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Syllabus English 5Critical Thinking

Spring 2014Berkeley City College

Online/Hybrid Instructor: Georgie Ziff

BCC Room 313 Email:

Required Texts/Materials:

Writing Logically, Thinking Criticallyby Cooper and Patton

ISBN 978-0-205-66856-4Click here for Amazon.com link

  • Flash drive or cloud based document storage

Email and Internet Requirements:

You will be using Moodle online, accessing websites for articles, videos, and power points. You must have reliable access to a computer and the Internet to be successful in this class. If emailing, you must put the school/class/your name in the subject line like this: “BCC Eng 5 Your Name”, so that it can be identified.

Class Meeting Schedule: Attendance is required for four Wednesday night classes in room 313 at 6:30 pm on the BCC campus.

The meeting dates are:Feb. 5, March 5, April 9, and May 14.

Course Web sites:

  • Moodle - – All classwork will be submitted through Moodle and Turnitin.com. Work is NOT accepted outside of these websites.
  • Turnitin.com - Final drafts must be submitted to Turnitin.com. The class code is: 7390269 and the class password is: english
  • on Berkeley City College for an information page that includes the class syllabus, essay information, peer review sheets, and presentation guidelines, and reading journal information are all posted on the class page on my website. You will be responsible for downloading and printing out course materials and handouts.

Course Description:English 5 is designed to develop your ability to analyze, evaluate, and form a critical response to primary and secondary works from a range of academic and cultural contexts. You will be expected to develop the critical methods of inquiry and evaluation that are widely used in written analysis and argument across disciplines, and you will be asked to apply these methods of analysis and argument in analytical papers and in class discussions and presentations.

Student Learning Outcomes:

* Apply active reading strategies in order to identify main ideas and critically analyze and explain ideas in texts

* Evaluate the pattern of reasoning present in an argument and related critical evaluation, including induction, deduction and the logical fallacies

* Apply fundamentals of critical thinking to writing well organized, well developed, effective, well edited, cited, logically sound essays and a research paper

*Practice the conventions of academic writing, including introduction to Modern Language Association (MLA) documentation style of citation.

Course Assignments:

There will be 5writing assignments in response to the prompts in the text. The final drafts will be submitted to Turnitin.com.

Chapter 1 - Thinking and Writing - a Critical Connection

  1. Considering Audience and Purpose– TWO essays of two versions - p. 15

Chapter 4 - Written Argument

  1. Arguing Both Sides – p. 98
  2. Taking a Stand – p.102

Chapter 5 - The Language of Argument - Definition

  1. Composing an Argument Based on a Definition- p.124

Chapter 6 - Fallacious Arguments

  1. Analyzing an Extended Argument- p.151

Writing Format Guidelines - MLA formatting:

  • typed
  • double spaced
  • one inch margins
  • size 12 standard fonts
  • your name in the upper left corner of your first page
  • page numbers in the upper right corner.

Group Presentations:

In a group of 3 or 4 of your classmates, you will present a topic or an article about writing to the class during one of the class meetings, March 5 or April 9. This is a broad topic that will need narrowing down. You and your group may browse my website for ideas, but you aren’t limited to those resources. You will then present your topic, and develop an activity for the class to participate in that will teach the class. Your goal should be not only for the class to understand the topic, but also to apply what you are showing them. Try to make your presentation clear, thorough, and fun for the class.

In Class Final Writing Analysis: You will come to the Computer Lab in Room 313 at the last class meeting and write an analysis of anessay, and then submit your work online at the end of the class period.

Grading in the course:

* Five writing assignments are worth 60% of your grade.

* Homework assignments are 15%.

* Forum Discussion Boards are 15%

* The Class Presentationis 5%

* Final Class Written Analysisis5%

In-Class Etiquette

In this class, there will be a lot of discussion in the Moodle Forum. We will all be attempting to answer questions, voice opinions, agree and/or disagree with each other, and present findings. None of this is possible unless we create a comfortable environment. To do this, a couple of rules apply:

  • Show respect for your classmates and their ideas. During discussions, many different opinions will be expressed. All are welcomed and none are to be ridiculed.
  • Use appropriate language during discussion.

Academic honesty and plagiarism policy:

Cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in severe disciplinary action. Students are required to attend the class on plagiarism and pass the plagiarism quiz.

Cheating is defined as possessing unauthorized sources of information during an exam; copying the work of another student during an exam; completing an assignment for another student; submitting out-of-class work for an in-class assignment; retaining exams or other materials after they were supposed to be returned to the instructor; submitting the same paper for two different classes without approval of both instructors; and inventing data or falsifying an account of data collection.

Plagiarism is taking the words of another and either copying or paraphrasing those words without giving credit to the source (through parenthetical citations, quotation marks, reference citations, all of which we will go over in class). This includes using material from the Internet without citing correctly. I am required to file a report of academic dishonesty with the Department of Academic Affairs should an act of plagiarism occur. The first incidence of plagiarism will result in an “F” on the assignment and you will be reported to the Dean of the College. If plagiarism occurs a second time, you will fail the course.

Grievance Policy

English Department Grievance Policy: All student grievances concerning grading or other areas are to be brought to the attention of the course instructor before any other action can be. If you cannot find a resolution to your grievance, then you and your instructor will meet with the head of the composition program or the Dean of the English Department.

Disability Accommodations

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, or if you would need assistance in the event of an emergency, please contact me as soon as possible.

Final notes:This syllabus is subject to change as needed. I may also assign individualized homework to help you improve particular writing skills.