Cincinnati Christian University
Foster School of Biblical Studies, Arts & Sciences
ENGL 111 04 COLLEGE ENGLISH 2 (Section 04)
Professor: Brian Derico
Phone: 244.8147
3 Semester Credit Hours
Semester: Spring 2016
E-mail: brian.derico@ccuniversity.edu
Meeting Times: TH 8:30 – 9:45
Course Description
ENGL 111 is a companion course to ENGL 110 covering additional patterns of development and writing
situations. A major research project forms a part of the requirements. Also, attention is given to literary
analysis. Prerequisite: ENGL 110 or its equivalent.
Course Rationale
It is the purpose of this course to equip students with the rhetorical orientation, knowledge, and skills required
to create and analyze persuasive texts in a variety of contexts.
Course Objectives
Students who satisfactorily complete this course will have made progress in their ability to do the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Analyze a rhetorical situation and respond to it with an appropriate text.
Demonstrate thoughtfulness about their writing process.
Integrate contextually credible research into a persuasive text with appropriate MLA documentation.
Offer thoughtful analysis of texts written for various rhetorical purposes.
Course Texts
They Say, I Say by Graff and Birkenstein, Third Edition
Purdue OWL
“Backpacks vs. Briefcases,” Laura Bolin Carroll (Canvas)
“Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources,” Karen Rosenberg (Canvas)
“Annoying Ways People Use Sources,” Kyle D. Stedman (Canvas)
“Walk, Talk, Cook, Eat: A Guide to Using Sources,” Cynthia R. Haller (Canvas)
“Navigating Genres,” Kerry Dirk (Canvas)
Assignments
●
●
●
●
●
●
Essay with Cause and Effect 10%
Essay with Division or Classification 10%
Essay with Sources 20%
Article Analyses (18) 40%
Exam 10%
Class Participation 10%
Course Policies
● The attendance regulations listed in the CCU catalog apply to this course.
● Please maintain scrupulous academic integrity. The CCU Policy on Academic Integrity applies to this
course.
● Disability Services: Students who require academic accommodations due to any documented physical,
psychological, or learning disability should request assistance from the Student Services Department
within the first two weeks of class. The Student Services Department is located on the upper level of the
Presidents Hall. You may also contact the office by phone (513.244.8140).
Course Agenda
All dates are approximate and subject to change without notice.
January
19
21
26
28
February
02
04
09
11
Introduction to ENGL 111
Leadership and Rhetoric (Canvas Announcement)
Assignment Introduction: Article Analysis
Writing Process (Canvas Announcement)
Imitation, Recursivity, Collaboration, Play, Ecosystem, Failure, Openness (Canvas
Announcement)
Why Rhetoric Doesn’t Work (Canvas Announcement)
“Reading Games,” Rosenberg (Canvas Text)
Due: Article Analysis One
They Say, I Say: Chapter 14
Due: Article Analysis Twl
Metacognition, Analysis, Praxis (Canvas Announcement)
Irrationality, Illogic, Emotion, Impulse (Canvas Announcement)
Joining the Conversation, Choosing Dialog (Canvas Announcement)
Audience as Partner vs. Audience as Opponent (Canvas Announcement)
“Liberals Should Knock Off the Mockery” (Canvas Text)
They Say, I Say: Introduction, Chapter 1
Due: Article Analysis Three
Exigence, Audience, Logos, Pathos, Ethos, Kairos, Constraints (Canvas Announcement)
“Backpacks vs. Briefcases” (Canvas Text)
Due: Article Analysis Four
The Rhetorical Situation (Canvas Announcement)
Strategic Decisions about Audience Expectations (Canvas Announcement)
Multimodality and Affordances (Canvas Announcement)
“Navigating Genres,” Dirk (Canvas Text)
Due: Article Analysis Five
Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Plagiarism (Canvas Announcement)
They Say, I Say: Chapter 4
Due: Article Analysis Six
16
18
Assignment Introduction: Essay with Cause and Effect
Writing Essays for Exams (Canvas Announcement)
23
Peer Review
25
March
01
03
Contextual Credibility (Canvas Announcement)
Primary Sources and Secondary Sources (Canvas Announcement)
Contextual Credibility in Scholarly Genres and Contexts (Canvas Announcement)
Evaluating Sources of Information (Canvas Announcement)
Peer Review
Due: Essay with Division or Classification Draft
Telos, Dunaton, To Prepon, Topoi (Canvas Announcement)
08
10
Spring Break
Spring Break
15
Assignment Introduction: Essay with Sources
“Writing a Research Paper” (Canvas Text/Purdue OWL)
“Research Schedule” (Canvas Text)
Due: Essay with Division or Classification
Research Strategies
“Walk, Talk, Cook, Eat,” Haller (Canvas Text)
Due: Article Analysis Seven
Due: Research Schedule
17
22
24
Library Presentation
They Say, I Say: Chapter 2
Due: Article Analysis Eight
29
“Integrating Quotations into Sentences” (Canvas Text)
“Annoying Ways People Use Sources,” Stedman (Canvas Text)
Due: Article Analysis Nine
They Say, I Say: Chapter 3
Due: Article Analysis Ten
They Say, I Say: Chapter 5
Due: Article Analysis Eleven
31
April
Due: Essay with Cause and Effect Draft
“MLA Formatting and Style Guide” (Canvas Text/Purdue OWL)
Assignment Introduction: Essay with Division or Classification
Due: Essay with Cause and Effect
05
07
They Say, I Say: Chapter 6
Due: Article Analysis Twelve
They Say, I Say: Chapter 7
Due: Article Analysis Thirteen
They Say, I Say: Chapter 8
Due: Article Analysis Fourteen
They Say, I Say: Chapter 9
Due: Article Analysis Fifteen
They Say, I Say: Chapter 10
Due: Article Analysis Sixteen
12
14
19
21
26
28
May
03
05
Peer Review
Due: Essay with Sources Draft
“MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics” (Canvas Text/Purdue OWL)
Semester Review/Exam Review
“MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format” (Canvas Text/Purdue OWL)
“MLA Sample Works Cited Page” (Canvas Text/Purdue OWL)
“MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources” (Canvas Text/Purdue OWL)
Semester Review/Exam Review
Community Service Day
They Say, I Say: Chapter 11
Due: Article Analysis Seventeen
They Say, I Say: Chapter 12
Due: Article Analysis Eighteen
Ethical Rhetoric (Canvas Announcement)
Due: Essay with Sources
Semester Review/Exam Review
Semester Review/Exam Review
Assignments
The following assignment descriptions will be supplemented by class discussion and assigned reading. The
student is responsible for completing each assignment in a fashion that reflects familiarity with class discussion
and assigned readings.
Class Participation
Operative Theory of Learning:
The design of this course is premised on the theory that knowledge is created when participants in dialog
encounter ideas and then bring those ideas into productive contact with the systems that govern human action
(rhetorical, agricultural, historical, sociological, psychological, philosophical, political, economic, artistic,
religious, scientific, etc.). Productive contact requires that partners in dialog work together to understand how
ideas disrupt or reify knowledge systems—and it leads to strategic collaborative action. This recursive pattern
of dialogic metacognition and collaborative action can be called praxis.
Consequent to this theory of learning is the requirement that students participate in this course in the following
ways:
● Students must attend class regularly (arrive on-time and remain for entire meeting).
● Students must arrive to class prepared to participate in class activities (complete writing assignments on
time; read assigned texts; plan ways to contribute to production of knowledge during course
meetings).
● Students must actively participate in class activities (participate in class discussions; only use phones,
computers, tablets, etc. for purposes explicitly related to the objectives of this course; do not use class
meeting as opportunity to complete work unrelated to this course).
Peer Review
Peer-review serves a number of purposes.
● Peer review motivates recursive writing.
● Peer review underscores the collaborative nature of writing.
● Peer review gives students an opportunity to practice participating in a dialog about writing.
Reading
The reading assignments listed in the course syllabus are an important component of this course. No specific
credit will be assigned for the completion of reading assignments, but a student’s ability to participate in class
discussions and perform well on written assignments and the final exam will require familiarity with assigned
portions of course texts.
Essay Exam
The take-home exam will be offered during exam week and will require familiarity with class discussions and
the assigned readings.
Extra Credit
I do not offer extra credit.
Late Work
I will accept late work for reduced credit for one week after an assignment’s due date. A 10% penalty will be
assigned for late work. A grade of 0% will be assigned for work not submitted within one week after an
assignment’s due date.
Revisions
Revision is a necessary part of everyone’s writing process. Revision can be motivated by and reflect
developments in your understanding of the rhetorical context of your text, comments made by readers, further
research and inquiry, and further consideration of your rhetorical ambitions. I do not allow revisions after an
assignment has been assigned a grade.
Genre Expectations
● Your essay should respond to a specific clearly articulated idea with a clearly articulated idea of your
own. Our textbook describes these as They Say, I Say moves. In this way you contextualize your essay
as a contribution to an ongoing conversation. Your idea can be agreement with reasons, agreement with
qualifications, agreement and further development, disagreement with reasons, disagreement with
qualifications, etc. You must provide a clear, compelling, and generous presentation of the idea to which
you are responding.
● Your discourse should represent and contribute to this conversation by integrating and interacting with
ideas from other contextually credible participants. In the context of the English discipline we recognize
the contextual credibility of credentialed experts in relevant fields: literary scholars, historians, biblical
scholars, philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, scholars of law, etc.
● Your essay should anticipate and respond to sources of resistance to your idea.
● Double-space all sections of your text.
● Your last name and the page number should appear in the header of each page (1/2 inch from the top on
the right side).
● Make it a practice to use a two-part title. The first part of the title is a hook designed to attract the
interest of the reader, and the second part of the title is a more straightforward description of the topic
and your approach to that topic. The two parts are separated from one another by a colon. Don't use a
colon if the first part of your two-part title ends with a question mark.
Article Analyses
Purpose
Article Analyses give you a method for reading journal articles that emphasizes their rhetorical nature, a method
for taking notes that facilitate contributions to class discussions, and potential material for integration into other
writing assignments. The Article Analysis assignment is also an opportunity to develop your ability to
paraphrase, summarize, quote, and conform to MLA style. Article Analyses should display thoughtful,
meaningful, and complex interactions with the assigned readings.
Procedure
In order to develop usable insights into the assigned readings, you will need to strip away all unnecessary
information and develop a sharp focus on five components of each article:
●
●
●
●
●
Problem Description
Solution Description
They Say/I Say
Term/Concept Description
Work Cited Entry
Please be careful not to work too closely with peers on Article Analysis assignments. There are limited ways to
complete this assignment, and parallel patterns of sentence structure and word choice will lead to an inquiry by
the CCU committee on Academic Integrity.
Problem Descriptions
Problem Descriptions should describe the problem that motivated the author to write the article. A rhetorical
term for this problem is exigence, which Lloyd Bitzer defines as “imperfection marked by urgency.” Typically,
an exigence motivating a scholarly article will be a problem with the thinking, action, knowledge, or ability of
some category of people. Do not describe your problems with the article or problems you think readers have
when reading it. Do not quote directly, but do provide page numbers for paraphrases and summaries in
parenthetical citations. Identify the title and the full name of the author of the article in the Problem Description.
Problem Descriptions should comprise between 25 and 75 words.
Solution Descriptions
Solution Descriptions should describe how the article solves the problem identified in the previous section.
Your Solution Description should correspond in an obvious way to your Problem Description. Your Solution
Description should include summary descriptions of key concepts. Again, do not quote directly, but do provide
page numbers for paraphrases and summaries in parenthetical citations. Your Solution Description should
comprise between 50 and 150 words.
They Say/I Say
This section should enter into dialog with the article by making a They Say/I Say move. That is, you should
respond to a specific clearly articulated idea in the article with a clearly articulated idea of your own. Your idea
can be agreement with reasons, agreement with qualifications, agreement and further development,
disagreement with reasons, disagreement with qualifications, etc. You must provide a clear, compelling, and
generous presentation of the idea to which you are responding. This section may include quotations. This
section should comprise between 50 and 100 words.
Term or Concept Descriptions
Term or Concept Descriptions define the meaning and function of a term or concept that appears in the article.
Define the meaning of the term or concept as it functions in this article. Do not offer a dictionary definition. The
term or concept you choose does not have to be the most important term or concept–simply one that is worthy
of consideration during a class discussion of the article. This section must include an explanation of why we
should discuss this term or concept in our class discussion. Choose a different term or concept if you cannot
offer a compelling justification for a discussion of this term or concept. You must integrate a quotation into this
section. Provide page numbers for paraphrases and summaries in parenthetical citations. Term/Concept
Descriptions should comprise between 50 and 75 words.
Work Cited Entry
Work Cited Entries for this assignment should conform to MLA format. Specifically, it should follow the
pattern for a work in an Anthology.
Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). City of Publication:
Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.
Format
● Your Article Analysis must conform to MLA style.
○ Double-space all sections of your text.
○ Include a complete identification section on the first page.
○ Include your last name and the page number in a header that appears at the top right of each page.
○ Use headings preceded by arabic numbers to divide the sections of your Article Analysis.
○ Mark the title of the article with quotation marks.
○ Use parenthetical citations to provide page numbers for quotations, paraphrases, and summaries.
● Identify the title and the full name of the author of the article in the Problem Description.
● Your Article Analysis should not be a cohesive essay with an introduction and conclusion.
● Your completed article analysis should be between 125-400 words.
Essay with Cause and Effect
● Write a thesis driven persuasive essay of at least 700 words that uses a cause and effect relationship as a
way to do discover things to say about your subject.
● For this assignment we are using Cause and Effect as topoi. Topoi is a greek word for relationships
between ideas. Cause and Effect is a relationship between ideas because it asserts a causal relationship
between two occurrences.
● After you identify an exigence—that is, a problem that you are going to address by creating a text—this
assignment requires that you strategically use a Cause and Effect relationship in your text. The entire
essay does not need to be organized using this relationship, but you have to make strategic use of a
Cause and Effect relationship in your text.
● You might, for instance, allege a causal relationship between access to safe drinking water and disease
reduction in an essay that encourages the reader to support a humanitarian organization like charity:
water. Or you might allege a causal relationship between girls’ access to education and positive
outcomes in developing countries in an essay that encourages the reader to support a humanitarian
organization like CARE.
An example introduction:
Sometimes misunderstanding “fairness” perpetuates an unequal distribution of suffering and impedes
the progress of community transformation. CARE is a humanitarian organization that fights poverty by
focusing on women and girls. Some would-be donors have misgivings about humanitarian organizations
like CARE that focus on only one part of a community. This misgiving sometimes reflects an
appropriate concern that addressing the needs of only one part of a community may reflect a failure to
recognize the interdependence of every part of a community. At other times this misgiving reflects a
belief that fairness demands an equal distribution of resources. While I agree that failing to recognize the
interdependence of every part of a community can lead to wasted resources and long-term harm done to
the community, CARE’s focus on women and girls is not evidence of this kind of failure. Instead,
CARE fights poverty by focusing on women and girls for two reasons. First, where poverty is worst
women and girls suffer most. Second, investments in women and girls radiate outward to the entire
community. And while I acknowledge the attractiveness of attempting to evenly distribute resources
across an entire community, I agree with CARE’s model of investing more resources where suffering is
worst and where the radiating impact will be greatest.
● First choose an exigence, an audience, and a purpose and then use the topoi cause and effect to discover
things to say rather than beginning with a cause and effect relationship and then finding an exigence that
fits.
● Give attention to the Genre Expectations section of this syllabus.
● To receive credit for this assignment you must submit the essay with your Writing Process Description
to Canvas before class on the assignment’s due date.
Essay with Division or Classification
● Write a thesis driven persuasive essay of at least 700 words that uses either division or classification as a
way to do discover things to say about your subject.
● Division is when you divide a person, place, thing, method, or idea into its component parts.
● Classification is organizing a number of people, places, things, methods, or ideas based upon shared
characteristics.
● For this assignment we are using Division or Classification as topoi. Topoi is a greek word for
relationships between ideas. Division is a relationship between ideas because it asserts a relationship
between parts and the whole. Classification is a relationship between ideas because it asserts a
relationship between similar things.
● After you identify an exigence—that is, a problem that you are going to address by creating a text—this
assignment requires that you strategically use either Division or Classification in your text. The entire
essay does not need to be organized using one of these relationships, but you have to make strategic use
of Division or Classification in your text.
● You might, for instance, use classification as a means to assert that a person, place, thing, method, or
idea does not belong to the category to which it appears to belong. Or you might use division as a way to
assert a particular relationship between the parts of a person, place, thing, method, or idea.
An excerpt from an example introduction that uses the topoi classification:
Part of the Christian experience is disciplining our will so that our actions more perfectly conform to the
dictates of our conscience and our understanding of the character of God. Another equally important part
of the Christian experience that disciples of Jesus might overlook is seeking categorical error in our
moral thinking and practice. While we sometimes behave as if we think this is only a problem for those
outside the church, an intractable part of the Christian experience is misidentifying good as evil and
misidentifying evil as good. I think an example of this is the thinking and practice of many
contemporary Christians relative to power, violence, and war.
An excerpt from an example introduction that uses the topoi division:
Many people believe that a writer's only obligation in any writing situation is to clearly and honestly
express herself. As long as she has been clear and honest, according to this manner of thinking, all
obligation for right thinking and action transfers to her reader. This belief reflects a failure to recognize
the complexities of every writing situation and leads to a misunderstanding of a writer’s moral
responsibility. A writing situation includes a writer, a reader, a context, and a text. A sophisticated
understanding of these features recommends that a writer’s responsibility is not simply to clearly and
honestly express herself; instead, she must recognize significant features of the writing situation and use
her knowledge of these features to create a text that is appropriately meaningful and motivating to her
reader. Writing is more translation than expression. Every writing situation is infinitely complicated, and
thus even a text that appears to be perfectly suited to its purpose can have features than undermine its
purpose. Consequently, a writer’s obligation does not end when she presents to a reader even a carefully
written text that reflects a strategic consideration of her writing situation. When a text fails to
accomplish its purpose, a writer must remain engaged in dialog with her reader to the degree justified by
the importance of the purpose of the text.
● First choose an exigence, an audience, and a purpose and then use the topoi division or the topoi
classification to discover things to say rather than beginning with a division or classification relationship
and then finding an exigence that fits.
● Give attention to the Genre Expectations section of this syllabus.
● To receive credit for this assignment you must submit the essay with your Writing Process Description
to Canvas before class on the assignment’s due date.
Essay with Sources
● Write a thesis driven persuasive essay of at least 1750 words that supports an assertion within a
rhetorical situation that parallels the rhetorical situation of our Writing Spaces articles. Your audience
should be an audience of novice members of the scholarly community to which your essay belongs. You
should perform the genre performed by the Writing Spaces articles.
● Support your assertion with appropriately documented contextually credible evidence. You must use
sources written by credentialed experts for an audience of scholars rather than sources written for
audiences of general readers.
● Give attention to the Genre Expectations section of this syllabus.
● To receive credit for this assignment you must submit the essay with your Writing Process Description
to Canvas before class on the assignment’s due date.
Writing Process Description
The Writing Process Description helps students develop metacognitive practices that contribute to a writing
praxis characterized by sophisticated rhetorical thinking and strategic choices. The Writing Process Description
should be written before, during, and after your essay. Remember that writing is a recursive process with steps
that can repeat themselves without a prescribed order. Your Writing Process Description should reflect
sophisticated reflection on your praxis of writing.
Format
● The Writing Process Description should be incorporated before the essay.
● Your essay, including its identification section and title, should begin on the first blank page after the
end of your Writing Process Description.
● Your Writing Process Description should be detailed, well-developed, and easy to understand.
● The outline that follows provides a pattern for your Writing Process Description. The questions posed in
this outline reflect the kind of thinking that should be a part of your writing process.
Writing Process Description
I.
Knowledge and Content Generation
Describe the knowledge and content generating activities you used at every stage of your writing
process. How did you generate content? How did you improve your understanding of the ongoing
conversation to which you are making a contribution? How did you improve your understanding of the
specific idea to which you are responding?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
What did you read? What tools did you use to find the things you read?
Who did you talk to?
What did you watch?
What did you listen to?
How was your reflection on your personal experience relevant?
Did you use writing to generate knowledge?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
G.
Did you take notes while reading, talking, watching, or listening?
Did you use listing?
Did you use clustering?
Did you use outlining?
Did you use freewriting?
Did you use the journalistic questions?
Describe the rhetorical analysis that was a part of your writing process.
1.
2.
3.
What exigence/problem motivates this essay?
What is your purpose for writing this essay at the most local level possible? Your purpose
is probably to cause your audience to think or act differently in some way that is
connected to your exigence.
With what audience do you intend to partner as you attempt to address the problem that
motivates this essay? Choose a narrowly defined audience rather than simply listing
possible audiences.
a)
b)
c)
d)
What does your reader think about your exigence and your purpose?
Why might your audience be resistant to your purpose? What it might cost the
reader to agree with you?
How will your understanding of why your audience might be resistant to your
purpose inform your strategic choices as you develop your essay?
What do you know about the audience's relevant values, education, and
experiences?
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
How will your understanding of your audience's relevant values, education, or
experiences inform your strategic choices as you develop your essay?
What sources/authorities/categories of evidence does the audience credit as
authoritative?
How will your understanding of what sources/authorities/categories of evidence
the audience credits as authoritative inform your strategic choices as you develop
your essay?
Who are the most important figures in the contemporary conversation about this
issue? I want you to name specific people in this section. Who are the noteworthy
experts, organizations of authority, or individuals of cultural influence that
contribute to this conversation?
What do you want your audience to think of you?
(1)
(2)
j)
Name the specific publication venue that you have in mind for your text.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
k)
II.
What strategic considerations led you to choose this venue?
What genre is performed by texts like yours in this publication venue? A
scholarly article? A blog post? A guest editorial column in a newspaper?
A letter to the editor?
What typical characteristics of texts like yours that appear in this
publication venue make it clear that you are performing this genre?
Does this audience you identified above read texts like yours in this
publication venue?
What additional features of the rhetorical situation constrain your strategic
choices?
Drafting
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
III.
What strategic choices do you have to make to cause your reader to think
of you in this way? How will causing your reader to think about you in
this way help you accomplish the goal you have for this discourse?
What does the audience think of your purpose? How will your
understanding of what your audience thinks of your purpose inform your
strategic choices as you develop your essay?
Describe any strategic organizing/outlining that was a part of your writing process.
Where did you write?
Did you produce the entire draft in a single writing session?
What questions/obstacles arose as you worked on this draft?
How did your thinking evolve as you worked on this draft?
Describe ways that your writing process was recursive.
Revision
A.
B.
Describe and explain any significant changes in your text that occurred after your initial draft.
Did you attend the class meeting set aside for peer review?
1.
2.
C.
Who did you work with?
How did this experience contribute to strategic decisions you made as you wrote this
essay?
Did you work with anyone outside of class?
D.
E.
IV.
Format Editing/Sentence-level Editing
A.
B.
V.
Who did you work with? (Professor Derico, Graduate Assistant, Learning Center, library
personnel, parent, peer, etc.)
How did this experience contribute to strategic decisions you made as you wrote this essay?
How did you edit your own work?
Did you have anyone else edit your work? Who? What did this person do?
Writing Log
When did you work on this assignment? Provide a writing log that describes when you worked on this
assignment. Provide dates, times, and durations.