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| Credit- Degree applicable | | Effective Quarter: Fall 2020 | I. Catalog Information
| COMM 9 | Argumentation: Analysis of Oral and Written Communication | 5 Unit(s) |
| | Formerly: (Formerly SPCH 9.) (See general education pages for the requirement this course meets.) Requisites: (Not open to students with credit in COMM 9H.)
Prerequisite: EWRT 1A or EWRT 1AH.
Advisory: COMM 1, 1H, 10 or 10H. Repeatability: Hours: Lec Hrs: 60.00
Out of Class Hrs: 120.00
Total Student Learning Hrs: 180.00 Description: This course covers critical reading, writing, and thinking. Research strategies, documentation, critical analysis, and synthesis in the process of evaluating and constructing oral and written arguments will be applied. |
| Student Learning Outcome Statements (SLO)
| | | • Student Learning Outcome: Analyze critically the logic of arguments. |
| | | • Student Learning Outcome: Compose well-organized critical essays that demonstrate complex writing and critical thought. |
| | | • Student Learning Outcome: Deconstruct, examine, debate contemporary, socially-relevant issues using current argument guidelines and strategies. |
| | | • Student Learning Outcome: Find, evaluate and cite sources in writing and presentations using appropriate documentation format. |
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II. Course Objectives | A. | Apply the principles of critical inquiry, logic and sound reasoning to argumentative writing and speaking. |
| B. | Research and evaluate information to develop informed, ethical arguments with valid reasons and evidence. |
| C. | Analyze issues from diverse perspectives and communicate confidently and responsibly about global, cultural, social and environmental issues. |
| D. | Formulate strategies for writing a progression of well-organized critical essays that demonstrate increasingly complex writing and critical thinking and advocacy. |
| E. | Discuss and debate views on controversial issues using appropriate argument methods and structures. |
III. Essential Student Materials IV. Essential College Facilities V. Expanded Description: Content and Form | A. | Apply the principles of critical inquiry, logic and sound reasoning to argumentative writing and speaking. |
| 1. | Examine the standard formats of argumentation including analysis of stock issues, Toulmin's argument model, parliamentary debate, constructive and negative cases, refutation and rebuttal. |
| 2. | Differentiate between fact, value, and policy propositions and formulate clear propositions that advance reasonable positions. |
| 3. | Distinguish reasons from conclusion, fact from judgment and opinion, and belief from knowledge. |
| 4. | Examine logical forms of reasoning (cause, sign, analogy, inductive, deductive). |
| 5. | Develop logical relationships between claims and evidence. |
| 6. | Identify and examine common reasoning fallacies and distinguish effective, valid argument from reasoning that is unclear, invalid, or both. |
| B. | Research and evaluate information to develop informed, ethical arguments with valid reasons and evidence. |
| 1. | Find, evaluate, critically analyze, and interpret primary and secondary sources using standards of accuracy, recency, relevance, representativeness, sufficiency, and consistency. |
| 2. | Give credit to the original ideas of others through attribution and proper citation (e.g. MLA or APA). |
| 3. | Understand the meaning of plagiarism and accept the responsibility to make ethical choices to avoid abusive use of sources. |
| C. | Analyze issues from diverse perspectives and communicate confidently and responsibly about global, cultural, social and environmental issues. |
| 1. | Develop skills necessary for analytical reading, writing, and speaking about the major questions, problems, and issues of people in diverse cultures. |
| 2. | Compare argumentative discourse aimed at persuasion on one viewpoint to modes of discourse aimed at understanding diverse and conflicting viewpoints. |
| 3. | Engage in collaboration, dialogue and discussion in order to develop respect for the complexity and diversity in ways of thinking about contemporary local and global issues (such as equity, racism and sexism in media and politics, disability culture, immigration policies and practices, foreign policy, environmental politics, and education). |
| 4. | Develop an aptitude for intellectual inquiry and exploration instead of a tendency of criticism, attack, and opposition. |
| 5. | Examine how literature and media contribute to construction of human thought. |
| 6. | Critically examine arguments in editorial content, news coverage and advertising for logical appeals, source credibility, message distortion, propaganda, emotional appeals, and audience sensitivity. |
| 7. | Examine how one's own beliefs, preconceptions, and values influence critical thought. |
| 8. | Apply ethical standards when examining, developing, and presenting arguments. |
| D. | Formulate strategies for writing a progression of well-organized critical essays that demonstrate increasingly complex writing and critical thinking and advocacy. |
| 1. | Engage in pre-writing activities including narrowing a topic, generating ideas, determining the audience and the relationship between audience and message, and setting an appropriate tone. |
| 2. | Find, evaluate, analyze, and interpret sources, incorporating them into written argument essays with proper attribution, citation, and documentation (e.g. MLA or APA). |
| 3. | Apply writing strategies such as drafting, collaboration, self and peer editing, and revision to develop written arguments. |
| 4. | Support a claim with valid, logical, and coherent reasons and evidence. |
| 5. | Follow conventions of standard written English in sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, and spelling. |
| 6. | Integrate sources and the ideas of others through summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting with proper attribution. |
| E. | Discuss and debate views on controversial issues using appropriate argument methods and structures. |
| 1. | Select appropriate strategies and procedures to construct an oral argument. |
| 2. | Examine differences between oral and written styles of argument. |
| 3. | Employ presentation strategies appropriate to the topic, message, audience, and occasion. |
| 4. | Develop listening skills to foster respectful, inclusive, reflective, and critical listening appropriate in resolution-oriented argumentation. |
| 5. | Study different approaches to cooperative argument discourse including deliberation, collaboration, critical discussion, structured controversy, and negotiation. |
| 6. | Apply rules of ethical discourse to critical discussion and debate. |
| 7. | Deliver arguments confidently and extemporaneously. |
| 8. | Employ a variety of systematic approaches to critically testing arguments through cross-examination, refutation and rebuttal. |
VI. Assignments | 1. | Study college-level texts that directly address argumentation, critical reasoning, writing, and communication. |
| 2. | Critically read, analyze, compare and evaluate complex research sources. |
| 3. | Read daily news periodicals such as the San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle and New York Times. |
| 1. | Write at least 6000 words using a progression of well-organized critical essays that demonstrate increasingly complex writing and critical thought. |
| 2. | Apply writing strategies such as drafting, collaboration, self and peer editing, and revision to develop written arguments. |
| 3. | Write argumentative research papers that advocate for or against a policy change on a significant contemporary issue
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| 4. | Compose essays that employ writing strategies such as analysis, synthesis, summary, and evaluation, and that emphasize writing tasks, such as causal analysis, argumentation, definition, interpretation, and comparative analysis. |
| 5. | Prepare argument outlines or debate briefs. |
| 6. | Write in-class essays exhibiting acceptable understanding of mechanics, organization, development, and coherence. |
| 7. | Write final research paper to critically analyze a current political, economic, global, cultural, or gender issue using APA or MLA style sheets. |
| 1. | Practice listening skills to foster respectful, inclusive, reflective, and critical listening appropriate in argumentation. |
| 2. | Practice critical and reflective listening to examine and develop arguments and to cultivate meaningful discussion. |
| 3. | Apply reflective and critical listening to argument and media analysis. |
| 1. | Engage in collaboration, dialogue and discussion in order to develop respect for the complexity and diversity in ways of thinking about contemporary local and global issues. |
| 2. | Debate controversial issues using argument methods and structures. |
| 3. | Examine, refute and extend arguments through cross-examination, refutation and rebuttal. |
VII. Methods of Instruction | | Analysis of arguments and debates
Discussion of assigned reading
Collaborative projects
Homework and extended projects
Presentations
Critiques
Lecture
Quiz and examination review performed in class
Exploration of internet sites
In-class writing assignments
Analysis of oral and written debates
Media analysis
In class writing, peer review, and editing
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VIII. Methods of Evaluating Objectives | A. | Argument outlines, debate briefs, analytical essays, interpretive essays and position papers that challenge students to demonstrate improvement in ability to apply skills of critical analysis, argumentation, synthesis, documentation and writing. |
| B. | In-class essay exams composed of conceptual and analytical based questions that require students to show their ability to synthesize and apply knowledge of argumentation. |
| C. | Collaboration and reasoned contributions to structured controversies and debates evaluated on participation. |
| D. | Final written research project and debate presentation that requires students to critically analyze a current political, economic, global, cultural, or gender issue using APA or MLA style sheets and to demonstrate a clear grasp of concepts developed throughout the course. |
IX. Texts and Supporting References | A. | Examples of Primary Texts and References |
| 1. | Rottenberg, Annette T. and Winchell, Donna H. (2018). The Structure of Argument, 9th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin. |
| B. | Examples of Supporting Texts and References |
| 1. | DeAnza College Library Articles and Databases. An online service of newspaper, journals, and magazine databases. |
| 2. | DeAnza College Library Citing Sources, Guide to Library Research. This website is from Duke University and shows both MLA and APA styles. |
| 3. | Intelligence Squared Debates. Online service of Oxford Style debates and educational resources. |
| 4. | Modern Language Association website www.mla.org. |
| 5. | American Psychological Association website www.apastyle.org |
| 6. | Tannen, Deborah. The Argument Culture: Stopping America's War on Words. New York: Ballentine Publishing Group: 1998. |
| 7. | Makau, Josina M. and Marty L. Deblan. Cooperative Argumentation: A Model for Deliberative Community. Waveland Press, 2001. |
| 8. | Toulmin, Stephen. The Uses of Argument, Cambridge, Mass: The Harvard University Press, 1958. |
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