Rhetoric 1302 – Section 013

FALL 2005

INSTRUCTOR
Jamie Wheeler
University of Texas at Dallas
School of Arts & Humanities

DAYS/TIME
MWF 1:00-1:50
LOCATION JO 4.306

Office: JO 4.122

Office Hours:
Wednesdays 12:00-1:00
OR BY APPOINTMENT

Phone: 214.405.7563 (NO calls after 9pm, please!)

Email: jwheel@utdallas.edu (PREFER EMAIL)

UTD Rhetoric Website: http://lingua.utdallas.edu/rhetoric

Contains links to course syllabus, reference and research resources, LRO, and Lingua Moo

Learning Record Online (LRO): http://lro.cwrl.utexas.edu

Course Description

This course focuses on critical thinking by using an integrated approach to writing that teaches
various rhetorical strategies for reading and constructing arguments, both written and visual. You
will learn to read texts critically according to key components in argumentative discourse (i.e.,
claims, grounds, explicit and implicit assumptions, fallacies, etc.) and to recognize the different
purposes of argument. You will write and revise three to four papers based on issues and
controversies raised in the various texts read during the semester. The assignments will give you
extensive practice in reading critically and writing according to the rhetorical conventions of an
argumentative essay.

Learning Record Online

Student work will be collected in an electronic portfolio called the “Learning Record Online”
(LRO) throughout the semester. Use of online technology will enhance the level of feedback you
receive, as well as give you experience in the kinds of collaborative work that many
organizations use routinely. Online interaction and argumentative writing will comprise a large
part of the evaluation in the course. Other assignments will include interviews, observations, and
notes, all of which will be entered into your LRO. The LRO portfolio is your most important
argument in the course as it shows the sum evidence of yo ur learning, including your own
observations and analysis of your learning. You will belong to a “work group” for various
collaborative activities (i.e., discussion of readings, peer critiques), and you will participate in
mid-term and semester-end moderation readings of your LRO portfolio for feedback from your
peers. Because learning to read critically and write responsively entails mastery of a process,
your work will undergo extensive revisions in response to peer readings and collaboration as
well as conferencing with your instructor.

Required Texts & Supplies

Everything’s an Argument by Andrea Lunsford, John Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters, 3rd ed.

Recommended:
Quick Access Reference for Writers by Lynn Troyka, 4th ed.

Also bring a floppy disk (PC-formatted if you use a PC, Mac- formatted if you use a Mac). The
Rhetoric classroom uses Macintosh computers that can read either format. Most documents will
be produced in Microsoft Word. Whether you use MS Word outside of the classroom or not, it is
best to save your files as rich text format (RTF) to insure compatibility between the word
processing program you use and the one in your classroom.

The following is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

Attendance Policy

Because participation is vital to successful completion of Rhetoric 1302, you should attend every
class. If you must be absent, check with your classmates or with me for any work you missed
that can be made up. Much of the work is done collaboratively in class. Alternative assignments
are generally not given, nor can the instructor “re-teach” missed classes for individual students.
If you miss more than three classes, your grade will be negatively affected and/or you may
be encouraged to drop the class. Two tardies will count as one absence. Chronic tardiness is
unacceptable, as are coming to class unprepared, doing work that is not for this course during
class, sleeping in class, or using the computers or othe r personal electronic devices for personal
messaging, research, or entertainment. Please turn off cellular/mobile phones, pagers, and
other personal electronic devices during class.

Drop Policy

See here for details on deadlines and procedures for dropping:

http://www.utdallas.edu/student/class/current/newpolicywpwf.htm
LAST DAY TO DROP: JAN. 26th .

Office Hours

Please note my regular office hours above. You also can arrange to see me at other times that
are mutually convenient. Office hours belong to yo u just as much as our class time. Don’t
hesitate to take advantage of my availability and the help I am ready to offer. If you need to

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contact me outside of class time or office hours, it is best to communicate with me by email
rather than the office phone.

Email Policy

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO UTD STUDENTS: As of August 1, 2004, all email

correspondence with students will be sent ONLY to the student's U.T. Dallas email address. U.T.
Dallas provides each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication
with university personnel. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in
the identity of all individuals corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. The
Department of Information Resources at U. T. Dallas provides a method for students to forward
email from other accounts to their U.T. Dallas address and have their U.T. Dallas mail sent on to
other accounts. Students may go to the following URL to establish or maintain their official U.T.
Dallas computer account: http://netid.utdallas.edu/

Grading Policy

This class offers you an approach to learning that may be different from your past experiences.
Because the course is concerned with your development as a critical reader and writer, the
grading strategy will track and monitor that development. Your work will be collected in an
electronic portfolio called the Learning Record Online (LRO). Your assignments will not receive
individual grades, but will receive individual attention from your classmates and me. Your mid-
term and final grades will be based on your portfolio of written observations and your work
samples, including collaborative work and your three major essays, as well as completion of each
component of your LRO. In the final step to completing your LRO, you will argue for your
grade by summarizing your learning and estimating the grade that the evidence of your
learning supports. In other words, you will directly apply what you learn in this course,
argumentative writing, by arguing for your own grade. However, each component of the LRO is
vital to a quality body of work: your attendance, participation, promptness, level of writing.
effective arguments, creativity, collaboration, sound rhetorical skills, competent use of
technology—all of these things and more contribute to an outstanding portfolio.

Your goal is to demonstrate your development toward mastery of five course strands (rhetoric,
research, technology, collaboration, and critical thinking) and development across five
dimensions of learning (confidence and independence, skills and strategies, knowledge and
understanding, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflectiveness). These goals will be
discussed throughout the course. Keep in mind that although we do give + and – grades at UTD,
the general criteria for grading your Learning Record is still based on the A-F scale.

The following grade criteria describe very general indicators that both you and your
instructor may take into consideration when assessing your work and progress in the course.
Your estimation of your mid-term and final grades should be more detailed and specific and
may include a ‘+’ or ‘–‘ if your work tilts above or below the central grade for which you
argue. But the final interpretation and assessment of your grade remains the responsibility of
your teacher.

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A: Represents outstanding participation in all course activities (including attendance and
promptness); all assigned work completed on time, with very high quality in all work
produced for the course. Evidence of significant and sustained development across the five
dimensions of learning and five course strands.

B: Represents excellent participation in all course activities (including attendance and

promptness); all assigned work completed on time, with consistently high quality in
course work. Evidence of marked and above average development across the five
dimensions of learning and five course strands.

C: Represents good (but average) participation in all course activities; all assigned work
completed, with generally good quality overall in course work. Evidence of some
development across the five dimensions of learning and five course strands.

D: Represents uneven participation in course activities; some gaps in assigned work

completed, with inconsistent quality in course work. Evidence of development across the
five dimensions of learning and five course strands is partial or unclear.

F: Represents minimal participation in course activities; serious gaps in assigned work

completed, or very low quality in course work. Evidence of development is not available.

UTD Grading scale

(http://www.utdallas.edu/student/catalog/undergrad02/progress.html#Grading%20Scale)

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is the representation of another person’s work as your own, whether you mean to or
not. For example, copying or paraphrasing passages from another writer’s work without
acknowledging that you’ve done so is plagiarism. Allowing another writer to write any part of
your essay is plagiarism. Copying or purchasing a paper from any source is plagiarism.

Plagiarism is a serious offense. The possible consequences range from failing the assignment to
failing the course, or worse. Each incident of plagiarism at UTD must be reported to the
administration. If you are not sure how to properly cite a quoted or paraphrased source, or if you
need help with the format of a citation, check with the New Century Handbook and/or with your
teacher. Although you can (and, in fact, should) seek help and advice from friends, classmates,
tutors, and others, be sure that your written work is your own.

See the Undergraduate Catalog for information about the consequences of Scholastic Dishonesty,
or view the policy here (which is also a link on the Rhetoric Program website):

http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/dishonesty.html.

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Major Assignments

First Essay: An essay that presents a definition or evaluation argument using the principles and
criteria in Everything’s an Argument (Chapter 9 or 10).

LENGTH: 4-6 pages

First draft due: Wed, 9/21

Second draft due: Fri, 9/24
Final draft due: Wed, 9/28

Second Essay: An integrated textual and visual essay that examines and ana lyzes the argument
of a visual image (or images) using the criteria in Chapter 14 of Everything’s an Argument. This
essay may be created and archived on the WWW, or it may be a traditional Word document that
simply displays the image(s) in the body of your essay. Your image may come from the visuals
in Everything’s an Argument, other publications, Internet, or other media.

LENGTH: 3-4 pages

First draft due: Mon, 10/10

Second draft due: Wed, 10/12
Final draft due: Mon, 10/17

Third Essay: A project created by class members working in pairs or teams. The project will
be comprised of a visual element that your pair or group creates. This final work for the class
will also consist of each group member writing a two page essay on how your group came to
envision and execute the idea. Topic TBA approximately one week before work begins. This
project will be proposal argument using the principles and criteria in Everything’s an Argument
(Chapter 11 or 12).

Projects and Papers Due: 11/9 or 11/11 (Projects) and 11/ 23 (Papers)
______________________________________________________________________________

Learning Record Online: This is an online resource for managing and documenting the work
and learning you do in this class. Various assignments will be due throughout the semester, and
all observations, drafts, and essays must be included in the LRO on the date due.
LENGTH: It is up to you to decide how thoroughly you have answered the questions.

Parts A.1 and A.2 are due: Friday, 8/26

Parts B.1 and C.1 are due: Friday, 9/30
Parts B.2 and C.2 are due: Monday, 11/21

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Remember: All drafts and final drafts must be turned in to me in hard copy (using MLA
format and citation and including a Works Cited page) on the dates they are due. If you’d
like, you may also post your drafts in the LRO for your convenience in revising.

Syllabus Itinerary (subject to change)

Assignments are due by the next class period unless noted otherwise.

Fri 8/19 : In-class: Intro to course and Rhetoric program website; Sign up for UTD email
account (if haven’t already); register for NETID
Assignments : Read EA Ch 1. Send email to me from your UTD address NO LATER THAN
NOON ON MONDAY 8/22

Monday 8/22: Intro to LRO; Discussion of EA Ch 1

Assignments : Read EA Ch 2-3 . Record an observation in your LRO.

Wed 8/24: In-class: Discussion of EA Chs 2-3

Assignments : Read EA Ch 4 and Toys and Gender exercise

***LRO PARTS A.1 and A.2 due FRIDAY 8/26!

Fri 8/26: LRO PARTS A.1 & A.2 DUE by start of class! In-class: Discuss EA Ch 4;
Discussion of findings from toys and gender assignment
Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Read EA Ch 5 & NPR piece,
“Schoolchildren Debating…” on pg. 828.
______________________________________________________________________________

Mon 8/29: Discuss EA Ch 5 and NPR.

Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Read EA Chs 6-7, Khan essay pg. 823.

Wed 8/31: In-class: Discuss EA Chs 6-7, Khan essay

Assignments : Read EA Ch 8 and Charles Mann’s essay, “Who Will Own Your Next Good
Idea?” on pg. 675.

Fri 9/2: In-class: Discuss EA Ch 8; Class Toulmin analysis of Mann’s essay.

Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Read EA Ch 9; Dennis Prager’s essay,
“Divinity & Pornography”on pg. 519; David Lefer’s “An Ad for Smart Eggs” p. 651; Bill
Rankin’s “King’s Speech” and Margaret Curtis’s “Kings Don’t Own Words,” p. 696.

Essay #1 assigned (Definition/Evaluation Argument)

______________________________________________________________________________

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Mon 9/5: LABOR DAY. NO CLASS

Wed 9/7: In-class: Discussion of EA Ch 9 and Prager, Lefer, Rankin, & Curtis essays.
Assignments : Read EA Ch 10; Optional, Chs 21-22 (Assessing and using Sources,
Documenting Sources). While these chapters will not be a large part of our next discussion, you
will be responsible for understanding and putting into practice the principles therein.

Fri 9/9: In-class: Discussion of EA Ch 10 and general discussion of sources.

______________________________________________________________________________

Mon 9/12: LIBRARY TOUR. MANDATORY ATTENDANCE!

Assignment: Read student samples of LRO Parts B.1 (Analysis) and C.1 (Evaluation) in LRO
website; Optional: Read EA Chs 18-20. While these chapters will not be a large part of our next
discussion, you will be responsible for understanding and putting into practice the principles
therein.

Wed 9/14: In-class: Class discussion of LRO parts B.1 and C.1; Grammar, format (including
Works Cited list), mechanics, and plagiarism discussion
Assignment : Read Caryn James’s essay, “When It’s Reality TV,” pg. 480; Deborah Tannen’s
“Teachers’ Classroom Strategies…” pg. 730; W. Charisse Goodman’s “One Picture…” pg. 466.
Record an observation in your LRO

Fri 9/16: Discussion of James, Tannen, & Goodman.

Mon 9/19: In-Class: Work on draft of essay #1, due 9/21

Wed 9/21: First draft of essay #1 due today. Peer reviews [students exchange their paper
with another student and respond to peer review questionnaire to be provided

Fri 9/23: Second draft of essay #1 due. Mus t be turned in to me by end of class period.
Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Work on essay #1 peer review revision
suggestions

Mon 9/26: In-class: Teacher conferences.

Assignments : Finalize work on essay # 1; Read EA Ch 15.

Wed 9/28: Final draft of Essay #1 due ; In-class: Discussion of EA Ch 15. Begin research for
visual image.
Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Research image(s) to use for Visual Rhetoric
Select two images for potential paper topics and bring either the URLs for these images or hard
copies of the images to class on Friday. PARTS B1 & C1 DUE FRIDAY!

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Fri 9/30: LRO B.1 & C.1 due prior to start of class In-class: Small group discussions of
images and analysis of arguments in images
Assignments : Read Ch 16

Mon 10/3: In-class: Workshop on Visual and Media Projects

Assignment: Read Ch 16

Wed 10/5: Discussion of Ch 16

Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Read Ch 13

Fri 10/7: In-class: Discussion of Ch 13; in-class work on Essay #2

Assignme nts: Record an observation in your LRO; Work on format and media decisions for
visual project. First draft of Essay #2 DUE MONDAY 10/10!

Mon 10/10: In-class: First draft of Essay #2 due! Peer Review, continued revisions
Assignments : Revise Essay #2

Wed 10/12: Second Draft of Essay #2 due! Must be handed in to me in hard copy.
Moderation readings.
Assignments : Finalize work on visual project

Fri 10/14: Teacher Conferences.

Assignments: Record an observation. Final draft Visual argument project due Monday
10/16! Read Ch 11
______________________________________________________________________________

Mon 10/17: In-class: Larry David and the Causal Argument

Final draft Visual argument project due.
Assignments: Michelle Cottle’s article, “Turning Boys into Girls,” pg. 486; Myriam Marquez’s
essay, “Why We Speak Spanish in Public,” p. 751

Wed 10/19: Discussion of Ch 11, Cottle, Marquez

Assignments : Record an observation in your LRO; Read EA Ch 11; John Levesque’s article,
“Sitcom Dads…” pg. 506; Normitsu Onishi’s article, “The Globalization of Beauty,” pg. 649;
Thad Williamson’s essay, “Bad as They Wanna Be…” pg. 627

Friday 10/21: In-Class: Discussion of EA Ch 11, Levesque, Onishi, & Williamson essays
Assignments : Record an Observation in your LRO. Read Ch 12; Daria MonDesire’s article,
“Stripped of More Than My Clothes,” pg. 525; Fay Girsh, “Should Physician-Assisted
Suicide…” pg. 654; Joe Lonconte, “Hospice, Not Hemlock,” pg. 660;
______________________________________________________________________________

Mon 10/24: Discuss EA Ch 12, MonDesire, Levesque, Girsh, Lonconte essays. Assignments:
Record an Observation in your LRO;

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Assignments: Read Ch 19; Record an observation

Wed 10/26: Discussion of Ch. 19

Friday 10/28: In-class: Discuss Project & Paper #3 project (Proposal Essay); Pairs/Groups
chosen or assigned; Halloween Proposals!
_____________________________________________________________________________
Mon 10/31: Halloween Party! (Best Costume, Best Movie, Best Snacks, etc!)
Assignment: Read Ch 13

Wed 11/2: Discussion of Ch 13

Assignment: Read Ch 14

Fri 11/4: Discussion of Ch 14

Mon 11/7: In-class: Group work on Final Project and/or in-class writing on final essay.

Wed 11/9: First groups present their project to the class.

Fri 11/11: Second groups present their projects.

Mon 11/14: Film: What the Bleep Do We Know? (First Half)

Wed 11/16: Completion of Film and Discussion; Record an Observation on the film

Fri 11/18: In-class: Moderation Readings

_____________________________________________________________________________

Mon 11/21: In-class completion of B.2 & C.2.

Wed 11/ 23: LAST CLASS. We do not meet during “finals” time. YOU MUST TURN IN
YOUR FINAL DRAFT AND PROJECT AND HAVE YOUR LROs COMPLETED
TODAY!