Course Objectives

Every course has expected learning outcomes.

Objectives

recognize and use elements of argumentation such as premises, conclusions, evidence, values, assumptions, etc.;
recognize how values and worldview affect response to arguments;
evaluate non-fiction texts for quality, credibility, and validity;
create, analyze, and evaluate written work collaboratively;
recognize and avoid rhetorical abuses in writing, including common logical fallacies;
incorporate academic-quality research and resources into writing;
use college-level writing skills to summarize, evaluate, analyze, and persuade;
appropriately cite all sources used in the preparation of course work.

use college-level writing skills such as style, tone, economy, clarity, and control of meaning through syntactical and rhetorical structures;
identify the premises and conclusions of arguments and note how conclusions themselves become premises in extended arguments;
distinguish between beliefs and facts and then apply this distinction in analyzing their own beliefs and world views as well as the beliefs and world views of others;
identify values and assumptions, explicit and implicit, in their own writing and the writing of others;
critically examine their responses to controversial issues to identify and analyze their point of view;
determine appropriate methods of proof (i.e., testimony, evidence, exposure of moral stance, etc.) for a premise;
recognize common logical fallacies used by themselves and others and judge the effectiveness of fallacies for particular audiences;
explain and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of solutions to problems;
incorporate primary and secondary research in their writing;
devise cogent and lucid arguments;
rewrite and edit their drafts, striving for syntactical and rhetorical structures which accurately and effectively represent clear, logical, and cogent thought and which are mature in style and appropriate in tone;
create, analyze, and evaluate written work collaboratively.

write summaries of one source, critical analysis of a single source or of two sources with a unified approach, and synthesis papers of multiple sources.
use causal analysis, advocacy of ideas, definition, persuasion, evaluation, refutation, and interpretation effectively in college-level prose.
read and critically evaluate college-level non-fiction material from a variety of sources on themes from different content area.
distinguish between valid and sound arguments and invalid and unsound arguments.
demonstrate an ability to recognize formal and informal fallacies in language and thought and avoid them in the construction of their argument.
recognize and use deductive and inductive language.
distinguish factual statements from judgmental statements and knowledge from opinion.
make effective inferences from information presented.
recognize and use denotative and connotative aspects of language.
research and evaluate outside sources for use in the development of their own writing.
demonstrate the ability to write correct college-level prose containing proper essay structure, organization, development and diction and mechanics.
identify the deliberate abuses and manipulations of rhetoric so they can identify them in general usage and avoid them in their own writing.