CRIT 1101 – Critical Thinking
Course Syllabus –Spring 2015
Individuals with disabilities who need to request accommodations should contact
the Disability Services Coordinator, Student Center 255, 678-466-5445, .
Course Number, Title, & CRN: CRIT 1101: Critical Thinking, (CRN #21083) TR 12:45-2:00, U262.
Credit Hours: 3.0 semester credit hours (3-0-3)
Catalog Description:A course focusing on skills essential to effectivecritical thinking in both academic and general use.The study of important common components (issue, method, evidence, conclusion) provides a basis for the construction,analysis, and evaluation of arguments in a variety ofcontexts. The course also addresses fundamental elementsof informal logic (e.g., induction, deduction, fallacy-avoidance) and of elementary formal logic (e.g., tests forvalidity) as they inform good reasoning in any context,from everyday decision-making to academic argumentation.
Course Prerequisites and Co-requisites:Learning Support students who are required to take ENGL 0099 and/or READ 0099 must exit the requirement(s)before they can enroll in this course
Computer Requirement:Each CSU student is required to have ready access throughout the semester to a notebook computer that meets faculty-approved hardware and software requirements for the student's academic program. Students will sign a statement attesting to such access. For further information on CSU's Official Notebook Computer Policy, please go to
Computer Skill Prerequisites:
- Able to use the WindowsTM operating system
- Able to use Microsoft WordTM word processing
- Able to send and receive e-mail using OutlookTM or Outlook ExpressTM
- Able to attach and retrieve attached files via email
- Able to use a Web browser
In-class Use of Student Notebook Computers:Computers will be required to access course materials, communicate with your instructor, and participate in classroom research activities.
THE USE OF WEBSITES LIKE NOTEHALL.COM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Any student who uploads any material from this class to this website (or others like it) will be charged with academic misconduct. These websites are simply interested in making money and are not at all concerned about how accurate or useful student notes and study guide answers are.
Program Learning Outcomes:
General education outcomes:The following links provide tabular descriptions of the communications outcome and the critical thinking outcome components:
- Communications outcomes components
- Critical thinking outcomes components
Course Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Write, analyze, and evaluate arguments for strength and validity
- Improve their oral and written communication skills
- Analyze complex concepts, ideas, definitions, and arguments
Instructor Information:
Dr. Aaron Dopf
phone: 678.466.4813
e-mail: (please do not use the GA View email account).
Office: Arts and Sciences 110 C
Office Hours: MW: 1:00-3:30, TTR: 3:30-5:00, and by appointment.
Class Email Listserv:
Textbook & Resources: A Concise Introduction to Logic, 12th ed., by Patrick Hurley. A tutorial CDaccompanies the book, and the companion website contains a variety of resources.
Peer Tutoring: The Center for Academic Success provides tutoring for this course. Appointments can be made through TutorTrac at or by stopping by the CAS (Library-lower level).
Text Coverage:Selected Readings and Exercises (see below)
Course Requirements:
In order to do well in this class attendance is essential. For exams you will be responsible for BOTH material covered in lecture as well as material covered in the readings and discussion sections. The readings will be the subject of the lectures but some parts of the readings may not be discussed in as much detail as others, and additional material may be presented in lecture. Therefore, it is essential that you not only do all the readings but do them PRIOR to lecture so that you are able to get the most out of the lectures and participate in discussion of the material. The course is composed of the following five elements:
I) There will be 3Exams. They will be multiple-choice exams for the most part; however, one or more may include a short answer section.
II) You will have to write twoArgument Papers of 1 ½ to 2 pages. You can write on topics outlined on 1.2.III p. 31. Alternatively, you may come up with your topics related to sports, politics, community issues, school, or even your everyday experiences (for instance, a rich topic might be the appropriate rules of etiquette in the context of online social media). Your papers should clearly express i) the topic being addressed, ii) your position on the topic, and iii) three primary premises that support your position. This will serve as the “skeletal form” of your argument. You will then need to iv) write a paragraph on your topic that clearly explains how your premises support your position. The numbered premises of your skeletal argument will be your topic sentences for each supporting paragraph. Be sure to make each premise concise and economical. These arguments should be entirely your thoughts. Do not incorporate any outside sources in any of your premises.
Consider the following example:
Issue: Whether Lebron James is a better basketball player than Michael Jordan.
Position: Lebron James is not a better basketball player than Michael Jordan.
Premise 1: Michael Jordan won 6 NBA titles while Lebron James has only won 2.
Premise 2: Lebron James has a tendency to quite in the 4th quarter where Michael Jordan carried his team.
Premise 3: There are clear character issues with Lebron James that effect his play on the court that Michael Jordan never had.
III) There will be 3 Quizzes administered in class over the course of the semester (see dates bellow). These will be short multiple choice exams. In most cases NO makeup quizzes are allowed. If it is an excused absence you must make arrangements to take the quiz early (wherever possible).
IV) There will also be 6 short multiple choice Homework Assignments over the course of the semester. These will largely be multiple-choice questions from the textbook. In most circumstances NO makeup homework is allowed. This is one more reason attendance is important. In addition to missing course material, you risk missing out on assignments that cannot be made up. If you do have an excused absence you should inquire about any possible homework assignments prior to your absence. Also note there is only one column for homework in the grade book on GA View. Instead of cluttering it with six separate homework columns, the single column will reflect a running total over the course of the semester.
V) Finally, you will be evaluated based on your Attendancein class lectures. You get 2 free absences. After that any absence will result in the loss of 4 attendance points. If you come in late it is your responsibility to see me after class. Also, if you are more than 15 minutes late you will not receive credit for attendance.
Finally, note that any makeup work that is allowed will result in an automatic 25% grade reduction.
Midterm Progress Report: The Midterm grades will be issued by March 2nd. The last day to withdrawal from a class is March 6th. Contact the Registrar’s office for further information.
Grade Breakdown(500 possible points):
Attendance50 points
Homework30 points (6 five point multiple choice assignments out of the textbook)
3 Quizzes60 (20 points each)
2 Papers60 (30 points each)
3 Exams300 (100 points each)
A = 90%-100% (450-500 points)
B = 80%-89% (400-450)
C = 70%-79% (350-400)
D = 60%-69% (300-350)
F = 0%-59% (0-300)
The use of cell phones in the classroom INCLUDING TEXTING will not be tolerated! In the event of an emergency, please leave the classroom to use your cellphone. The only other exception is if you are required to be on call for work. If that is the case, please let me know. All cell phones should be silenced or turned off before class.
I also reserve the right to ban the use of laptops if it becomes an issue. The use of laptops is a privilege, not a right. Please do not abuse it! In class use should be limited to note taking only.
Also note that the syllabus and schedule is subject to change.
READINGS, LECTURES, ASSIGNMENTS, AND EXAMS
UNIT I
1/13 Introductory remarks
1/15 1.1 Arguments, Premises, Conclusions, and begin 1.2 Recognizing Arguments
1/20 Finish 1.2, and 1.3 Deduction and Induction
1/22 1.4 Validity, Truth, Soundness, Strength, Cogency
1/27 1.5 Argument Forms, Proving Invalidity (Quiz 1)
1/29 1.6 Extended Arguments
2/3 2.1 Varieties of Meanings 2.2 The Intension and Extension of Terms, and 2.3 Definitions
2/5 2.4 Definitional Techniques, 2.5 Criteria for Lexical Definitions, Review
2/10 EXAM I
UNIT II
2/12 3.1 Fallacies in General, 3.2 Fallacies of Relevance
2/17 3.3 Fallacies of Weak Induction (Paper 1 Due)
2/19 3.4 Fallacies of Presumption, Ambiguity, and Grammatical Analogy, 3.5 Fallacies in Ordinary Language
2/24 5.1 Standard Form, Mood, Figure 5.2 Venn Diagrams
2/26 5.3 Rules and Fallacies, 5.4 Reducing the Number of Terms (Quiz 2)
3/3 5.5 Ordinary Language Arguments
3/5 5.6 Enthymemes, 5.7 Sorites
3/10 SPRING BREAK
3/12 SPRING BREAK
3/17 10.1 “Cause” and Necessary and Sufficient Conditions, 10.2 Mill’s Five Methods
3/19 10.3 Mill’s Methods and Science, Review
3/24 EXAM II
UNIT III
3/26 11.1 Theories of Probability, 11.2 Probability Calculus
3/31 12.1 Evaluating Statistics, 12.2 Samples
4/2 12.3 The Meaning of ‘Average’
4/7 12.4 Dispersion, 12.5 Graphs and Pictograms
4/9 12.6 Percentages
4/14 13.1 The Hypothetical Method
4/16 13.2 Hypothetical Reasoning: Four Examples From Science (Quiz 3)
4/21 13.3The Proof of Hypotheses, 13.4 The Tentative Acceptance of Hypotheses
4/23 14.1 Distinguishing Between Science, Religion 14.2 Evidentiary Support, 14.3 Objectivity
4/28 14.4, Integrity, 14.5 Concluding Remarks, (Paper 2 Due)
4/30 Review
FINAL EXAM: TBA
Course Policies
General Policy: Students must abide by policies in the Clayton State University Student Handbook, and the Basic Undergraduate Student Responsibilities.
University Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend and participate in every class meeting. Instructors establish specific policies relating to absences in their courses and communicate these policies to the students through the course syllabi. Individual instructors, based upon the nature of the course, determine what effect excused and unexcused absences have in determining grades and upon students’ ability to remain enrolled in their courses. The university reserves the right to determine that excessive absences, whether justified or not, are sufficient cause for institutional withdrawals or failing grades.
Course Attendance Policy: Attendance is expected for all class periods. More than 3 absences will result in a deduction of 5% from your final course grade. Habitual tardiness (i.e., more than 5 late arrivals) will also result in a deduction of 5% from your final course grade. An absence or late arrival may be excused due to (1) official CSU functions (such as athletic events), (2) required official military duty, or (3) documentation from a physician or other appropriate authority. For online courses, attendance is required for orientation and for all exams, and is very strongly encouraged for all review sessions.
Missed Work: With a valid excuse that explains why the student was unable to take the test or submit the assignment on time:
- Make-up quizzes will be scheduled at a time chosen by the instructor. Note, the make-up quiz may be different from the scheduled quiz that the student missed.
- Make-up homework may be submitted at a time determined by the instructor.
- Make-up tests will be scheduled at a time chosen by the instructor. Note, the make-up exam may be different from the scheduled examination that the student missed.
- Make-up papers and paper drafts will be due at a time chosen by the instructor.
- The final examination must be taken. If you know you cannot make the scheduled time, consult at least two weeks in advance with the instructor and a new exam date may be arranged, if the instructor believes conditions warrant rescheduling. To reschedule an exam, you must submit a change of final examination date form to the instructor several days prior to the examination. It is your responsibility to submit this form and, if you do not, then you will not be allowed to reschedule your exam. Forms may be obtained from the secretary in the College of Arts and Sciences. Note, should you reschedule, the exam you take may be different from the regularly scheduled examination.
Academic Dishonesty: Any type of activity that is considered dishonest by reasonable standards may constitute academic misconduct. The most common forms of academic misconduct are cheating and plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when you use someone else’s words or ideas in your presentation or writing without giving that person credit. Even paraphrase is plagiarism if you do not properly cite your source. All instances of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of zero for the work involved, and will be reported to the Office of Student Life/Judicial Affairs. Judicial procedures are described at:
Disruption of the Learning Environment: Behavior which disrupts the teaching–learning process during class activities will not be tolerated. While a variety of behaviors can be disruptive in a classroom setting, more serious examples include belligerent, abusive, profane, and/or threatening behavior. A student who fails to respond to reasonable faculty direction regarding classroom behavior may be dismissed from class. A student who is dismissed is entitled to due process and will be afforded such rights as soon as possible following dismissal. If found in violation, a student may be administratively withdrawn and may receive a grade of WF. A more detailed description of examples of disruptive behavior and appeal procedures is provided at:
Finally, be advised that this syllabus (and all others) is considered a bindingcontract between the teacher, the student, and the University. All the terms should be honored and respected.