Paul Mason Fotsch, Ph.D.
email:
office: Manzanita Hall 348
Comm Studies Office: Manzanita Hall 220
Office hours: Tuesday, Thursday 12:30-1:30, and by appointment
COMS 321 Rhetorical Discourse Fall 2008
Course Description and Objectives:
This course is designed to help students develop and improve the skills necessary to communicate effectively in writing. Students will complete a number of informal and formal writing assignments, participate in class discussions, deliver oral presentations and conduct peer evaluations.
More specifically, by the end of the semester, I will expect you to be able to do the following:
- consistently employ appropriate writing mechanics
- effectively collect, synthesize and evaluate information
- organize material info clear, coherent patterns
- use language effectively and apply appropriate rhetorical strategies
- analyze audiences and adapt message to a variety of audiences
- select and evaluate arguments and refute unsound arguments
- analyze relevant social and communication issues
Required Texts available at CSUN Matador Bookstore:
Strunk and White. Elements of StyleAny Edition
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Lunsford, Andrea A. and John Ruszkiewicz. Everything's an Argument Fourth edition
Hacker,Diana A Writer's Reference Any Edition
Reading Packet available at ASAPcopy at Prairie & Reseda: Readings with an * are from the reading packet.
Course Requirements
Weekly exercises + 1 quiz15 ptsDue: Every Week
Descriptive Analysis Paper: 15 ptsDue: 10/6, 10/8
Literature Review: 15 ptsDue: 10/27, 10/29
Argument Paper: 20 ptsDue: 11/24, 11/26
Communication Packet 10 ptsDue: 12/1, 12/3
Take home writing exam15 ptsDue: 12/8, 12/10
Participation/ Class writing10 pts
Email and Grades
This is an internet campus. All information for this university is now officially provided only via the internet. This means you are required to have internet access and an email account. However, grades CANNOT be given over the email for security purposes, so do not request information on grades via email. If you would like to discuss a grade for a particular assignment please make an appointment to see me.
Weekly Exercises
Each week you will have a short exercise taken from Everything's An Argument. These exercises are meant as a way to practice some of the ideas you read about in the book. They do not have to be typed. However, please be sure to write your name, class time, page, exercise number and THE WEEK OF THE ASSIGNMENT at the top of the page. Most of these assignments will be between one and two pages long, but there is no page length required. They will be graded either full credit=X half credit=/ or no credit (if you fail to turn it in). Exercises will be judged on their completeness and not so much on their writing style or grammar. Exercises are due at the BEGINNING of class the week they are due. Exercises turned in after I have taken roll will be considered late and receive only half credit. Exercises cannot be turned in via email!
Recommended Exercises
Since many students struggle with their writing, it is highly recommended you test yourself with online exercises linked to Hacker's book:
(You do not to have to register!).
Quiz
There will be a surprise quiz worth one point. As long as you are here you will receive the point, but it cannot be made up!
Attendance and Participation
Students are required to attend every class and be on time. There are NO excused absences! Emergencies of various kinds--illness or death in the family, job conflicts, automobile accidents--unfortunately happen every semester. If something of this kind should happen, please do not bring me any documentation such as a doctor's note or a receipt from the towing company. Unfortunately, there is no way of making up a missed class, but missing one or two classes will not harm your grade. This is why you should make an extra effort to never miss class. If you have a problem that requires missing multiple classes, and you are concerned about its impact on your grade, you should come see me.
I take attendance at the beginning of class, so if you are late do not assume I have counted you as here. You can tell me after class, and I will mark you as here but with a blue pen indicating you were late. Students who miss class or regularly show up late will lose points. If you miss class, please do not ask me what you missed, instead acquire the notes on what you missed from a fellow student. Please exchange phone numbers with at least two student partners with whom you can share notes, in case one of you misses class.
Please do not use your laptops during class! Of course this also holds true for cellphones or other electronic devices. An open laptop makes it difficult for us to look at one another and be focused on what the other is saying. Texting during class is simply juvenile. Participation is just as much about attentive listening and focusing on what others are saying as contributing your own voice.
Students must be prepared to discuss the readings and participate in class discussions in a respectful manner. Students who whisper or speak to their neighbor while someone else is trying to be heard will lose points. If you must communicate with your neighbor during class, passing notes, even texting, is more respectful.
If after a particular class I judge someone to have been especially disruptive, I will mark a green line for their attendance that day. Having many green days will seriously harm your grade. If you feel that your neighbor is causing you to talk, I strongly recommend sitting next to someone else.
Examples of attendance and participation grades:
10 pts= Student attends every class or nearly every class, participates when given the opportunity and listens respectfully to the contributions of others.
9 pts= Student attends every class but almost never speaks in class, even when called upon.
8 pts= Student attends class regularly, but is often checking the cellphone or reading non-class materials (e.g school newspaper) rather than following discussion.
7 pts= Student misses more than 5 hours of class time, regularly comes late to class or leaves early.
6 pts= Student attends nearly every class but often whispers while other students are talking.
The instructor is also responsible for showing up on time as well as being prepared to facilitate learning through respectful engagement with students and provide thoughtful and responsible assessment of student learning.
Assignments:
Assignments are due at the beginning of class except in cases of true emergency that are discussed beforehand with the instructor. Except for weekly exercises, written assignments should be typewritten or they will not be accepted. DO NOT HAND ME A DISK OR SEND ME AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT! Papers should always be double spaced, printed on white paper and be fastened with a staple in the upper left-hand corner. If you do not have a stapler, use one at the library! Do NOT use a cover page or any additional binding material. Simply place your name, professor name, class and class time in the top left hand corner, type your paper title--centered and bolded--then begin writing. Use APA style for all citations.
LATE PAPERS: It is hard to predict breakdowns, illnesses, deaths in the family and other tragedies large and small. For this reason you should always get an early start on your assignment and not wait until the last minute! Do not bring me a funeral program, note from your doctor or towing receipt as an excuse for a late paper. Each day a paper is turned in late one tenth of a point (.1) will be deducted. This will be determined by the date submitted to turnitin.com (see below). When you turn in your paper late it is your responsibility to calculate the points to be subtracted. At the top of your paper write the date due, the date you are submitting it and the number of points I should subtract. YOUR PAPER WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED COMPLETE WITHOUT THIS CALCULATION!
If you cannot turn in an assignment to class bring it to the Com Stud Dept Office next to the elevators on the second floor of Manzanita Hall. DO NOT SLIDE UNDER MY OFFICE DOOR!
Writing Assistance:
While a student at CSUN you are fortunate to have access to a wonderful resource to aid you with your writing. Both the Writing Center and Writing Lab are in the Learning Resource Center
Bayramian Hall 408 (BH408) 818-677-2033
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is intentionally or knowingly representing the words, ideas, or works of another as one's own in any academic exercise. According to the CSUN policy on Academic Dishonesty (see pages 531-532 in the Academic Catalog), plagiarism is an offense for which a student may be expelled, suspended, or given a less severe disciplinary sanction. If you are uncertain about the ethical responsibilities of particular assignments, citations, research processes, etc., please consult the instructor before submitting the assignment.
To assist you in keeping your papers free of plagiarism, you are required to electronically submit your essays to in addition to turning in a hard copy to me (instructions on setting up an account, signing into the class, and submitting assignments will be provided to you).
Your paper must be turned into turnitin.com by the due date to be considered on time! I will provide a sample the first week of class so you can make sure that you know how the website works before the first assignment is due.
It is highly recommended youvisit the following website to help you identify what constitutes plagiarism and strategies to avoid it:
FIRST DRAFTS SHOULD NOT BE SUBMITTED to turnitin!
Rewrites
At my discretion a student may be given the opportunity to rewrite papers, in particular if the student fears they may otherwise fail. Students who are concerned must meet with me no later than week 13. Students who are given permission to rewrite a paper must turn in:
1) the original paper with comments
2) a point by point list of how and where the rewrite addressed my comments
3) the rewritten paper.
All rewrites must be completed by week 15.
Course Schedule
The following is an outline for when we will cover the readings. At times we will take time to work on writings in class, so keep in mind the time we actually cover the readings may shift.
Readings with an * are from the course reader.
Also listed is the written exercise that is due at the beginning of class. The first exercise is due the second week.
Week 1: 8/25-8/29 Introductions
Lamott, 1-94
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 1
Week 2: (Labor day 9/1 no class) 9/2-9/5 Audience
READ ALL of Strunk and White. Elements of Style
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 2
exercise: p44 #6
Week 3: 9/8-9/12 Types of Appeal
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 5
Hacker, “Grammatical Sentences”, “Punctuation”, “Mechanics”
exercise: p135 #4
Week 4: 9/15-9/19 Rhetorical Analysis
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 3
*"A Rhetorical Perspective", *"A Rhetorical Act", *"Study Find TV Alters Fiji Girls' View of Body", *"The Culture of Thin Bites Fiji", *"Why Shouldn't the Epidermally Challenged Get Help?", *"Men Should Have Better Things to Do"
exercise: p77 #4
Week 5: 9/22-9/26 Factual Arguments
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 4, 7
exercise: p101 #2
Week 6: 9/29-10/3 Research
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 16, 19, 20
*“Reading Other People’s Research”
Hacker, “Researching”, “APA Papers”
exercise: p548 #3
Week 7: 10/6-10/10 Planning and Drafting
Hacker, “Composing and Revising”
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 6
exercise: p172 #2
Week 8: 10/13-10/17 Fallacies and Plagiarism
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 17,18
Hacker, “Sentence Style”, ”Word Choice”
exercise: p513 #4
Descriptive Analysis Paper Due 10/6, 10/8
Week 9: 10/20-10/24Revising and Documenting Sources
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 20
Hacker, “Document Design/ Academic Writing”
exercise: p527 #4
First Draft Literature Review Due 10/20, 10/22
Week 10: 10/27-10/31 Definitions, Evaluations
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 8-9
exercise: p274 #2
Literature Review Due 10/27, 10/29
Week 11: 11/3-11/7 Causes, Proposals
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 10, 11
exercise: p351 #3
Week 12: 11/10-11/14 Writing for a Career
*"Judging job seeker's resume by its cover letter", "Doomed Days", *"Net-working", *"Are Your E-Mails Sending the Wrong Message", *"Image Is All in the Cards", *"How to write a business Letter", *"How to write a resume"
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 15
exercise: p466 #4
Week 13: 11/17-11/21 Style
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 12
exercise: p391 #3
First Draft Argument Paper Due 11/17, 11/19
Week 14: 11/24-11/26 Visual Style
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 14
exercise: p440 #4
Argument Paper Due 11/24, 11/26
(Thanksgiving 11/27)
Week 15: 12/1-12/5Humor
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, 13
exercise: 410 #2
Written exam passed out 12/7
Communication Packets Due 12/1, 12/3
Week 16: 12/8-12/10
Written Exam Due in class 12/8, 12/10 (Hard copy only!)