Course Syllabus
Spring 2014 – Section 20 – MWF- EBA 247
Gina Vaynshteyn
Storm Hall TBA
Mondays, by
appointment only.
Course Descriptions and Objectives
RWS 200, The Rhetoric of Written Arguments in Context, satisfies the university requirement in Intermediate
Composition and Critical Thinking. Other courses, which satisfy this requirement, are Africana Studies 200,
Linguistics 200 and Philosophy 110. To enroll in any of these courses, students must have satisfied the Lower Division
Writing Competency Requirement.
RWS 200 is a course in academic writing and reading, emphasizing the rhetorical analysis of arguments in context.
Building on RWS 100, the course asks students to continue the work of articulating what argument a text is making and describing elements of the argument. It now asks them to also consider the contexts of arguments and to discover what arguments are responding to, both in the sense of what has come before them and in the sense that they are written for an audience in a particular place and time.
The course examines the ways in which writers use sources in their writing in order to pursue questions and understand both experiences and texts. By the end of the course, you should be able to write and revise papers for which you have investigated arguments in context, created significant relationships among them, and shown an understanding of their positioned, cultural dimension. You should be able to make independent decisions about structure, cohesion and conventions of correctness. You should be able to present an argument—not in the sense of defending an alreadyformed opinion, but in the sense of having inquired into a question and discovered ways to analyze, use, and respond to texts about that question.
In RWS 100 you learned that no text is autonomous, and that all writers draw upon other texts, including the texts of their own histories and cultures, to create new texts. You began to learn that a perspective, an idea or even a single sentence from one text can suggest a question that needs investigating or provide a framework for interpreting and writing about experiences, observations, or the work of another author. RWS 200 reinforces this learning, taking context , as its key term.
Context is a term that refers to: (1) the roots of an idea (for example, the religious and philosophical ideas from
Socrates, the Bible and Ghandi are some of the roots of Martin Luther King’s discussions of non-violence); (2) the time and place in which a writer is writing and the particular audience addressed; (3) the variety of texts available on a particular topic; (4) the current moment in which one is reading a text—one’s own social/cultural/historical context.
In RWS 200, I will help you to recognize a writer’s source materials, to analyze not only conventions of citation, but how a writer uses sources to construct new knowledge, and to practice using sources as you inquire into and write about complex questions. One part of this work is to recognize the influence of audience and social context on every piece of writing. As in RWS 100, your instructor helped you to examine the texts you read for the clues about the situation, community, and culture in which these texts were written, and to recognize strategies for appealing to audiences. RWS 200 builds on this work by asking you to identify and analyze features of context embedded in arguments, and to research elements of context by being activist readers.
Pre-requisites: Satisfaction of the SDSU writing competency requirement (see University Catalog) and completion of
RWS 100.
What is this course all about?
The class is called “Issues in Contemporary America and the American Identity,” so we will be covering everything from pop culture to environmental and social issues that we face in present-day America. The theme of this course is a subject matter prevalent in your every day life and pertinent to your generation.
You are encouraged to approach this subject matter from a subjective standpoint while keeping an open mind to new or opposing viewpoints in order to fully understand how context, specifically how approaching an argument from every angle possible, can illuminate and color the way you see the world.

Materials
Required: RWS 200 Course Reader (this should be available at the book store; look under
‘Vaynshteyn’)
The Little Seagull Handbook , Richard Bullock and Francine Weinberg
Access to a computer and printer. A stapler (Seriously! Go buy one. Now.) A notebook and pencil. Your brain.
Assignment Types
The following outcomes are directly related to the three main writing projects or "assignment types" for the course. Students will be able to:
1.
Construct an account of an argument and identify elements of context embedded in it, the clues that show what the argument is responding to--both in the sense of what has come before it and in the sense that it is written for an audience in a particular time and place; examine a writer’s language in relation to audience, context and community;
2.
follow avenues of investigation that are opened by noticing elements of context; research those elements and show how one's understanding of the argument is developed, changed, or evolved by looking into its context;
3.
given the common concerns of two or more arguments, discuss how the claims of these arguments modify, complicate or qualify one another;
4.
consider their contemporary, current life as the context within which they are reading the arguments assigned in the class; position themselves in relation to these arguments and additional ones they have researched in order to make an argument; draw on available key terms, concepts or frameworks of analysis to help shape the argument.
Outcomes across the semester
The following points describe outcomes to work on throughout the semester, to be attained over the 15 weeks. Students will be able to :
1.
Building on the work done in RWS 100, students will be able to: articulate what argument a text is making; describe the work that is done by each section of the argument; describe elements of the argument—claims, methods of development, kinds of evidence, persuasive appeals; translate an argument into their own words;
2.
understand and incorporate all aspects of the writing process--including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading;
3.
articulate what key terms, definitions, concepts, statements of a problem or issue are established by a text;
4.
investigate and articulate how an argument is positioned—based on certain kinds of assumptions, located in a way of thinking and representing issues from a point of view;
5.
work with multiples sources in a paper, deciding what to include and what to exclude, choosing an effective structure, and creating significant relationships among sources;
6.
analyze and assess arguments made by visual texts; incorporate visual images into their documents;
7.
craft a cohesive paper, and use effective metadiscourse to articulate the project of the paper and guide a reader through it;
8.
describe their own papers and reflect on how they wrote them; differentiate between the content of their texts and the language and rhetorical strategies they employ;
9.
assign significance to the arguments they read;
10.
revise their own work effectively, re-reading previous work and re-envisioning it in the light of reflection, feedback, further reading and new sources of information;
11.
edit their writing for the grammar and usage conventions appropriate to the project.

About Blackboard
I frequently use Blackboard to post assignments and paper prompts, send out announcements, etc.
Homework assignments and any needed supplementary materials will be posted periodically on
Blackboard. Please check Blackboard for last minute announcements before class. If I find a noteworthy, interesting, or relevant article, I WILL and CAN assign it to read as a homework assignment (I will give you a generous heads up). Pay attention to my e-mails and Blackboard.
Grade and Assignments:
Essay 1 – 100 points
Essay 2 – 200 points
Percentage-to-grade breakdown
A 93-100
A- 90-92
Essay 3 – 200 points
Blog Posts –100 points
Participation –100 points
Practice WPA –200 points
B+ 87-89
B 85-86
Assignments, quizzes, misc –100 points
Grading is on a point system that will be converted into a letter grade at the end of the semester.
B- 80-84
C+ 77-79
C 75-76
C- 70-74
Policies
Respect: Above all, respect is what I value most. The best classroom experience
D+ 67-69
D 65-66
D- 60-64 comes from students respecting each other and the instructor. This includes everything from coming to class on time to refraining from private conversations
F 59 and below during class. It is vital that students listen and speak respectfully in class, particularly since the reading will spark discussion on controversial and personal issues. Here are some good ground rules on maintaining classroom respect created by students.

Speakers should aim to: o Keep disagreements focused on the issues (don’t get personal) o Speak up so everyone can hear o
Address the group, not just the teacher or another individual o Avoiding interrupting or talking over others o Avoid texting, listening to music, or using a laptop/tablet during class

Listeners should aim to: o Respect the speaker (don’t interrupt or carry on other conversations) o Use positive body language
I absolutely do not tolerate inappropriate behavior. If I see that you are being disrespectful toward your fellow classmates or me, you will automatically lose 10 participation points.
Attendance and Participation: Students who arrive more than 7 minutes late will have 10 points deducted from their participation grade. Students who miss class for any reason cannot make up the attendance points; however, missing or arriving late to one or two classes will not significantly impact your overall grade -- repeated absences and tardies will.

Students will sign in on a roster at the beginning of each class.

Note that extracurricular events are generally not acceptable absences; however, athletes should check in with me if they will need to miss class for a school-sanctioned event.

Students are expected to participate actively in class. Expect to demonstrate excellent preparation for the day’s lesson, including but not limited to: having completed readings and homework and arriving to class with all required materials on time. Be ready to grapple critically with texts, significantly contribute to discussion, and demonstrate ongoing active involvement. Please do not sleep in class. If I see a student sleeping, they will lose 10 participation points for that day.

Students are allowed four absences without penalty during the semester

Essays: You will be required to write 4 formal essays (each will be 3-6 pages in length) for this course.
Each essay will require at least one rough draft. All pre-writing and rough drafts are due in class on the day specified. Final drafts are due to Turn-it-In, and a hardcopy for the instructor, on the assigned due date.
Specific criteria for each essay will be given along with the prompt. One or more drafts will be required for each writing assignment. You will “workshop” the essay with your peers, both gaining and giving feedback.
You will complete feedback forms in peer review and be evaluated based on evidence of engagement in the activity.
Turnitin: Turnitin (integrated within Blackboard) will be used in this course for assigned essays. Students in this course agree that papers are subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism, as well as for online evaluation, feedback and grading by the instructor, and peer review by fellow class members. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the
Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers.
Conferencing
Approximately the week before your essays are due, I will cancel class in lieu of conferencing. The first conference is mandatory, but the other two are optional. During conference week, students will have 15 minutes to go over their rough draft (which I will read beforehand) with me.
Blog Posts
This semester, I am requiring you to write ten 250 word blog posts on Blackboard. When you post, please copy and paste from your document to the text box (I don’t feel like opening 25 files). For your blog posts,
I want you to carefully think about a single text (this can be an article, essay, or even a documentary we watch in class) and discuss what you think about the subject. Did you change your mind about it after reading this text? Why or why not? Is there something new that you would like to add to the topic? Why do you think this topic is (or isn’t) important? What are the most important aspects the reader should take away from the text? Did you do any research on the author? I will be grading you on your critical thinking and word count. If you want, you can choose to respond to another student’s blog post (be friendly, or I won’t give you credit), but be sure to give this a lot of thought as well. You must submit your blog post the
Friday after the readings are first assigned, otherwise you will not get full credit. For example, if you want to write about “Robots” you will have to submit that by Friday, January 31 st . I will be using your blog posts as conversation starters, so please post on time. Also, these blog posts indicate whether you are doing the reading or not. If I feel like many of you are not reading, I will start handing out daily reading quizzes.
WPA
The WPA (Written Placement Assessment) is a written exam that you will take your sophomore year. If you score a 10, you do not need to take any further RWS courses. If you score an 8 or 9, you will have to take RWS 305, and if you score a 7 or lower, you will have to take both RWS 280 and RWS 305. By practicing the WPA, you will become very familiar with what is asked of you and increase your chances of passing with a high score. You will turn in a rough draft in the beginning of class, and you will have all semester to work on the final draft.
Electronic Devices: Your active participation is required in this course. Please turn off your cell phones, iPods, and other electronic equipment when you come to class . Because we will be interacting in group discussion often, the use of laptops (unless specified otherwise), cell phones, and other electronic devices will be distracting. Also, the use of electronics in class is simply disrespectful. If a student repeatedly violates this policy, they may be asked to leave, and will lose their attendance/participation points for the day (10 points).
Late/missed assignments: Late work is strongly discouraged, obviously. For every class period that your assignment is not handed in, your grade (for that assignment) will be lowered by a full letter grade. For example, if an essay is due on Monday and you turn it in on Wednesday, your grade can go from a potential
A to B If you turn it in Friday, it goes from B to C. And so on. You will only have one week to turn in your essay after the due date. It will not be given any credit past that point. Late homework will not be accepted, period.

Re-Writes:
If you are unhappy with the grade you received on your essay (it must be below a B-), you may submit one re-write per semester. However, you must submit the re-write up to one week after I hand back your graded essays. Attached to your re-write, you must submit a full page reflection that describes what you changed, and why you changed it. I want to see the thought process behind your revision. Your grade will be fully replaced by your revised copy.
Plagiarism: “One important reason we write is to enable ourselves to engage in a kind of thinking that would otherwise be beyond us, that is, extended thinking in which ideas are linked by complex logical and linguistic connections,” according to composition theorists Richard Young and Patricia Sullivan. This is precisely what makes plagiarism such an egregious offense. Writing allows us to engage in the complex critical thinking skills expected of the university (not to mention will serve you in life), and therefore plagiarizers miss the point of the course altogether.
Not to mention it’s illegal. Carefully consider the following SDSU policy:

Plagiarism shall be defined as the act of incorporating ideas, words, or specific substance of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise obtained, and submitting same to the University as one's own work to fulfill academic requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source. Plagiarism shall include but not be limited to (a) submitting work, either in part or in whole, completed by another; (b) omitting footnotes for ideas, statements, facts, or conclusions that belong to another; (c) omitting quotation marks when quoting directly from another, whether it be a paragraph, sentence, or part thereof; (d) close and lengthy paraphrasing of the writings of another (f) submitting as one's own work papers purchased from research companies.

The minimum consequence for plagiarism in this course is a 50% (F) on the assignment. More significant consequences, including reporting the plagiarism to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities may be imposed. Needless to say, the best policy is to always turn in only your own work. If you have questions concerning plagiarism and citing sources, refer to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/search.php
, any MLA handbook, or ask me directly. I will be utilizing the school’s plagiarism software throughout the semester.
Course Assistance Services

Office Hours:
Setting some time aside to meet with me during the semester is definitely encouraged, especially if you have questions or concerns about the reading and writing assignments. Please e-mail me at least a day ahead of time if you would like to make an appointment. I will be on campus on
Mondays, but if you would like to meet at a different day, please e-mail me and we can set something up. Please come prepared with specific questions so I will be able to help you to the best of my ability.

Course Tutoring:
If you would like additional assistance, SDSU has a wonderful staff of tutors to help students in all courses. Contact the department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at (619) 594-6515 for more information about drop-in tutoring hours.

Disabled Students:
If you are registered with Student Disability Services and require special arrangements to be made in order to accommodate your learning needs, I am more than happy to work with you in conjunction with SDSU. Please inform me about your situation ahead of time so that we can ensure you have every opportunity to do your best work in this class.

Student Athletes:
Student-athletes have a busy and demanding schedule and as an instructor, I want to help you succeed in this course in any way I can. Please communicate with me ahead of time. I need your sports schedule at the beginning of the semester, so that if an event coincides with an important due date, we can work something out. If you find yourself in need of extra help, contact Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS): (619) 594-
4743

Resources for SDSU Students:
Academic Advising Center SSW 1551 594-6668

Counselling and Psychological Services
Student Disability Services
Student Health Services
Public Safety
Public Safety Escorts
Class Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction
Jan 22, Wednesday
Jan 24, Friday – syllabus quiz
Week 2: The American Identity, Rhetorical Content
Jan 27, Monday
Read:
“Southern Fried Sex Kitten” by Chuck Klosterman
“Robots” by Chuck Klosterman
“Us and Them” by David Sedaris
“Solutions to Saturday’s Puzzle” by David Sedaris
Jan 29, Wednesday
Jan 31, Friday
Calpulli 4401
Calpulli 3101
Calpulli 594-5281
594-5220
594-6473
888-724-7240 (after hours)
594-1991
9-1-1 (emergency)
594-6659
Practice WPA due
Week 3: Context Analysis
Feb 3, Monday
Feb 5, Wednesday
Feb 7, Friday
Read: “McDiculous” by Chuck Klosterman
Week 4 Context Analysis, Obesity/Fast Food
Feb 10, Monday
Watch The Weight of the Nation
Feb 12, Wednesday
Homework:
Work on rough draft for first essay
Feb 14, Friday
Peer review
Read:
Class matters essays: “The College Dropout Boom”
“Poverty Nation: How America Created a Low-Wage Work Stamp”
“Pop music’s great subject this year: income inequality”
Week 5: Class, Researching Content

Feb 17, Monday
Feb 19, Wednesday
Feb 21, Friday
Week 6: Conferences
Feb 24, Monday (no class, conferences)
Feb 26, Wednesday (no class)
Feb 28, Friday (no class)
Week 7: Conferences continued
March 3, Monday (no class)
March 5, Wednesday (no class)
March 7, Friday
Essay 1 Due
Week 8: Environment, Peak Oil
March 10, Monday
Watch “Collapse”
March 12, Wednesday
March 14, Friday
Week 9
March 17, Monday
March 19, Wednesday
Homework: work on rough draft
March 21, Friday
Peer review
Read: “On Second Thought…”
“The Web is Dead, Long Live the Internet”
“Is Google Making us Stupid?”
Week 10: Conferences
March 24, Monday (no class)
March 26, Wednesday (no class)
March 28, Friday
Essay 2 Due
Week 11

Spring break
Homework: Read: “On Second Thought…”
“The Web is Dead, Long Live the Internet”
“Is Google Making us Stupid?”
Week 12: The internet, analyzing arguments in context of each other
April 7, Monday
April 9, Wednesday
April 11, Friday
Week 13: GMOs, Entering the Conversation, Making an Argument in Contemporary Context
April 14, Monday
Watch “The Future of Food”
Homework: rough draft
April 16, Wednesday
Peer review
Homework: Bring in ONE article that refutes the GMO project and one that is for the GMO project
April 18, Friday
Week 14: Conferences
April 21, Monday (no class)
April 23, Wednesday (no class)
April 25, Friday (no class)
Week 15: WPA Workshop
April 28, Monday
Essay 3 due
Homework: bring your draft, do NOT put your name on it, class will vote on best draft
April 30, Wednesday
May 2, Friday
Week 16: WPA
May 5, Monday
May 7, Wednesday
Due: WPA final draft
Due: Final reflection **We are NOT meeting during finals week