Current Issues and Enduring Questions

Sample Syllabi

Here are some helpful syllabi from courses that use Current Issues and Enduring Questions and Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing. They are listed under the book that the syllabus is based on and are organized by course name and professor’s school affiliation.

Current Issues and Enduring Questions

Rhetorical Analysis: Critical Perspectives on Advertisement, Television, Print and Film, Syracuse University

English Composition 100-16, Baldwin-Wallace College

English 101, University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

English 105, Iowa State University

English 112: English Communications, Lebanon Valley College

English 102: English Composition, North Idaho College

For her writing course in rhetorical analysis at Syracuse University’s Writing Program, Laura Gray-Rosendale created the following syllabus:

Syllabus for Writing 205: Rhetorical Analysis: Critical Perspectives on Advertisement, Television, Print, and Film

Course Description

Like all of the Writing Program's 205 courses, this 205 section is a writing-intensive course focusing on the basic elements of rhetorical analysis. To become better cultural critics of advertisement, television, print, and film, you will be introduced in the course’s first section to the rhetorical procedures used in complex written and cultural texts, and you will write brief papers that develop evaluative and argumentative positions on those texts. This first section will also refresh your knowledge about the fundamental tenets of argument so that you better understand arguments written by cultural critics and learn to create more convincing ones yourself.

In the course’s second section, you will select several cultural texts and begin to construct a larger written project that you will sustain throughout the semester. The last section of the course will be run entirely in a workshop and presentation-based format in which you work very carefully on the structure of the written pieces you have developed so far. Writing consultants will be brought in throughout the semester to work with you individually on your writing.

As with all Writing 205 courses, the course’s main goal is to help you become stronger writers (and, concurrently, stronger readers) by providing opportunities for you to engage in analyses of arguments (be they in advertisement, television, print, or film) and to observe the often complex ways in which writers of cultural criticism create theses, offer reasons for their claims, and provide evidence and warrants for these reasons. While learning some basic strategies for analyzing the structure of arguments in essays by published writers, we will constantly draw analogies between the sorts of argumentative structures used in the texts we consider and the choices that you make in constructing your own arguments.

Required Texts

Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau, Current Issues and Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument, with Readings, 5th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999)

Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 3rd ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000)

A Cultural Criticism Reader will be available from the Syracuse Copy Center in Marshall Square Mall a bit later in the semester. This reader will include examples of arguments produced within the generic conventions of cultural criticism.

Other Required Materials

Particularly for the first third of the course, you will be using a journal for much of your weekly writing. This can be housed in a folder with pockets. It should only be used for Writing 205.

You will also occasionally be required to make photocopies of your written work (at your own expense) in order to facilitate group critiques.

I suggest that you purchase a good dictionary and thesaurus, if you do not already own them.

Grading, Attendance, and Late Work

There will be three different major writing assignments during the semester. The journal work (including original versions and revisions) from Unit 1 will count 25 percent, the paper project developed in Unit 2 will count 25 percent, and the Unit 3 project, an extension and augmentation of the paper written for Unit 2, will count count 25 percent. The remaining 25 percent of the final grade will be determined by attendance, participation in class discussion and group critiques, informal writing assignments, draft work, and your final presentations.

Because the success of our endeavor as a class depends in large measure on our creation, as a group, of a body of knowledge about the analysis of certain kinds of arguments, participation in class discussions and group work is one of the most crucial aspects of the course. If you do not attend class, you cannot participate. Likewise, if you have not prepared adequately for class, you cannot participate in useful ways. Thus, both attendance and preparedness will be reflected in the participation portion of your grade.

Late formal papers will be accepted but will be marked down one half-grade for each class day that they are overdue. For example, an A paper that was due on Monday but was turned in on Wednesday of the same week will receive a B grade. I will recognize legitimate excuses for late work (illness, a death in the family) if you do me the courtesy of discussing the matter with me well before the paper is due.

Portfolios

Your success in this course is heavily dependent on your efforts to engage in consistent and constructively critical self-reflection on your work as a writer. To facilitate that process, you will be required at the close of each of the three units to collect most or all of your written work for that unit (NEVER throw your written work away) and to write a brief evaluation of your work. Each portfolio will include a self-reflective essay about your own writing in the course to date.

Special Considerations

Syracuse University is committed to compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students who may need special consideration because of any sort of disability should make an appointment to see me in the first few days of the semester.

Schedule

Wednesday, January 17:

In class: Introductions.

Assignments for next time: Write a two- to three-page profile of yourself as a writer—your strengths and weaknesses, your experiences in other writing courses, your experiences with writing elsewhere, what worked for you and what didn't, and what specifically (create a list of goals for you and your writing) you hope to accomplish this semester.

Read “Critical Thinking,” pp. 3–22 in Barnet and Bedau. Take good notes.

Friday, January 19:

In class: Report on profiles. Lecture and handouts on rhetoric and argument

Assignments for next time: Read “Writing an Analysis of an Argument,” pp. 101–59 in Barnet and Bedau. Take good notes. Also bring an advertisement to class—one about which you think you might make some claims. If you plan to videotape an ad from television, be sure to let me know at the end of class so that I can order the VCR for class.

Monday, January 22:

In class: Argumentative analysis exercise and group analysis of advertisements. Discussion of Argumentative Analysis.

Assignments for next time: Using your advertisement as evidence for your claim, make a one-page, single-spaced argument about this ad. Be as concise as possible. Do not use any words that are extraneous to what you are trying to prove. Remember, it is not enough to claim something like “This ad is effective in selling its product because . . .” or “This ad is immoral because . . . .” You will want to offer a claim about what this ad reveals about American values, what desires or anxieties this ad is tapping into, and perhaps what anxieties the ad evokes for the audience and how the product offers both the disease and the antidote. Make your claim as specific as possible. Remember that all papers should have titles, clear theses in each paragraph, be free of spelling and grammatical problems, etc.

Wednesday, January 24:

In class: Discuss people’s arguments.

Assignments for next time: Read “Developing an Argument of Your Own,” pp. 160–90 in Barnet and Bedau. Using peer feedback, redraft this argument slightly. Bring in more evidence from the advertisement as a text itself. What details of the ad can you cite to support your claim? How does your desire to convince your reader affect the structure of the argument, the language choices you make, and the claim you make? This finalized version will be graded. Turn it in next time along with the ad.

Friday, January 26:

In class: Discuss redrafts.

Assignments for next time: Read “Critical Reading: Getting Deeper into Arguments,” pp. 50–70 in Barnet and Bedau. Take good notes.

Monday, January 29:

In class: Discuss reading. In-class exercise.

Assignments for next time: Choose a new advertisement and write a one-page, single-spaced argument about it. Keep all of my suggestions about your last assignment in mind. You will be responsible for addressing the same considerations I mention under January 22 as well.

Wednesday, January 31:

In class: Discuss advertisements and arguments.

Assignments for next time: Revise writing assignment. Draft work in class next time.

Friday, February 2:

In class: Draft work in small groups.

Assignments for next time: Finalize writing assignment. Turn it in next time.

Monday, February 5:

In class: Discuss Unit 1 Paper assignment.

Assignments for next time: Begin work on Unit 1 Paper assignment; this will build from either of the two informal papers you’ve done so far. Write an outline of what you plan to do.

Wednesday, February 7:

In class: Group work. Sign up for conferences to be held on Monday, February 12.

Assignments for next time: Write a rough draft based on your outline. Bring two copies to class.

Friday, February 9:

In class: Group work.

Assignments for next time: Finalize your rough draft. Bring this new rough draft plus a list of specific questions to our conferences.

Monday, February 12: Class canceled: required conferences.

Assignments for next time: Bring four copies of your paper for next time.

Wednesday, February 14:

In class: Come to class for group critiques. We will work in small groups of four.

Friday, February 16:

In class: Unit 1 Paper due (with draft and all unit informal assignments). We will write evaluative "reprofiles" in class.

Assignments for next time: No homework. Pick up the Cultural Criticism Reader from Campus Copy Center and bring it to class next time.

Monday, February 19: No classes.

Wednesday, February 21:

In class: We will look at some texts in theCultural Criticism Reader.

Assignments for next time: Read “Critical Reading: Getting Deeper into Arguments,” pp. 70–98 in Barnet and Bedau. Also, read “Family Feud.” Write a response to it in which you identify the main claim of the piece, explain the structure of the argument, and offer some thoughts about why this argument is effective or not (quote from the text to support your perspective). Do not use extraneous words. Be as concise as possible. One to two pages, single-spaced.

Friday, February 23:

In class: Discussion of responses to “Family Feud.”

Assignments for next time: Revise the assignment above.

Monday, February 26:

In class: Continue discussion of “Family Feud.”

Assignments for next time: Read “A Logician’s View: Deduction, Induction, Fallacies,” pp. 260–98 in Barnet and Bedau. Also read “Cosby Knows Best.” Write a response to it in which you identify the main claim of the piece, explain the structure of the argument, detail any logical fallacies in the argument, and offer some thoughts about why this argument is effective or not (quote from the text to support your perspective). Do not use extraneous words. Be as concise as possible. One to two pages, single-spaced.

Wednesday, February 28:

In class: Discussion of responses to “Cosby Knows Best.”

Assignments for next time: Revise the assignment above.

Friday, March 1:

In class: Continue discussion of “Cosby Knows Best.”

Assignments for next time: Read “Getting Dirty.” Write a response to it in which you identify the main claim of the piece, explain the structure of the argument, and offer some thoughts about why this argument is effective or not (quote from the text to support your perspective). Do not use extraneous words. Be as concise as possible. One to two pages, single-spaced.

Monday, March 4:

In class: Discussion of responses to “Getting Dirty.”

Assignments for next time: Select a television show, advertisement, or film that you will write an argument about for your Unit 2 Paper. Bring a detailed description of it to class, complete with notes, and a full, written discussion of its features, which you will share with the class. If possible, make sure you can get it on videotape. If it is a print ad campaign, bring those ads to class. Remember, if you will need video equipment, let me know ahead of time.

Wednesday, March 6:

In class: Discussion of texts selected for Unit 2 Paper. Discuss assignment sheet for Unit 2 Paper.

Assignments for next time: Write an outline for this paper. Be prepared to talk through this outline in class.

Friday, March 8:

In class: Discussion of outlines for Unit 2 Paper.

Assignments for next time: Read “Using Sources,” pp. 191–248 in Barnet and Bedau. Write a rough draft of a paper. Bring four copies to class.

Monday, March 10–Sunday, March 17: Spring Break. No classes.

Monday, March 18:

In class: Work in groups with consultants on your papers.

Assignments for next time: Paper due.

Wednesday, March 20:

In class: No class.

Assignments for next time: Use the time off to work on your Unit 2 Paper. Bring one copy to class.

Friday, March 22:

In class: Workshop papers.

Assignments for next time: Unit 2 Paper and Portfolio due.

Monday, March 25:

In class: Unit 2 Paper and Portfolio due in class. Reflective essay will be written in class.

Assignments for next time: No homework.

Wednesday, March 27:

In class: Hand out assignment for Unit 3 Paper.

Assignments for next time: Begin to do library research for Unit 3 Paper. Be prepared to discuss questions you are running into. Structure an outline for next paper.

Friday, March 29:

In class: No class. Keep working on outlines for Unit 3 Paper.

Assignments for next time: Bring full draft of Unit 3 Paper to class.

Monday, April 1:

In class: Work with consultants in class on Unit 3 Paper.

Assignments for next time: Continue to revise Unit 3 Paper.

Wednesday, April 3:

In class: Workshopping of Unit 3 Paper. Sign up for optional conferences with me for Monday, April 8

Assignments for next time: Continue to work on your paper.

Friday, April 5:

No Class Easter Break.

Monday, April 8:

In class: No class. Conferences. Continue to work on your paper.

Assignments for next time: Revise paper. Final version of Unit 3 Paper and portfolio due.

Wednesday, April 10:

In class: Hand in Unit 3 Paper and Portfolio. Write reflective letter. Sign up for presentations date. Discuss the requirements for the presentations.

Assignments for next time: No homework.

Friday, April 12:

In class: No class. Work on your presentations.

Assignments for next time: Work on your presentations.

Monday, April 15:

In class: No class. Work on your presentations.

Assignments for next time: Work on your presentations.

Wednesday, April 17:

In class: Presentations on projects.

Assignments for next time: Work on your presentations.

Friday, April 19:

In class: Presentations on projects.

Assignments for next time: Work on your presentations.

Monday, April 22:

In class: Presentations on projects.

Assignments for next time: Work on your presentations.

Wednesday, April 24:

In class: Presentations on projects.

Assignments for next time: No homework.

Friday, April 26:

In class: Hand back papers and grades.

Assignments for next time: Bring food and drink to share for our final class.

Monday, April 29:

In class: Last day of classes. Have a nice summer!

For her English Composition 100-16 course at Baldwin-Wallace College, Cynthia Lehman-Budd created the following syllabus:

Syllabus for English 100-16

Course Requirements

Required texts available at the University Bookstore:

1)Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau, Current Issues and Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument, with Readings, 5th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999)

2)Diana Hacker, The Bedford Handbook, 5th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1998)

3)Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger, Online!: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources (New York: St. Martin’s, 1998)

You should also have a notebook, floppy disks, and a folder in which you keep your writing portfolio.

The purpose of this course is to develop your college-level writing skills. Our readings, writing assignments, classroom activities, and homework will all focus on improving your critical-thinking, reading, and writing skills. You will work together as a class, in small groups, and independently on a variety of activities that will help you to grow as a student and as a writer. We will focus on the writing process in general and on enhancing your own writing process, on using computers to assist you in your tasks, and on a variety of critical-thinking models.

This course fulfills a GCP Part IA requirement. The Faculty Council has written the following rationale for this requirement: “The ability to manipulate, to use, and to know in and through written (and spoken) language is the basic requirement for the creation and communication of knowledge. . . . Part One gives considerable attention to the need to increase students ability to write. . . . Learning to speak, to write, and to compose is the means by which a person creates, discovers, and externalizes what s/he knows. . . . And writing reveals something to the writer, which can be revealed to another person.”

In keeping with this rationale, we will be reading a common text that will serve as a springboard for our classroom discussions for your writing. All of our activities in the classroom (discussion; learning to use the computer for writing, communication, and research; peer editing of your papers; and small group work on collaborative writing), as well as your homework assignments (readings, learning to use the writing process more effectively from prewriting through drafting, revision, and editing), center on learning to manipulate, use, and know through language.