Greg Foran's Courses

RHE 309S: Critical Thinking and Persuasive Writing
Policy Statement

Unique number: 45090
Place and time: MWF 9-10, FAC 9
Instructor: Greg Foran
Office: Parlin 408
Office hours: Wed. 10-12; Fri. 10-11; and by appointment
Telephone: 471-8739 (only call during office hours)
E-mail: gforan@mail.utexas.edu
Course website address:
http://instructors.cwrl.utexas.edu/foran/ rhe309s/

Goals
RHE 309S is a course in argumentation that will enhance your understanding of academic and civic writing, and give you practice in producing it. You will learn how to:

• identify, evaluate, construct, and organize
effective arguments;
• read critically;
• conduct library research and document sources;
• produce a clean, efficient writing style and
adapt it to various rhetorical situa¬tions;
• edit and proofread your own and others’ prose.

Textbooks
M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley, eds., Asking the Right Questions, 8th edition,
Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation,
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed
Luis Alberto Urrea, The Devil's Highway

A course packet containing required readings can be purchased at Jenn's Copies (2200 Guadalupe, under the Scientology building).

Additional Requirements: SPURS
Ours is one of 12 Rhetoric and Writing classes at UT that will be participating in Students Partnering for Undergraduate Rhetoric Success (SPURS), a program that pairs lower-division writing classes at UT with 11th grade AP English Language and Composition classes from underrepresented high schools in Texas. You’ll communicate electronically with students from our partnering class at Fox Tech High School, San Antonio, and write a formal peer review of a rhetorical analysis paper they’ll write. I’ll make two site visits to Fox Tech, and, if possible, our partnering class will visit UT and attend one of our class meetings.

Coursework
You will be writing the following papers this semester:
Paper I (rhetorical analysis): Draft 5%, Final 15%
Paper II (dialogue+analysis): Draft 10%, Final 20%
Paper III (research paper): Draft 5%, Final 30%
Reading responses, other homework, in-class quizzes, etc.: 10%
Participation in SPURS partnership: 5%

Grades
To pass the course, you must turn in on time a first draft and a second draft of each of the major paper assignments. Your peers and I will look at and comment on the rough drafts. To complete each final draft, you must consider the comments you received on your first draft thoughtfully, acting on them and going beyond them to improve your draft substantially.

Do not discard any drafts, notes, papers or research materials you produce during the semester until you receive a final grade.

Format of Final Papers
Rough drafts and final drafts of all out-of-class papers must be typewritten. The first page of your paper must include the following information: your name, my name, course, date, and paper title. Double space the lines and use 1 inch margins all the way around the text. Attach your pages together using a paper clip or staple.

Late Assignments
Papers, drafts, and other out-of-class assignments must be turned in at the time they are due. I will penalize late work by deducting one letter grade for every day the work is past due. If you cannot attend class on the date an assignment is due, arrange to have a classmate or friend drop it off during scheduled class time. There is no makeup of in-class work except in extraordinary circumstances.

Attendance
(See the Department of Rhetoric & Writing Course Policy Statement for a full explanation of the attendance policy. Note that good attendance and class participation may help me decide to push a border-line final grade up to the next letter.)

Cell Phones
Please turn the ringer off before you come to class.

Grade Complaints
Bring any questions about grades or policies to me first. To question a grade I've given you, follow this procedure: 1.) Wait at least one day after I've passed back the paper. 2.) Put your reasons for protesting the grade in writing. 3.) Hand me your written statement, then we'll make an appointment to meet. Complaints we cannot resolve together will be taken to the Department of Rhetoric & Writing.