English 201C Online/DE

Instructor: Sean Boling, sboling@cuesta.edu

On weekdays I will respond to messages sent via email or the Inbox in Canvas on the same day; weekends may be more sporadic

This course was created to ensure that students transferring to a university understand the demands of critical thought—the workload, procedures, and mindset necessary to become a well-versed member of academic and public discourse. Then again, the skills introduced in this class are quite useful in everyday life as well. We do not experience the world as it is; rather, we experience the world as we perceive it. With this in mind, it might be a good idea to develop a strong understanding of what we’re allowing to affect our perceptions. For while we cannot bend the world to our desires, we can control our desires and our habits of thought. Here are the official Student Learning Outcomes for English 201C…

Upon completing ENGL 201C successfully, students will be able to

1. Demonstrate advanced critical thinking and reasoning skills
2. Write arguments using advanced rhetorical and composition skills
3. Demonstrate information fluency

Here are some services to keep in mind should you need some guidance in achieving these outcomes...

Any student who requires accommodations due to a learning challenge, please be sure to register with our Disabled Student Programs and Services Links to an external site.department and contact me as soon as possible in order to make arrangements. 

Meanwhile, all of us, regardless of our challenges, could use some additional feedback and assistance with our work at times. Please take advantage of the wonderful services we provide through our Student Success Center, including Tutorial Services. Links to an external site.

Having technical difficulties with Canvas? If I don't have the answer, the good people at technical support will: support@instructure.com

And here is how we will accomplish the learning outcomes of 201C...

No required texts; readings will be available online in our Canvas modules

Course Requirements (and percentage each counts toward your overall grade):

Core Value Analysis (10%): When considering solutions to any situation, we are operating (usually subconsciously) off of our personal set of laws known as values, which are anchored by our core value(s). Moving core values from the subconscious to a conscious part of our decision-making process helps immensely, and doing so requires examining them.

Personality Analysis (10%): In order to effectively examine your core values and make sure you’re not just arbitrarily making something up that sounds good, incorporating your personality into the analysis can lend some clarity to the definition of your value set, and help you discover whether you’re on track. Examining how your personality affects decision making can be a bit easier and more fun, too, than analyzing your core value in a vacuum, so to speak (and is certainly more realistic).

Clarification Meditation (15%): Good critical thinkers are able to sincerely understand all perspectives on an idea, issue, person, or situation, in order to make the best decision from their perspective. This assignment serves as an exercise in doing just that, as we choose terms/names that elicit a variety of opinions, and assess those opinions’ merits and blind spots in order to come up with one of our own. This exploration provides a perfect opportunity to offer up some research, since you need to show us who the people are who tend to inhabit each side, and let them speak for themselves via quotes. 

Critical Thinking Database (15%): A semester-long series in which we provide examples of our Critical Thinking concepts to the Discussion Board and build a database which serves as a study guide.

Regarding the Rhetoric (10%): As we draw closer to this assignment, I will post three recent editorials from various news sources. You then choose one as the focus of an analysis in which you utilize our Critical Thinking Skills to demonstrate why you think the argument being presented is effective, or not. 

Critical Thinking Show and Tell (10%): An academic spin on the old elementary school standby, wherein you present an object and not only tell us what it is, but consider what drove its creation, what its creators assume about its intended audience, and all sorts of other moves that take us on a deep dive of that thing you choose.

Preparatory Assignments (15%): Each of our formal essays (Core Value Analysis, Personality Analysis, Clarification Meditation, and Regarding the Rhetoric) has a Proposal that you turn in which outlines your subject/thesis and your plan for following through on it. Preparatory Assignments also include various exercises and discussions we conduct over the course of the semester.

Big Questions Project (5%): Critical Thinking is as much a state of mind and approach to life as it is a series of skills. Critical Thinkers always question and always explore answers to questions, so this project is designed to foster that mindset. On three different weeks toward the end of the semester, we will wrestle with such big issues as Morals, Faith, and Love (each week having its own specific topic), and exchange the questions and thoughts such topics elicit.

Final Exam (10%): Our final will cover the concepts and terms introduced early in the semester and reviewed over the course of the semester by virtue of the Critical Thinking Database series of examples.

And underlining your performance in this class as a whole will be your…

ENERGY: Though it is nothing I will quantify into a numerical percentage of your grade, this is as important as any other component, and will come into play if you are teetering between two grades. Critical Thinking requires a willingness to consider opposing sides on any given issue, which helps us assess our biases and values. In other words, this is not a solitary process. So naturally your contributions to class discussions are not only appreciated, but required. Your energy is also revealed in how adept you are at meeting deadlines, and keeping in touch. Speaking of meeting deadlines: late assignments are marked down one grade from what they would have earned.

Also…no plagiarism. This may seem patently obvious, but I want to make sure you don’t succumb to the temptation, or engage in it inadvertently. If it does happen, you not only fail that assignment, but I have to file a Student Misconduct Report. Please note that using AI and LLM software, such as ChatGPT, to generate written content is a form of plagiarism (which, to clarify, means pretending someone else's words are your own). If I suspect that an essay has been generated by AI/LLM software, I will run the file through one of the many detection apps available to check. Don't let it come to that. Don't be a cheater!  

A quick technical note regarding Canvas: make sure your Canvas dashboard is set to "Card View", which means you'll see the squares (cards) for each of your classes when you log on. If you're not seeing the course cards when you log on, but a list of assignments instead, you're on "List View", which you want to avoid. To switch to Card View (or confirm you're not on List View), click on the three dots on the upper right hand corner of the dashboard, and a menu will appear that lists the options. And while this may be a non-academic point to make on our syllabus, if your Canvas settings are mixed up, you won't be able to follow our class clearly and achieve all the academic goals noted above.

As for how your performance on the above assignments lead to your overall evaluation in the course, keep these ranges in mind as you keep track of your grade in Canvas:

                                                100% - 90%                A

                                                89% - 80%                  B

                                                79% - 70%                  C

                                                69% - 50%                  D

                                                Anything below that…well, you know.

Some Notes Concerning Standards (or: how to perform well on the assignments in this class and, for that matter, any other class)...

Since this is a university-level course, it is easy to get caught up in the content and forget to disclose what constitutes good work (which is often made so specific and clear in some of our basic skills level classes).

So let’s establish some standards right away: While each assignment will have its own unique grading rubric that will list the specific requirements you should adhere to, there are also certain features that characterize any good piece of work—whether it be written or verbal. Since the work we do here falls under the term “rhetoric” (to use language persuasively), I would like to utilize the three forms of rhetorical appeals that embody the characteristics of good persuasive language to help you understand how to perform well in this class. They are:

Ethos: Latin word that is the basis for terms like “ethics/ethical”, ethos gives the reader a sense of authority; it assures the reader you are a trustworthy source.

Logos: Meaning “logic”, logos illustrates your logical abilities to the reader, appealing to their sense of reason.

Pathos: Root word for terms like “sympathy/empathy”, pathos refers to your ability as a writer to appeal to readers’ humanity, and to respect their opinions and experiences, which may differ from yours.

So let’s now consider how these terms manifest themselves for each grade:

Grade A:         Ethos is demonstrated via a strong sense of understanding the assignment, and even though you may not be an authority on the subject, you have clearly made the effort to process it and learn more about it. Articulation is also part of your ethos: you demonstrate control over sentence structure (in written work) and word usage. Logos is shown via your ability to provide reasonable and well-supported points in defense of your position/thesis, and adhering to the task at hand (not straying into tangents or interpolation). Pathos is illustrated thanks to your consideration of your readers’ potentially differing views or unfamiliarity with the subject. You demonstrate respect for your reader, and possibly incorporate humor and emotion where appropriate. In short, I would read A-level work for pleasure, not just work.

Grade B:         Ethos is still revealed in a strong understanding of the assignment, but you may come across as not being as well-versed on the subject, either due to being less committed to learning about it, or having trouble grasping it. Articulation demonstrates control, but may pose some distractions. Logos is demonstrated but is perhaps inconsistent (some points may be much more persuasive than others, while others may be difficult to connect to your thesis). Pathos may lapse into condescension rather than consideration for your reader, and you may rely too heavily on emotional appeals. I could imagine reading a B-level assignment for pleasure, but every so often I am reminded that it’s work.

Grade C:         Ethos maintains an understanding of the assignment, but your work exhibits a lack of familiarity with the subject matter. Articulation lacks control to a degree that your authority is undermined. Logos presents some convincing points of support, but just as many that lack persuasiveness or a strong relationship to your thesis. Pathos is either absent, inappropriate, or relied upon too heavily at the expense of logos. C-level work comes across as just that: work.

Grade D:         Ethos lacking in terms of understanding the task, revealing little concern for the topic, and/or difficulties with articulation. Logos absent as far as presenting a cohesive case for your thesis. Pathos comes across as inappropriate or a non-issue in light of the above problems. Grading D-level work is very tedious.

Grade F:         None of the above.