RWS 100: Rhetoric of Written Argument
Syllabus – Spring 2013
Professor: Roderick Michener
Class Meets: MWF 9:00 - 9:50, HH 216
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10:15 - 11:45 and by appointment.
Office Location: AH 3178 (GTA Office)
Email: roderick.michener@gmail.com
Rhetoric and Writing Studies Office: AH 3138; Phone: 619.594.6515
RWS 100 Course Description:
(From the SDSU Catalog): Writing and reading as critical inquiry, designed to help
students undertake university-level writing projects. Focus on rhetoric of written
arguments. Students learn to use sources in their writing and make appropriate decisions
about structure, cohesion, and rhetorical conventions.
(From past and present RWS professors): An investigation into how language is used to
organize, maintain and legitimize socio-economic power structures and, conversely, how
language can be used to educate, co-ordinate, persuade and advocate for change through
rhetorical strategies.
Texts and Materials:
1. RWS 100 Course Reader. Listed under " Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies"
or "DRWS" at the SDSU Bookstore.
2. Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in
Academic Writing (Second Edition). Norton, 2010.
3. Bullock, Richard and Francine Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook. Norton 2011.
4. (Recommended) a spiral-bound notebook with perforated pages and a two-pocket
folder to store portfolio work.
5. Current edition of a college-level English dictionary.
Requirements and Assignments:
Essays:
Three formal essays of four to eight pages in length are required. Each essay will go
through a draft and workshop/peer review sequence before being rewritten and submitted
for a grade. Each essay will receive a letter grade.
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Portfolio:
There will be ten shorter informal writing assignments throughout the semester —
homework, in-class freewriting, peer reviews, reading responses, etc. Together, these
assignments will comprise your portfolio, which must be handed in at the end of the
semester. It is very important that you keep these finished assignments along the way
so that your portfolio is complete when it is turned in. For example, for in-class work I
may simply stamp your paper to indicate that it was completed on time, but this stamped
copy must be included in your final portfolio. Grading for the portfolio is based on
satisfactory completion of each assignment and its inclusion in the final packet. So if
90% of assignments are completed and included the grade is an A; 80% equals a B; 70%
a C and so on.
Participation:
This is a discussion class and you are expected to be an active participant. Active
participants will arrive prepared (e.g. assigned readings will have been completed), be
attentive to and respectful of other students, and will participate in small group activities.
Obviously, your physical presence is required for you to participate; absences will have
an adverse effect on your grade for this section.
Quizzes:
On occasion there will be a short quiz at the beginning of the class period as a way to
determine whether you have read the required texts and understand their basic concepts.
If you've read the work and paid attention in class these will be easy. However, quizzes
will be given at the beginning of the class period and will generally have a five-minute
time limit for completion. If you are late or absent you will receive an F for that test.
Evaluation:
Essay 1: Constructing an Account of an Argument
Essay 2: Gathering Information and Managing Sources
Essay 3: Explaining Rhetorical Strategies
Participation
Portfolio
Quizzes
Total
20%
25%
20%
15%
15%
5%
100%
Major Assignments (Essays 1, 2 and 3):
1. Describe and analyze an author's argument, claims, project, support and rhetorical
strategies (Gladwell).
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2. Construct an account of an author's project and argument and carry out small, focused
research tasks to find information that helps clarify, illustrate, extend or complicate that
argument. Use appropriate reference materials in order to clarify the understanding of an
argument (Pinker).
3. Construct an account of one or more author's projects and arguments and explain
rhetorical strategies that these authors – and by extension other writers – use to engage
readers/viewers in thinking about their arguments (Food Inc.).
Important: These essays and all other typed assignments must be in 12 point font,
double-spaced and in MLA format. Use a font that is typical for manuscripts: Times New
Roman, Garamond, etc.
Important: All assignments are due at the beginning of class (9:00) on date due. No late
papers will be accepted.
Policies and Procedures:
Attendance:
There is no substitute for attending class. If you are absent from class, you will not be
able to make up any quiz or assignment that is done in class, which will affect your
participation grade for this course. I suggest that you collect two or three phone numbers
or email addresses from classmates to use in order to get assignment information in case
you are absent.
Respect:
Above all, respect is what I value most and I hope not to be required to repeat this in class.
The best classroom experience comes from students respecting each other and the
instructor. This includes everything from coming to class on time, to refraining from
private conversations during class, to not texting during lecture or discussion. Please turn
off your cell phones and other electronics when you come to class. If it necessary to text
or call during class, please make arrangements with me beforehand; it may be more
appropriate for you not to attend that day. Because we will be interacting in group
discussions often, the use of laptops is distracting. Students who have a special need to
use a laptop must discuss the situation 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 made it this far in the syllabus, great job! For an added bonus, email
me your favorite hobby for three bonus points added to your participation score.
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Electronics:
In case you didn't get this from the preceding paragraph, the use of electronics in the
classroom is prohibited. This means no cellphones, no tablets, no laptops, etc. Again, if
there is a special need issue, please contact me to discuss this privately.
Email:
Please use your own resources first (classmates, the syllabus, Blackboard), but feel free to
email me at the address listed on this syllabus. I do not receive messages sent via
Blackboard. I respond within 48 hours under normal circumstances.
You must begin the subject line with RWS100 followed by your last name. For
example, if Karl Marx were to send me an email the subject line would read:
"RWS100 Marx: Question regarding imperialism"
Please compose your emails in a professional manner and write them in standard English.
Emails composed in text-speak will be not be read or responded to.
Re-Writes:
I will allow you to revise one of the first two major essays this semester after you turn it
in for a letter grade. The original grade must be lower than a C. You and I will meet
privately to discuss terms and a deadline for the rewrite.
Plagiarism:
All work in this course must be original; academic integrity is expected at all times.
Plagiarism in any class will result in serious consequences ranging from grade reduction
to failure in the class to expulsion from the university. The SDSU library has an excellent
tutorial on how to avoid plagiarism.
To help prevent plagiarism, particularly the unauthorized future use of your work by
someone else, Turnitin (integrated within Blackboard) will be used in this course for the
three major 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. 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.
Addendum:
Please see Blackboard for policies and procedures addendum.
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Course Outline and Tentative Schedule
Please note that the following schedule is approximate and is subject to change. Reading
and writing assignments will normally be given in class and subsequently uploaded to
Blackboard. I have listed the first week's reading assignments because of the 1/21 holiday.
(The date in parentheses is the Monday of that week.)
Week 1 (1/21 and including Friday 1/18)
Syllabus, introductions
Key terms and concepts
Assign first short project
*Reading assignment to be completed before class on 1/23/13:
They Say/I Say pp. xvi - 41
RWS100 Reader pp. 1 - 11
Week 2 (1/28)
Apply concepts to short texts
PACES and charting
Pre-reading strategies
Week 3 (2/4)
Gladwell intro
Gladwell discussion
Chart sections, claims, evidence
Week 4 (2/11)
Structural review, quotes
Intros and summaries
Week 5 (2/18)
Essay 1 first draft due/workshop 2/18
Conferencing
Conferencing
Week 6 (2/25)
Essay 1 final draft due Monday 2/25
Begin Pinker
Pinker
Week 7 (3/4)
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Library orientation
Working with outside sources
Pinker
Week 8 (3/11)
Pinker Charting
Templates
Prospectus for essay 2 due
Week 9 (3/18)
Pinker cont'd
Pinker cont'd
Essay 2 first draft due/ workshop 3/22
Week 10 (3/25)
Pinker conferencing
Pinker conferencing
Essay 2 final draft due 3/29
Week 11 (4/1)
Spring Break
Week 12 (4/8)
Food Inc. view
Food Inc. discussion
Week 13 (4/15)
Food Inc. discussion
Food and community
Food and globalization
Week 14 (4/22)
Identify and analyze strategies
Writing about strategies
Group presentations
Week 15 (4/29)
Essay 3 first draft due/workshop 4/29
conferencing
conferencing
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Week 16 (5/6)
Wrap-up and final discussion
Essay 3 final draft due 5/8 (last day of class)
Final Exam (5/13)
TBA
Portfolio due 5/13 by 12:00 noon in my mailbox.
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