYS of making
SUPPORT
Assignment:
Read a text and respond to the
writer’s claim
Group work: Peer evaluation on the
ASSIGNMENT (Outline)
ASSIGNMENT DUE
Appeals to NEEDS and VALUES - Practice
3
Week 14
Week 15
writing
CHAPTER NINE (pp. 322 - 350)
Logical Fallacies - Identification Practice
Induction and deduction
The relationship between Toulmin model and
Deduction
Final review
FEEDBACKS on the essays
FINAL TEST
Week 16
FINAL EXAM CORRECTION & FEEDBACKS
Exam Format Sample: (may be slightly modified by instructor if necessary)
Exam
Exam Type
Open/Closed
book
Mid-term
Paper-based
Closed
Paper-based
Closed
Final
Format &
Content
Multiple Choice
Questions & Essay
Multiple Choice
Questions & Essay
Duration
(minutes)
Points
90
100
90
100
4