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RWS 200: The Rhetoric of Written Arguments in Context
Fall 2012 Course Syllabus
Instructor: Lauren Lamoly
Email: llamoly@mail.sdsu.edu
Class meets: In EBA-256 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00am-9:15am
Office hours: in AH 3178, Tuesdays from 9:30 – 10:30, Wednesdays from 1-1:50 or by appointment
Office Mailbox: in RWS main office -- AH3138
Final Exam: Thursday, December 13th from 8am – 10am.
Required texts:
The Little Seagull Handbook
Roose, Kevin The Unlikely Disciple
Also required:
Access to a printer and paper.
Highlighters, pens and pencils.
Pre-requisites: Satisfaction of the SDSU writing competency requirement (see University Catalog) and
completion of RWS 100.
Course Description
RWS 200 The Rhetoric of Written Arguments in Context focuses on rhetorical analysis of the context
surrounding an argument. Arguments do not occur in vacuums; the culture, time period, and previously
existing texts all contribute to how a writer crafts an argument. This course will focus on how context
influences arguments. Rhetorical analysis in RWS 200 will emphasize how texts are written in a specific
time and for a specific audience, as well as how the text functions as a response to previous writings.
This course will help students learn to craft well-reasoned arguments for specific audiences, analyze a
variety of texts commonly encountered in the academic setting, assess the relative strengths of
arguments and supporting evidence, and situate discourse within social, generic, cultural, and historic
contexts.
Context is a term that refers to: the roots of an idea, the time and place in which a writer is writing and
the particular audience addressed, the variety of texts available on a particular topic, and the current
moment in which one is reading a text—one’s own social/cultural/historical context. In RWS 200,
students will write rhetorical analyses on the context surrounding arguments, looking within the text and
to outside research to discuss how context influences arguments.
General Education Capacities/Goals & RWS Learning Outcomes
Our Learning Outcomes Reflect the Goals and Capacities of the General Education Program. RWS 200
is one of several courses in the area of general education defined as “Communication and Critical
Thinking.” Focusing particularly on argument, this course emphasizes four essential general education
capacities: the ability to 1) construct, analyze and communicate argument, 2) contextualize phenomena,
3) negotiate differences, and 4) apply theoretical models to the real world. This course advances general
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education by helping students understand the general function of writing, speaking, visual texts, and
thinking within the context of the university at large, rather than within specific disciplines. In addition
to featuring the basic rules and conventions governing composition and presentation, RWS 200
establishes intellectual frameworks and analytical tools that help students explore, construct, critique,
and integrate sophisticated texts.
Within this framework of four general capacities, the course realizes four closely related subsidiary
goals. These goals focus on helping students
1)
2)
3)
4)
craft well-reasoned arguments for specific audiences;
analyze a variety of texts commonly encountered in the academic setting;
situate discourse within social, generic, cultural, and historic contexts; and
assess the relative strengths of arguments and supporting evidence.
Our student learning outcomes for RWS 200 are closely aligned with these goals and capacities, and
reflect the program’s overall objective of helping students attain “essential skills that underlie all
university education.
Course Objectives
Throughout the semester, you will engage in reading and writing assignments and discussions, which
will encourage mastery of the following learning outcomes. In addition to the three learning outcomes
specific to the three assignments, by the completion of this course you should 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: in addition to the first four outcomes which will be covered as the
writing projects, the following points describe outcomes to work on throughout the semester, to be
attained over the 15 weeks. Building on the work done in RWS 100, students will be able to:
5. 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;
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6. understand and incorporate all aspects of the writing process--including prewriting, drafting,
revising, editing, and proofreading;
7. articulate what key terms, definitions, concepts, statements of a problem or issue are
established by a text;
8. 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;
9. 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;
10. analyze and assess arguments made by visual texts; incorporate visual images into their
documents;
11. craft a cohesive paper, and use effective metadiscourse to articulate the project of the paper and
guide a reader through it;
12. 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;
13. assign significance to the arguments they read;
14. 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;
15. edit their writing for the grammar and usage conventions appropriate to the project.
REQUIREMENTS
Essays: You will be required to write 3 essays (each will be 4-6 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 on the date specified, and on paper the following class to
me. Specific criteria for each essay will be given along with the prompt. I will not accept late work. If
there are extreme circumstances or emergencies, they will be addressed on a case-by-case basis before
the due date.
Blog Posts: All students will be required to post FIVE blog entries over the course of the semester. Your
posts for your chosen weeks must relate to the readings for those weeks. In other words, make sure your
posts correspond with the syllabus’s schedule. Posts should be 250-350 words, well-written, and clearly
indicate that all material for that week has been fully read and thought about (for instance, include
quotes and other specific references from the texts). Be sure to use proper MLA documentation
including in-text citations and a works cited list following your post. These blog posts will serve as a
supplementary discussion forum, so you may initiate a response or formulate your response in
conversation with someone else’s post for that week. We will refer to some of your posts during class
sessions. Each posts is due by 11:59 p.m. on the Friday that blog is posted. See schedule for more detail.
Workshops: 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.
Participation: You are expected to participate actively in class. Although this does not mean speaking
up and contributing valuable insight during every class session, it does mean arriving on time and being
prepared, paying attention, and being involved. You could be called on to answer a question at any time,
so please be prepared! As long as you’ve done your assigned work, it will not be difficult.
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Printouts: I do not require you to spend much on books, but I do require you to bring articles and other
printed material to class. I ask that you think of this as a compromise; I will not make you spend a
fortune on books, but need you to be prepared for class with any article we are discussing and any paper
you are working on.
POLICIES
Respect: Above all, respect is what I value most, and you will probably tire of me mentioning respect.
The best classroom experience comes from students respecting each other and the instructor. This
includes everything from coming to class on time, refraining from private conversations during class, to
texting during a lecture. Please silence your cell phones when you come to class, and if you find it
necessary to text or make a call, go outside. Because we will be interacting in group discussion often,
the use of laptops will also be distracting. Students that would like to use laptops are encouraged to
discuss the specific need with me in advance. You are encouraged to join in class discussions, but
refrain from using obscene or offensive language and interrupting others. If you have read this far,
please e-mail me for 3 extra credit points before the start of the first class and tell me what your favorite
hobby is. What a way to start the semester!
E-mail: Please use your resources first (blackboard, the syllabus), but feel free to e-mail me anytime. I
will respond as quickly as possible. However, I may not respond as quickly on nights and weekends.
Attendance: There is no substitute for attending class. Students are expected to attend all classes, and
attendance will be taken. You are allowed two absences without penalty. However, after the second
absence, your grade will lower. You will not be allowed to make up any quizzes given on the day of
your absence.
Essays: All rough drafts are due (in completion) as a hard copy in class on the date specified. You must
turn in a complete rough draft in order to turn in a final paper. All essays must be typed, adhere to MLA
format (12 point font, double space, times new roman, proper heading) and stapled. You will find more
information on MLA listed on blackboard. Essay pre-writing and drafts will not be graded as a final
draft, but will receive points for completion. Late assignments will not be accepted. For emergency
cases, late work may be accepted up to one week following the printed deadline and will be subjected to
a grade penalty.
Re-Writes: Students may choose to re-write ONE essay after receiving a grade for the assignment. You
may revise any paper for which you receive a grade lower than a C. Essay re-writes may be submitted
up to one week after I hand back your graded essays. The grade given on the re-write will be averaged
with the grade given on the previous draft. You must initiate the re-write process. I will not remind you.
Electronics: 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 will also be distracting. The use of electronics in class is simply
disrespectful.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism includes: copying the ideas or writings of someone else and claiming it as your
own work, collaborating with someone else on an assignment, and/or resubmitting work that you have
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done for another class. DON’T DO IT. Anyone caught plagiarizing will not only fail that assignment,
but is likely to fail the class and will also face disciplinary action in accordance with the San Diego State
University policy. You are responsible for reviewing SDSU’s policy on academic dishonesty at
http://csrr.sdsu.edu.
Final: We will use our final block for a graded, in-class reflection writing assignment on Thursday,
December 13th from 8am – 10pm.
Turnitin Policy: Turnitin (integrated within Blackboard) will be used in this course for many
assignments. 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. Students may submit their papers in such a way that no identifying
information about them is included. Another option is that a student may request, in writing, that his/her
papers not be submitted to Turnitin.com. However, this option requires the student to provide
documentation to substantiate that the papers are the original work of the student and do not include any
plagiarized material.
COURSE ASSISTANCE SERVICES
Office Hours: I encourage all students to attend office hours (by appointment), but especially if you
have any questions or concerns about reading, writing, the course or college in general. Please make an
appointment with me in advance via e-mail. Please bring all of your pre-writing, drafts, and final drafts
of your essays with comments to office hours. It will assist me in answering any questions you may have
on the assignments.
Course Tutoring: I welcome all students to attend office hours with questions on writing or the RWS
100 course. If you would like additional assistance and encouragement, SDSU has an excellent staff of
tutors to assist students in all courses. Students who need assistance with course concepts or writing
assignments in English or ESL are encouraged to contact the department of Rhetoric and Writing
Studies at (619) 594-6515 for more information on drop-in tutoring hours.
Disabled Students: Every attempt will be made to offer reasonable accommodations for students with
disabilities in this course. Students with disabilities who may need accommodations in this class are
encouraged to notify the instructor privately and to contact Student Disability Services (SDS) as soon as
possible. All discussion of disabilities will take place privately to protect student confidentiality. SDS
staff are available in the Capulli Center in Suite 3101 or by phone at (619) 594-6473 (voice) or (619)
594-2929 (TTD/TTY).
Student Athletes: Student-athletes have very demanding, dynamic schedules which place additional
hardship on excelling in both arenas. As an instructor, I am committed to helping you succeed in the
course. To do so, regular and effective communication is needed. While no exceptions will be made for
attendance, assignment deadlines, or exams, I would be happy to work with all student-athletes in
conjunction with Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) to help you excel in this course. For more
information on SASS’ academic advising and tutoring services, call (619) 594-4743.
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GRADES
Paper #1
Paper #2
Paper #3
Writing Journal/Blog Posts/Homework
Classwork/Participation
Final
20%
20%
20%
20%
10%
10%
100%
GRADING RUBRIC
Letter Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
Percentile
93-100%
90-93%
87-90%
83-87%
80-83%
77-80%
Letter Grade
C
CD+
D
DF
Percentile
73-77%
70-73%
67-70%
63-67%
60-63%
0-60%