ENGL A102: Critical Thinking and Writing

Course Outline of Record
Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	02/09/2022
Top Code	150100 - English
Units	4 Total Units
Hours	72 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 72)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S)
Associate Arts Local General Education (GE)	OC Comm/Analytical Thinking - AA (OA2) OC Humanities - AA (OC1)
Associate Science Local General Education (GE)	OCC Comm/AnalyticalThinking-AS (OAS2) OCC Humanities - AS (OSC2)
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)	Cal-GETC 1B Critical Thinking (1B)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)	IGETC 1B Critical Thinking (1B)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)	CSU A3 Critical Thinking (A3) CSU C2 Humanities (C2)

Course Description

Formerly: ENGL A102, Critical Reasoning: Nonfiction. In this course, students receive instruction in critical thinking for purposes of constructing, evaluating, and composing arguments in a variety of rhetorical forms, using primarily non-fiction texts, refining writing skills and research strategies developed in ENGL C1000 Academic Reading and Writing (or C-ID ENGL 100) or similar first-year college writing course. Read, analyze and write on works of non-fiction applying critical thinking skills and research. Formulate and compose written arguments. Recognize logical fallacies, rhetorical strategies, implicit meaning, and use inductive and deductive reasoning. Enrollment Limitation: ENGL C1001H; students who complete ENGL C1001 may not enroll in or receive credit for ENGL C1001H. PREREQUISITE: ENGL C1000 or ESL A100. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC. Common Course Number: ENGL C1001. C-ID: ENGL 105. C-ID: ENGL 105.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

Students will be able to present significant evidence and support from non-fiction sources, draw appropriate conclusions in order to build a thesis in a persuasive essay.

Course Objectives

1. Write college essays (6,000 to 8,000 words in total) applying the principles of summary, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, exposition, and argumentation.
2. Read, summarize, interpret, evaluate, and synthesize texts that are central to research-based writing.
3. Read, analyze and appraise nonfiction literature from a variety of academic fields that focuses on similar topics and that represents different viewpoints on those topics.
4. Distinguish between approaches to issues and problems that are revealed by the texts in various academic fields.
5. Write convincing arguments by developing an argumentative thesis or claim, offering reliable support, employing logical reasoning, inductive and deductive patterns of logic, appropriate organizational forms, and suitable lines of argument (causation, analogy, parallel case, appeals to authority, and appeals to emotion).
6. Illustrate competency in standard English grammar, punctuation, mechanics as well as clarity and precision in written expression.
7. Recognize and employ the processes of writing: planning, pre-writing, editing and polishing.
8. Specifically, the students will demonstrate the following skills in writing, reading, research, and writing conventions.
I Writing Objectives: In response to complex non-fiction texts, students will be able to do the following in essays of 750 or more words:
I. 1. Organize ideas to develop a specific thesis with a clear purpose, such as to argue, analyze, or define.
I. 2. Support a thesis in discussion paragraphs.
I. 3. Maintain unity and coherence while developing adequate content in paragraphs.
I. 4. Effectively arrange paragraphs and link them with transitional devices.
I. 5. Accurately summarize and paraphrase readings.
I. 6. Integrate quotations that advance the discussion.
I. 7. Employ, when appropriate, rhetorical modes, such as illustration, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, and classification, to support a thesis.
I. 8. Analyze and synthesize information embodied in course readings.
I. 9. Skillfully employ expressive, expository, and argumentative strategies to support a thesis.
I. 10. Skillfully use a variety of argument strategies.
I. 11. Recognize and correct logical fallacies.
II Reading Objectives: When reading, analyzing, and annotating complex, primarily non-fiction texts, students will be able to do the following:
II. 1. Analyze basic reasoning patterns, distinguishing between inductive and deductive constructions.
II. 2. Distinguish fact, inference, and opinion expressed in texts.
II. 3. Distinguish between evidence and conclusions in texts.
II. 4. Evaluate the diction, style, and tone in texts.
II. 5. Evaluate argument strategies by recognizing the following: a. stated and unstated assumptions; b. denotative and connotative meaning and biased language; c. logical fallacies and propaganda devices; d. slanted and euphemistic language; e. relevant and irrelevant evidence and appeals to authority.
II. 6. Recognize and synthesize related ideas, arguments, and evidence in different texts on the same related issues and themes.
III Research Objectives: In planning, writing, and revising expository and argument essays, students will be able to do the following:
III. 1. Incorporate information from multiple published texts to support, contrast or clarify the thesis/claim, and topic purpose of a text.
III. 2. Use textual sources appropriately and accurately according to the MLA format and APA format if appropriate.
III. 3. Introduce and appropriately frame directly quoted, summarized, and paraphrased material from textual sources.
III. 4. Evaluate the quality and relevance of published texts related to a thesis/claim and related topics.
IV Writing Conventions Objectives: In planning, writing, and revising a variety of extended essays, such as expository, argumentative, analytical, and research essays, students will be able to do the following:
IV. 1. Construct sentences that are grammatically correct, syntactically logical, comprehensible, varied, and concise, while rarely, if ever, committing the following: a. sentence errors, such as comma splice, run-on (fused sentence), fragment, misplaced modifier, faulty agreement, and faulty reference; b. incorrect parallel structure; c. punctuation mistakes, such as the misuse of the comma, semicolon, colon, apostrophe, and quotation marks; d. spelling errors, not only when using contractions and homonyms, but also when using common and college level vocabulary, including critical terminology.
IV. 2. Use appropriate diction that is sustained consistently throughout an essay and that usually demonstrates the following skills: a. the ability to move coherently from abstract to concrete and from general to specific language; b. the accurate use of metaphorical language, such as simile, metaphor, analogy, and the control of connotation and denotation.

Lecture Content

The development of critical reading and thinking skills Analysis and evaluation of nonfiction texts from various academic disciplines Distinctions among various types of texts and their purposes (narration, exposition, and argumentation) Appraisal of arguments in various texts (thesis or claim, reliable support, logical reasoning, organizational patterns, and lines of argument) Comparison and contrast of argument positions established in various texts Correlation of textual issues and arguments to broader issues Identification of agreement or disagreement with arguments in texts The construction of the college essay Practice in writing summaries of nonfiction texts Incorporation of textual summaries and direct quotations into students writing projects Generation of students ideas and information relative to issues in nonfiction texts Generation of students expository theses or argument claims Evaluation of nonfiction texts relevant to students theses or claims Synthesis and the development of students essays The purposes of the synthesis essay (exposition and argumentation) The development of the argument synthesis Development of support for argument claim Practice in logical reasoning Practice in using lines of argumentation (appeals to reason, authority, emotion) The process of revision The early draft: discovery of thesis or claim and initial development of support The later drafts: the refocusing of thesis or claim, developing further support, responding to the editorial advice from teacher and peers The final draft: editing for clarity and correctness

Method(s) of Instruction

Lecture (02)
DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

Lecture and application of ideas, group discussion, projects, readings, and video.

Reading Assignments

Non-fiction works as assigned.

Writing Assignments

In response to non-fiction works, the student will be able to do the following in essays of 750 or more words: Analyze and synthesize information embodied in course readings; skillfully employ expressive, expository, and argument strategies to support a thesis and a variety of argument strategies, such as arranging evidence from abstract to concrete, and from specific to general using concession, one-sided argumentation, and multi-sided argumentation; recognize and correct logical fallacies.

Out-of-class Assignments

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Writing skills.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Eligible Disciplines

English: Masters degree in English, literature, comparative literature, or composition OR bachelors degree in any of the above AND masters degree in linguistics, TESL, speech, education with a specialization in reading, creative writing, or journalism OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Rottenberg, Annette. Elements of Argument: A Text and Readr, 13th ed. Chicago: Bedford/St. Martins, 2020 Rationale: - 2. Required Chaffee, John. Thinking Critically, 12th edition ed. Chicago: Houghton Mifflin, 2019 Rationale: - 3. Required Haidt, jonathan and Lukianoff, Greg. The Coddling of the American Mind, 1st ed. penguin Books, 2019 4. Required Harari, Yuval Noah. Sapiens, 1st ed. Harper Collins, 2019

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