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English 1C – Critical Thinking Online

Professor Joyce Schenk

The instructor checks her site and email every day seven days a week

This course focuses on the development of critical thinking skills and on the application of these skills to written argumentation.  Students will examine logical reasoning and apply its principles to current events, visuals, advertising, political cartoons and their views on current issues. 

Course Objectives:

· Read expository prose critically to distinguish between perception and inference, surface and implied meanings, fact and opinion.  

· Analyze the way arguments are presented in readings and the media.  

· Demonstrate the ability to organize and develop written arguments and compositions.  

· Refine writing skills developed in English 1A: focusing a topic, formulating a thesis, providing support, and developing unity and coherence.  

· Evaluate the accuracy and cogency of arguments by identifying logical fallacies and drawing inferences from readings and media presentations. 

· Formulate and develop arguments and critical theories about issues, argumentative prose, and literary interpretations. 

Student Learning Outcome:

Students will compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources. This essay will be well organized, follow proper MLA format, and be technically correct in paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.

ADA Statement:

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please let me know. You may speak to me after class, during my office hours, or by phone or email. Your privacy will be protected. You are also encouraged to contact the Special Resource Center on campus (310-660-3295) to discuss what accommodations and services are available

Required Book:

Cooper, Sheila and Rosemary Patton. Writing Logically, Thinking Critically. 7^th

edition.  Pearson Longman, 2010. Print.

Computer Information

This course utilizes the Blackboard Course Management System.   

Withdrawals

If you wish to withdraw from any course at El Camino, it is your responsibility to do so.  This is especially important in a distance education class.  Do not assume that an instructor will drop you if you simply stop participating in the class.  Check the Class Schedule for withdrawal dates.  According to college policy, any student still enrolled in a class after the official withdrawal date must receive a letter grade. However, if you do not participate for two weeks in a row, the instructor will drop you.  If you have any special problem, please email the instructor to help.

Course Requirements

Students will be expected to read all material assigned.

Students will be expected to log into the Discussion Board and engage in discussions and activities on a regular basis. Interaction with each other is an important part of this course.

The quality of postings will be rewarded, so please avoid such responses as "great" or "I agree."  What I look for is why you agree with a student post which will reflect that you have thought about the subject of the discussion.

Students will submit five written essays completed at home.

Students will complete a number of quizzes on the assigned readings.

All due dates will be listed on the Assignment Page and the Discussion Board. The course is organized into Weekly Modules running from Monday to Sunday Midnight, except for Essay due dates.  If possible, try to post all assignments to the Discussion Board by Saturday midnight, so students can fulfill their assigned responses by Sunday midnight.

Grades are based on points: 

Assignment #1 Inference	100
Assignment #2 Inductive Reasoning	100
Assignment #3 Logical Fallacies	100
Assignment #4-Premises	100
Assignment #5  Final Essay - Argumentation	100
Written participation on Discussion Board (including written paragraphs)	400
Quizzes	100
Total Points	1,000

Semester Grade: 

 900-1000 = A

            800-899   = B

            700-799   = C

            600-699   = D

            0-600       = F

Students will be notified ahead of time when and if any changes are made to course requirements or policies.

Contact Information

Email: jschenk@elcamino.edu
Phone: 310-532-3670

One final word: In an online class there will be technical glitches.  Try not to panic.  Just email the instructor as soon as possible about the problem or post it on the Discussion Page so either the instructor or a “technical-whiz of a student” can help solve it.