Fall, 2004

    This course emphasizes the importance of effective writing on topics related to society and individuals in society, the areas generally defined by the social sciences.  Effective writing on social issues requires a well-defined sense of topic and purpose, appropriate research and support, clear organization, and fluid use of language.  The topics of the social sciences are necessarily messy; writing about them should not be. This course is based on a model of instruction in rhetoric developed by the philosopher  Stephen  Toulmin. Toulmin was concerned with the process of argument as it appears in society in general and developed his model around three principal elements: claim, evidence, and warrant. Along with some necessary focus on language and thought, these three elements are the core of this course. To develop abilities in argumentation, we will focus on issues affecting society in general: the stuff of the social sciences.

As a result of this course, you should be able to both critique the arguments of others and write clear, well-supported arguments yourself. This course assumes a familiarity with the writing process and with the demands of correct language as developed in English 15 or similar courses. In English 202A, the emphasis will be upon more skillful methods of written expression: parallelisms, metaphors, variety of form and length, and subtleties of effective style.

There are three major types of written assignments for this course:  summaries of research, drafts of essay, and argument essays.

    In preparation for writing argument essays, you will write research summaries which will serve as a good review exercise in a basic form of writing and which will help you define the issues in the argument essays.  For each research summary, write one-paragraph summaries of two or three articles or chapters from books which you will later use for writing an argument.  Each paragraph should be about 200 words.  At the end of the research summary,  include a formal References Page  in APA format.   Research essays will be graded according to clarity and general principles of good writing and will receive a letter grade.

    The major writings for this course are four argument essays.  We will begin with an in-class discussion of articles and topics.  You will write the research summaries I mentioned previously.  I will discuss a specific phase of argument writing and some key topics of good writing in general.  You will submit an argument essay of three to four pages.  Each essay will receive a letter grade. The fourth major essay , based on reactions to Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, will be developed through a series of drafts throughout the last weeks of the course, and will be due on the Tuesday of exam week.  The fourth major essay is to be four to six pages in length.  All argument essays must cite research sources correctly and include a References Page in APA format.

     All work is expected to be timely, proofread, printed on paper, and the original work of the writer. Title pages are not required, but you need to print or write your name at the top of the first page.  Late papers will receive a reduced grade.  If you are not present for class on the day that an essay is due, it is your responsibility to submit a printed copy of the essay (not e-mailed copy) to 119 Sutherland (Faculty Mailboxes). An essay containing minor plagiarism (paragraph or so) will be downgraded, possibly receiving a failing grade.  More substantial plagiarism will receive a failing grade; a second occurrence will result in a failing grade for the course. You are not permitted to submit essays that will be or have been submitted in other classes. Some class time will be spent to discuss this issue, but you are expected to give credit for any ideas contained in your essay which are not your own.   You should also read the Penn State Policy on Academic Integrity, which will apply  in this course.  For all research sources, use the APA citation form

    Class attendance and participation are essential parts of this course. Attendance requires your being on time for class and remaining for the full class.  Participation requires your being prepared with assignments due on a given evening, both reading and written.  An important part of participation in class involves workshop review of your writing, so you must have assigned writing with you to participate fully. Since participation in all parts of the course is a key to your work in this course, absences will affect your grade, as outlined below.  Please note that since this class meets just one night a week, each class is, in effect, three hours of class.  If a crisis occurs which prevents your being in class, let me know. In addition, absences in excess of three full classes will place you in danger of failing the course.  Use e-mail to contact me concerning any difficulties in the course, major or minor.

 Final course grades will be determined as follows:

09/07     Introduction to Writing of Argument.  Screening of section of Fight Club.  Brief review of writing good summaries of critical literature.

09/14     Essay # 1 (Research Essay) Due.   Summarize two articles and/or reviews of the film, Fight Club (roughly 150 words for each summary). At the beginning of each summary, note the author of the article or review, the publication, the date, and the pages.  

               Further screening of Fight Club.  Discussion of relevant social and psychological issues arising from the film.

                Making Claims.  Structure of Claims

09/21     Essay # 2 (Draft of Argument Essay) Due.  Write a 300-word essay which states, develops, and supports a claim about behavior which arises from the film Fight Club and class discussions about the film.  Cite as support in your essay at least two supporting research articles (either or both of the articles from your summary on 9/14 or other articles if more relevant.  Be ready to discuss your writing in class.  Sources must be from an academic or professional journal or from a national news source.  

Notes and Lectures:  Principles of Good Writing I: Structure and Related Issues.     APA Method.

09/28     The Logic of Claims.  Toulmin Method I. Further Review of Essays from 09/21.  

10/5      Essay # 3 (First Major Argument Essay) Due.  Write a 400-600 word essay which states, develops, and supports a claim about behavior which arises from the film Fight Club  and class discussions about the film  Cite as support in your essay at least three supporting research articles using the APA method of internal citation and Works Cited.  Essays must be printed out for use in class.

            Discussion of topics for essays # 4 -5 -6.  Assigned Reading will be given out.  Relevant video segments will be reviewed.  The topic for these essays will be the 2004 Presidential Election..

10/12     Essay # 4 (Research Essay) Due.   Summarize two additional articles (i.e. other than the article given out in class) relating to a specific issue in the 2004 Presidential Election (roughly 150 words each summary). At the beginning of each summary, note the author of the article, the publication, the date, and the pages.

             Further discussion of specific issues for 2004 Election, based on student research and on the assigned article.  

             Issues of Support

10/19     Essay # 5 (Draft of Argument Essay) Due.  Write a 300-word essay which states, develops, and supports a claim about the 2004 Presidential Election, based on your own research and on class discussions.  Cite as support in your essay at least two supporting research articles (either or both of the articles from your summary on 10/12 or other articles if more relevant).  Be ready to discuss your writing in class.  Sources must be from an academic or professional journal or from a national news source.  

Notes and Lectures:  Principles of Good Writing II /  Variety.

10/26    The Logic of Argument: Toulmin II.  The Rhetoric of Images.  With some ideas from Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.  

11/02      Essay # 6 (Second Major Argument Essay) Due.  Write a 400-600 word essay which states, develops, and supports a claim about the 2004 Presidential Election  and class discussions about research. Cite as support in your essay at least four supporting research articles using the APA method of internal citation and References.  Essays must be printed out for use in class.

            Discussion of topics for essays # 7 & 8.  

11/09     Essay # 7 (Draft of Op-Ed Essay) Due.   Read Fast Food Nation, Introduction, chapters 1 & 2 and draft a 300 word reaction essay to the chapters .  

Critique Session:  Class workshop on op-ed pieces, Fast Food Nation.

Principles of Good Writing III       Preparing an essay for op-ed publication:  Samples from national news sources.

11/16      No Class.  Draft Essays from 11/09 will be returned via mail.  Assigned Reading:  Fast Food Nation, chapters 4-5-6.  Include these chapters when you do your revised version of this essay which is due next week. Begin to gather research on topics in Fast Food Nation for your final essay.  You need to search for research articles which review the book, which criticize the book, which support the book, and for articles related to topics covered in the book, such as mass marketing, McDonalds, food industry, beef industry, farm subsidies, minimum wage, and the like.

11/23    Essay # 8 (Third Major Argument Essay) Due. Write a 300-400 word reaction piece to Fast Food Nation, similar to essays which would appear on the Op-Ed Page of a major national newspaper or magazine.  This essay is a revision of Draft Essay#7.   For this essay, reference any relevant research within the essay itself rather than in a References page.  This is a shorter essay, so the emphasis in the writing is on precision and conciseness.

11/30     Read Fast Food Nation, Chapter 9, Epilogue.  Optional:  "The Meaning of Mad Cow.".     Find two or three research articles or reviews which are directly critical of Schlosser's argument and be prepared to summarize them for the class.  Bring your research notes--you do not have to write the notes in essay form.

Draft of Counter-Argument (In-Class).  Tonight you will draft an argument which directly counters one or more major ideas raised in Fast Food Nation.  The class will spend some time critiquing your counter-argument.  Your essay will also be duplicated for critique by the instructor.

Structuring the Argument.  Sample Arguments from Students.  Sample Arguments in Print. Varieties of Argument.  Argument vs. Critical Review. Documentation Requirements for Final Paper.

Notes and Lectures: Logic and Form in Formal Argumentation.

12/7     For tonight: Class Presentations of Arguments.  Group Critiques.  Review of samples for final essay.

12/14     Essay #9 (Fourth Major Argument Essay).  Develop a 600--800 word essay (printed) which takes a position on a significant topic from Fast Food Nation.   Essay must include coherent argument, a counter-argument, a refutation and be supported by 6-8 sources.  All sources must be cited in the text using APA parenthetical citation.  The paper must include a "References" Page.  Essays which do not cite sources will automatically receive a failing grade.

Go To:

Michael O'Toole Home Page  ||||   Penn State Homepage