RWS 100 Fall 2012
Rhetoric of the Written Argument
The Basics:
Instructor: Katie Fagan
Office Hours: M 12:30-1:30 and by appt. in AH 3178
E-mail: cfagan@rohan.sdsu.edu
Course: RWS 100 Section 19
When: MWF 11:00am-11:50am
Where: Room PFSA 300
Required texts:
1) RWS 100 Fall 2012 Course Reader (SDSU bookstore)
2) Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. They Say I Say: The Moves that Matter in
Academic Writing, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011
3) Bullock, Richard and Francine Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook. New York: W.W.
Norton &
Company, 2011.
*Pocketed Folder
Pre-requisites: Satisfaction of the SDSU writing competency requirement (see University Catalog).
Course Overview
Description: What are the most effective forms of communication? How can we evaluate and
construct written arguments to communicate our thoughts and opinions in the most effective
way possible? This semester, we will collectively engage in using our critical thinking skills to
employ the art of rhetoric in writing. With emphasis on argument, these skills apply to all areas
of academic study and professional fields.
General Education Capacities/Goals & RWS Learning Outcomes
Our “Learning Outcomes” reflect the goals and capacities of the General Education Program.
RWS 100 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:
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construct, analyze and communicate argument,
contextualize phenomena,
negotiate differences, and
apply theoretical models to the real world.
This course advances general 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 100 establishes intellectual
RWS 100 Fall 2012
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:
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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 100 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. Describe elements of an argument—claims, methods of development, kinds of evidence,
persuasive appeals—and to annotate the work that is done by each section of a written
argument;
2. Use all aspects of the writing process—including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and
proofreading;
3. Choose effective structures for your writing, acknowledging that different purposes,
contexts and audiences call for different structures; understand the relationship between a
text's ideas and its structure;
4. Identify devices an author has used to create cohesion or to carry the reader through the
text; use metadiscourse to signal the project of a paper, and guide a reader from one idea to the
next;
5. Effectively select material from written arguments, contextualize it, and comment on it in
your writing;
6. Determine when and where a source was published, who wrote it and whether it was
reprinted or edited; understand that texts are written in and respond to particular contexts,
communities or cultures; examine the vocabulary choices a writer makes and how they are
related to context, community or culture, audience or purpose;
7. Respond in writing to ideas drawn from various cultures and disciplines, using the activity
of writing to clarify and improve your understanding of an argument;
8. Analyze and assess the relative strengths of arguments and supporting evidence;
9. Analyze and assess arguments made by visual texts; incorporate visual images into your
documents;
10. Craft well reasoned arguments for specific audiences;
11. Edit your writing for the grammar and usage conventions appropriate to each writing
situation;
RWS 100 Fall 2012
12. Assign significance to the arguments that they read; and
13. Reflect on how you wrote papers, and revise arguments and findings based on critical
reflection.
Written Work/Assignments
Weekly Assignments: Each week you will be given a written assignment that will be turned in
as homework at the end of class every Friday. The assignments will vary weekly, according to
what we are focusing on in class for that unit (think: journal entries, op-eds, advertisement
analysis, pre-writing exercises…just to name a few), and will be about 1-2 pages, typed, in
length. These will make up 20% of your grade with the opportunity to make up 2 (and only 2)
missed assignments.
Essays: For each of the three units you will be expected to complete an essay of about 5 pages
in length. Final drafts will be due in print copy/MLA format, in class, on the assigned date, as
well as online to Turnitin.com before class on the assigned date. Each essay will undergo prewriting and rough draft stages, which will also be turned in with the essay on the assigned
date*. For each class that a paper is late, the final grade will be docked 5 points. Late
submissions to Turnitin.com will also receive penalties. I will not accept work that is over two
weeks late—again, special circumstances aside. You are allowed ONE re-write for the 3 essays
that will be assigned (details to follow Unit 1 Prompt).
*This is why you will need a folder 
Workshops/Conferences: Each essay will be work-shopped by your peers and once in
conference with me. 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. It is critical that you attend class when a workshop is scheduled
and even more critical that you show up for scheduled conferencing—missing a scheduled
conference is like missing a week of class (and will count as such in your participation grade)!
Policies
Respect: The motto for this classroom is “work hard, play hard” and as such, I expect my
students to come prepared to class. This means: showing up on time, having read the assigned
readings, being present in class, both mentally and physically (ie. actively participating in
discussions or taking notes and listening), keeping electronics/laptops out of sight (and on
silent!), using appropriate language and behavior for a college classroom setting, etc (this is not
high school anymore—passing notes, talking while someone else is speaking and all other
disrespectful behavior will incur penalties. This here is your warning!). Since this is a
discussion-based class, it is vital that you listen and speak respectfully to others at all times.
Discriminatory remarks will not be tolerated. I encourage you to express your opinions, of
course – they will often inspire good discussions. This class is about texts, not about political or
cultural beliefs, so everyone has the chance to talk and be respected in class. And as such, you
can expect me to give you the same respect from my end.
Attendance: I believe that the key to success in any classroom is actually attending. Therefore,
I put attendance on a pedestal. You will be allowed 3 “free-bee” absences (I don’t ask, you don’t
tell). On the 4th and 5th absences—special circumstances* aside—your participation grade will
RWS 100 Fall 2012
drop 5 points per missed class. Any absentee tallies that exceed 6 could result in a failing grade.
Continued or excessive tardiness (10 minutes +) will also result in an absence penalty. *Special
circumstances need documentation for absences.
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. Speaking of assigned work—outside of Written Assignments, you
will be given regular homework (readings, brief exercises, handwritten work, etc.). Should you
show up to class unprepared/not having done the HW, you will be docked 1 participation point.
Grade Breakdown:
Unit 1 (Mandlebaum) = 20 points
Unit 2 (Pinker) = 20 points
Unit 3 (Food Inc.) =20 points
WAs = 20 points
Attendance = 10 points
Final =10 points
Tentative Unit Due Dates (see Blackboard for semester-long tentative schedule):
October 3 – Unit 1 Essay
November 7 – Unit 2 Essay
December 5 – Unit 3 Essay
Extra Credit: There will be small, spontaneous opportunities to earn extra credit throughout
the course of the semester as they arise organically during class discussion*, a streak of teacher
generosity, etc. *Here is yet another added bonus of attending class—only those privy to said
extra credit information will be able to earn extra points (ie. if you aren’t in class the day EC is
assigned, you can’t turn in the assignment for bonus points).
Plagarism
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 college. For more information on the university
cheating and plagiarism policy, please visit: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/senate/
policy/pfacademics.html. SDSU’s library also has an excellent tutorial on how to avoid
plagiarism.
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
RWS 100 Fall 2012
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 dropin 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.
If any of this is unclear or you have any questions, please do not hesitate to see me after class or
e-mail me for clarification and answers 
RWS 100 Fall 2012
I, __________________________________________________, have read and understand the above syllabus
and agree to abide by the expectations laid out in said syllabus.
Signed: _____________________________________________________ Date: __________________
Below please write briefly about: 1) your expectations for this class, both in content and for me
as an instructor 2) your classroom pet peeves 3) your goals, both as a writer and student, for
the end of the semester 4) anything else you think I should know (perhaps background
information you forgot to write about during the exercise on the first day of class)
Thanks 