Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NOTE: All matters associated with this course are subject to change at the
instructor's discretion. Changes will be communicated in writing to students.
Course Description
The course presents an integrated approach to writing, reading, and
critical thinking by developing the grammatical, logical, and rhetorical
skills necessary for university writing. All classes work in a
computerized learning environment. Students are taught basic
computer literacy and submit all work electronically and on paper.
Required Textbooks
The Aims of Argument: A Rhetoric and Reader
by Timothy Crusius and Carolyn Channell
Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2006
ISBN 0-07-321761-1
All assignments are due by the next class period unless noted
otherwise. Assignments from The Aims of Argument textbook will be
denoted by AA; Assignments from A Writer's Resource will be denoted
by AWR
MAKE-UP OR LATE WORK: Late work without a doctor’s note will not
be accepted. It is your responsibility to speak to me about your
late/make-up work. I will not remind you that you have missed
an assignment or that a deadline has passed.
Fri 8/18: In-class: Course introduction and overview; Register for AWR
and AA companion websites (the AWR website includes an e-book)
Fri 9/8: In-class: Small group discussion of topics for Essay #1;
Discussion of AA Ch. 5 and general discussion of sources; students log in
to AWR online (Catalyst 2.0); Demo of Catalyst electronic resources for
Research
Assignments: Read AWR Handbook on MLA format and how to cite and
create a works cited page; create mock works cited page with 5 sources
Mon 9/11: In-class: Mock works cited page due; Class discussion of
grammar, format, mechanics, evidence, fallacies, and plagiarism (bring
AWR Handbook)
Mon 10/9: In-class: First draft of Visual argument due; Peer reviews
in class; opportunity for feedback on peer review
Assignments: Work on final draft of Essay #2 due Mon. 10/16; Read Ch.
7 in AA; record observation
Assignments: Finish final draft of Essay #2 due Monday; read the four
posted articles on media violence
Assignments: Watch Daily Show clip and Fox News clip – specific clips
TBA
Wed 10/18: In-class: Discussion of news clips; Discuss Essay #3
project, due 11/8
Participation IN THIS COURSE does not include doing work that is not
for this course during class, sleeping in class, or using the computers
or other personal electronic devices for personal messaging, research,
or entertainment. Please turn off cellular/mobile phones, pagers, and
other personal electronic devices during class.
Major Assignments
Essay #1
An essay that presents an inquiry argument using the principles and
criteria in The Aims of Argument (Chapter 6). Essay should be 4-5
double-spaced pages using MLA format for Works Cited.
Essay #2
An integrated textual and visual essay that examines and analyzes the
argument of a visual image (or images) using the criteria in Chapter 4 of
The Aims of Argument. Your image may come from the visuals in The
Aims of Argument, other publications, Internet, or other media. This
project should be 5-6 double-spaced pages and should cite all sources
using MLA format for online sources.
Essay #3
An essay that presents a convincing or motivating argument using
the principles and criteria in The Aims of Argument (Chapter 7 or 8).
This essay should be 6-7 double-spaced pages and should use MLA
format for all works cited.
Late Work
All drafts, including final, must be submitted when and as required in
order to successfully complete this course. Late assignments will suffer
grade deductions, or may not be accepted.
A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal,
state, and local laws as well as the Regents' Rules, university
regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline
for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes
place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also
imposed for such conduct.
Academic Integrity
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and
academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends
upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that
degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of
individual honor in his or her scholastic work.
Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other
classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt
with under the university's policy on plagiarism (see general catalog
for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which
searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.
Email Use
The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of
communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic
mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security
and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The
university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent
only to a student's U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff
consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD
student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree
of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the
security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student
with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with
university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T.
Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail
forwarded to other accounts.
Disability Services
The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities
educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers.
Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union.
Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.;
Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30
a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those
reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the
basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove
classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case
of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment
requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus
an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes
enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be
rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need
to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or
mobility assistance.