CRTW 201(sections 001 &
002): Critical Reading, Thinking, and Writing (3 credit hours)
Spring
2012
Dr. Leslie Bickford
Bancroft 275
Office Phone: 323-4564
E-mail:
bickfordl@winthrop.edu
Web:
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/bickfordl
Office Hours: MW
11:00-12:00, T 12:30-2:30 & by appointment
Texts
Nosich, Gerald. Learning to Think Things
Through 4th ed.
Prentice Hall
Harris, Muriel, ed. Prentice Hall Reference
Guide to Grammar and Usage. 3rd custom ed. Prentice Hall
Fukuyama, Francis. Our Posthuman Future.
Picador
Course Goals
1.
To learn that the complex process of critical thinking is a part of all
we do and that the process relies on such skills as observing, listening,
reading, and writing.
2. To use writing, reading, speaking, and critical thinking to foster
intellectual growth in an academic environment.
3. To recognize critical
thinking and problem solving strategies in different academic disciplines and
for different audiences.
4. To evaluate arguments,
evidence, and the contexts in which they appear.
5. To prepare for writing
by carefully analyzing evidence.
6. To plan, organize, and
develop essays based on introspection, general observation, deliberation,
research, and the critical reading of mature prose texts drawn from varied
disciplines.
7. To learn to revise effectively by completely
rethinking, restructuring, and rewriting essays.
8. To recognize individual writing voices and
learn how those voices can be adapted to fit different audiences and rhetorical
situations.
9. To improve oral communications skills through
class discussions and small group activities.
See a complete listing of course goals for the Department of English at http://www.winthrop.edu/cas/english/default.aspx?id=20751
Touchstone Goals
Student
Goals in the Touchstone Program are available at
http://www.winthrop.edu/universitycollege/Touchstone/Touchstonegoals.htm.
CRTW 201 meets the following Touchstone goals:
Goal One: To communicate
clearly and effectively in standard English.
Goal Three: To use critical thinking,
problem-solving skills, and a variety of research methods.
Goal Four: To recognize and appreciate
human diversity (both past and present) as well as the diversity of ideas,
institutions, philosophies, moral codes, and ethical principles.
Goal Seven: To examine values,
attitudes, beliefs, and habits which define the nature and quality of life.
Student Learning Outcomes
1.
Knowledge: By the end of the semester, students will be able to
identify and define the elements of reasoning
identify and define the standards of reasoning
identify and define filters, barriers, and impediments to critical
thinking
identify and define the character traits of a critical thinker
2.
Skills: By the end of the semester, students will be able to
apply the elements of reasoning to
analyze their own thinking and
the thinking of others
apply the standards of reasoning to analyze their own thinking and
the thinking of others
effectively discuss their thinking and the thinking of others
in a
variety of oral forms (e.g. discussions, group presentations,
etc.)
use critical reading strategies to analyze a variety of texts
plan, draft, and revise critical
writing in a variety of rhetorical
contexts and disciplines.
3.
Attitudes: By the end of the semester, students will be able to
integrate critical thinking
character traits into their academic and
personal lives
Course Requirements
Paper 1& 3
15% each
Paper 2 in class
15%
Researched Argument
20%
Class participation & Reading Journals
20%
Final Exam
15%
Grading Standards
I will be using plus/minus grading in this course.
Grades will be assigned using the following schedule:
94-100: A, 90-93: A-,
87-89:B+, 84-86: B,
80-83:B-, etc.
A
description of letter grades for writing assignments can be found at
http://www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric.htm.
Plagiarism Policy
Please review the English Department’s policy on
Using Borrowed Information at
http://www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm.
You are responsible for reviewing the Code of Student Conduct in your Student
Handbook and the description of plagiarism in The Prentice-Hall
Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage and handling source materials
correctly. If you turn in plagiarized work, I reserve the right to assign you a
failing grade for the course. The University Policy on Plagiarism is explained
at
http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm under
section V, “Academic Misconduct.”
Documentation
All work in this class that uses outside sources
must be documented correctly using MLA documentation style.
Turnitin.com Policy
We will be using
www.turnitin.com this semester.
Outside of class papers not submitted to
www.turnitin.com will not be graded.
All Reading Journal
assignments will be submitted through turnitin.com.
The Class ID and Password for turnitin are
9:30 Class: ID:
4700552
12:30 Class ID:
4700557
9:30 Password: 9:30CRTWS12
12:30 Password: 12:30CRTWS12
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend class. An
absence for any reason will count as a class missed. Students who arrive
to class late must check with me at the end of the class. I reserve
the right to instate a tardy policy should the need arise. The absence policy is
as follows: four absences will lower the student’s final grade by 5%. Five
absences will lower the student’s final grade by 10%. More than six
absences will result in failure of the course.
Late Paper & Assignment Policies
Papers are due at the beginning of class
on the dates indicated on your course calendar.
Late papers will be penalized a letter grade for every day late.
Papers over one week late will not be accepted.
You will be using
turnitin.com to turn in your papers; should you ever have trouble with turnitin, you must
email me your paper or bring it in hardcopy to class to avoid the late penalty.
If you do not receive a receipt from
turnitin, bring a hardcopy to class to avoid the late penalty.
I will grade only those papers that appear in turnitin.com.
Reading Journals
Reading Journals will be assigned on Mondays (see
the dates indicated on your reading calendar) and due through turnitin.com by
8:00 AM the following Friday. A late
Reading Journal will not earn more than ½ credit and must be in by the Monday
after it is assigned or it will earn a zero.
Accommodations
Winthrop University is
dedicated to providing access to education. If you have a disability and
require specific accommodations to complete this course, contact the Office of
Disability Services (ODS) at 323-3290. Once you have your official notice
of accommodations from the Office of Disability Services, please inform me as
early as possible in the semester.
Technology Requirements
I conduct most of my
business with students using e-mail. If you do not have an e-mail account, go to
15 Tillman immediately to set it up. All class e-mail will be
sent to your campus e-mail address, so make sure you set it to forward to
any off-campus account you use (e.g. Comporium, AOL, Yahoo!, etc.) All
students must subscribe to the class listserv.
If you have added the class late, please speak to me about how to
subscribe to the class listserv.
Student Code of Conduct
As noted in the Student
Conduct Code, “Responsibility for good conduct rests with students as adult
individuals.” The policy on student academic misconduct is outlined in
the “Student Conduct Code Academic Misconduct Policy” online:
http://www2.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/StudentHandbook.pdf.
Syllabus Change Policy
The terms of this
syllabus will not change. If the
course calendar changes, it will be to the benefit of the students (to slow us
down or put off a paper due date).