ENG 111 College Composition I
Lori Johnson
Unit 3 – Persuasive Essay – Overview
Unit 3 continues the multi-lecture series in critical thinking as well as persuasive writing. The reading
assignment for this unit also includes information on portfolio preparation.
Reading
You will again have an extensive amount of reading for this unit, as we will be running a critical thinking
unit and the persuasive essay unit simultaneously. Rather than presentations this unit, you will be
required to print off Chapters 5 through 7 from Ruggiero in order to ensure you have an in-class text.
You should three-hole punch this to keep in a binder, or at the very least, get it bound somehow to keep
track of it effectively.
Norton Field Guide
Part 2, Genres, pp. 83-110, 116-124, 125-132, 171-179
Part 3, Processes, pp. 247-258
Part 4, Strategies, pp. 283-299
Part 5, 373-476
Part 7, Readings, pp. 665-717
Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking (located at the class website in the Critical Thinking folder)
Chapter 5, How Good Are Your Opinions?
Chapter 6, What is Evidence?
Chapter 7, What is Argument?
Writing
In this unit you will produce a movie review, several short informal writing assignments, and a final
formal persuasive essay that involves the use of outside sources. You will be required to make entries in
your dual-entry notebook on the reading assignments. You will be required to provide a written
evaluation of a piece of professional persuasive writing, identifying its stance, point of view, and
argumentative approach, during an in-class exam. We will also touch on logical fallacies, though we will
get much more in depth with that subject in ENG 112. Finally, you will learn how to prepare a final grade
portfolio.
Changes and Updates
I would like you to make the transition from asking me about your assignments to checking our class
website first, should you miss class or be unclear on your assignments. You must make the effort to
become more self-reliant regarding your assignments. That is not to say that I will not help you should
you have a question, but you should make every effort to answer your own questions first by examining
the class website. This will help you when we make the transition to Blackboard in ENG 112.
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