Objectives:

This demanding, college-level course is designed to serve as a comprehensive introduction to critical writing and creative thinking. This course will integrate various perspectives on the thinking and writing process drawn from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and the language arts (English, reading, and oral communication). Students will explore a variety of subjects drawn from academic disciplines, contemporary issues, and their life experiences.

Specifically this course will:

•  teach the fundamental thinking, reasoning, and language abilities that students need for academic success.
• stimulate and guide students to think and write clearly about complex, controversial issues.
• engage students in the active process of thinking and writing.
• emphasize critical thinking and writing in argumentation.
• integrate the development of thinking abilities with the four language skills crucial to success in college and careers: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Grading:
Your grade will be determined by percentage: 90-100=A, 80-89=B,70-79=C, etc. The points per assignment are as follows:

Reader Response Papers: 25 points each
Homework Assignments and/or Group Work: 10 points each
Journal Collections: 3 @ 30 points each
Everything's An Argument Paper: 100 points
Midterm Exam: 50 points
Quizzes: 5 points each
The Creative Argument (Final Project): Actual project will be worth 100 points based on a rubric
Written Rationale/Evaluation to accompany the Creative Final: 100 points

View the Grading Standards now! These grading standards apply generally to all written work submitted, with the exception of Journal Collections. Specific grading criteria may apply to specific assignments.

Attendance:

The Academic Senate philosophy on student attendance is as follows: There are no excused absences. The faculty recognizes there are circumstances that prevent students from attending class; however, the student is responsible for making up all missed work. The faculty supports student involvement in extra-curricular activities. The faculty also believes that class participation is crucial to the learning process.

Student responsibilities:

• The student must notify the instructor in advance of absences for all scheduled activities; in the case of an emergency, as soon as possible.
• The student must meet with the instructor to discuss alternate assignments or make-up exams.
• The student must recognize that certain class activities are not possible to recreate, and therefore, may not be made up, for example, class discussion or essay workshops.
• Excessive absence will negatively affect your grade.

Work Policy:

• All work will be due at the start of class and will be accepted up until 5 minutes after the hour. After this time, it is considered late. See late work policy below.
• If you have not completed all the reading, it is very difficult to contribute to the class discussion. Please come to class prepared.
• All work will be typed. Work that is not typed will not be accepted. No Exceptions.
• All work will be in final draft form.
• Work will be returned to the student that is sloppy, under the word requirement, not properly documented, or generally unprofessional. Student may resubmit work, but it will be subject to the late work policy below.
• Late work will be accepted if you have made prior arrangements with me and/or you have a doctor's medical excuse. All other late work will lose 5 points per day.

Plagiarism/Unauthorized Collaboration:

This institution utilizes Turnitin.com. You may be required to submit work to this service. Plagiarism will require a meeting with myself, the Area Director, and the VP of Instruction to determine the intent of the offense. The student will not receive a grade for the assignment until the issue is resolved. Deliberate plagiarism will result in failing the course. Unauthorized collaboration will result in failing the assignment. Downloading information from the internet and pasting it into your paper constitutes plagiarism. Play it safe; do your own thinking!

See the Resource page for more information on plagiarism.

Withdrawal:

If you choose to leave our class, please officially drop the course. Students who stop attending can be issued a grade of FW, see page 36 of the COS Catalog for more information on this grade.

Incomplete:

Incomplete contracts must be initiated prior to finals week. No contracts after finals have begun.

General Class Guidelines:

• Essays will be typed, double spaced, titled, and stapled. Please indicate your name,the course number, Assignment #, and section in the upper left hand corner of your paper.
• You are responsible for keeping up on changes, announcements, etc., should you happen to be absent. Make friends with someone on class.
• If you have a need for any in-class accommodations or special test-taking arrangements because of a disability please speak with me as soon as possible.

The following actions will not be tolerated and will be documented. In some cases the student will be expelled from class for that session and next session, and if necessary, the student will be dropped:

• Disruptive outbursts, foul or sexually explicit language, irrelevant personal comments.
• Any and all disruptive behavior as outlined in the student handbook.
• Chronic tardiness.
• Use of cell phones/text messaging, gameboys, personal music devices, or other electronic gadgets
• Degrading ethnic, racial, sexist, or homophobic remarks.

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