1 CM 220 College Composition II Professor Ian Clayton, PhD General Education, Composition Kaplan University

Welcome to the Unit 1 Seminar! Topics for today’s discussion: Course outcomes Syllabus information Tips for success Academic writing Writing experiences 2

Contact Information –Contact me at –Please use an informative subject line: e.g. “Unit 3 project question” Office hours: by appointment (on AIM) AIM ID: KaplanClayton 3.

Course Description CM220 is designed to develop the writer’s skills in: Research Analysis of research Application of critical thinking skills Development of effective arguments Supporting arguments with credible sources APA citation Collaboration Prewriting, editing, and revision process 4

BIG IDEAS CM220 emphasizes: the exploration of BIG IDEAS that impact the world, our communities, and our lives a persuasive writing framework. Students will: practice several forms of writing throughout the course examine writing in various settings and situations. create an “appeal for change”: a final project that presents an idea and a plan for putting it into action. 5

Course Level Assessments CM220-1: Construct logical arguments CM220-2: Develop strategies for effective problem solving CM220-3: Conduct research to support assertions made in personal, academic, and professional situations CM220-4: Articulate what constitutes effective communication in personal, professional and diverse contexts CM220-5: Demonstrate effective listening strategies 7

Course Level Assessments 0: No progress 1: Introductory 2: Emergent 3: Practiced 4: Proficient 5: Mastery 9: Cannot be assessed (didn’t turn in assignment) 7 Used by Kaplan to measure student progress Helps to determine if courses are helping students fulfill course outcomes Leads to needed revisions in course Does not affect your grade Found in grade book in units with assessed projects

Late Policies All discussions and projects are due Tuesday by 11:59 pm ET of the unit assigned. Seminar Option 2 submissions are due by the end of the following unit (e.g. the end of unit 2 for unit 1 O2). Late work will not receive credit. Late assignments will be marked down one letter grade for each unit the assignment is late. For example, if a Unit 5 project with a “B” grade (85%), is turned in during Unit 6, one letter grade will be deducted from it, giving a final grade of C (75%). If the project is turned in during Unit 7, two letter grades will be deducted from it, leaving a final grade of D (65%). It is to your benefit to submit assignments on time, clearly. Late discussion posts to classmates will not receive credit as their purpose is to further the discussion and the discussion cannot be furthered after it has ended. Assignments submitted more than three units late will not be accepted. Unit 9 projects will not be accepted late without prior approval from the instructor or an approved incomplete grade request. 8

Project Guidelines All projects due Tuesdays by 11:59 p.m local time Use the correct unit’s dropbox to post assignments: do NOT them or use the SkyDrive. All documents must be in MS Word format (with a.doc or.docx extension). Other formats will not be accepted, e.g. MS Works (.wps), OpenOffice (.odt) Read grading rubric and project guidelines carefully! Be sure to review Kaplan’s plagiarism policy (see the syllabus and the Writing Center for details) 9

Weekly discussions Read instructions carefully! DB’s for Units 5 & 7 have TWO PARTS. Both parts are required. Aim for words for main response & 100 words for responses to classmates’ posts. Avoid short expressions of agreement or disagreement or summaries of a classmate’s post. Pose follow-up questions to issues raised by me or other students in order to encourage further discussion. Use personal experiences to illustrate your points. Recommend alternative solutions to problems and offer constructive disagreement with issues raised by your peers. Refer to our course readings and offer relevant parallels between those readings and our discussions. Demonstrate your knowledge of the course material. 10

Effective Seminar Discussions Be respectful Avoid side conversations Be prepared—review material before class Stay on topic Ask questions! For full seminar credit, aim for about 15 substantive comments, minimum. 11

Seminar 2 Option Only required if you miss the live seminar Select the “seminar” tab for that unit. Review the questions carefully. Submit a response of about words to that seminar’s dropbox by the end of the unit. No credit will be given after a unit ends. Review the archive before responding to the question(s). Work is due by the end of the following unit. 12

For this week: Unit 1 Introduce yourself to the class Reading: Unit 1 overview; The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing, chapters 1, 2, 3, 8, 15 Discussion: Identify a “big idea” to explore or review an existing idea from the Innovation Gallery Seminar: Introduction to course, course outline, requirements and expectations. 13

Discussion Board Is there a problem in the nation or in your community you’d like to solve? Do you have any “big ideas” for solving this problem? (This problem could be tied to your field of study or it could be something more personal.) No “big idea” yet? Look for one in the Inspiration Gallery. Use this unit to find a problem that needs solving and to brainstorm potential ideas. Your initial post: words minimum. Responses to two classmates: 100 words each minimum. Offer suggestions about your classmate’s “big idea. Do you think it is a solvable problem? Why? 14

Other Course Assignments/Projects Unit 2 project: 60 points (“pitch” your idea) Unit 4 project: 100 points (primary and secondary research project) Unit 5: Letter to the Editor (part of the DB) Unit 6 project: 150 points (draft of persuasive essay) Unit 7: Multimedia Presentation (part of the DB) Unit 9 project: 240 points (4-part portfolio) 15

Looking ahead to Unit 2: Reading: –The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing, pp. 36, 43, –Fallacy Gallery; article on campaign for non-smoking Discussion: –Develop research questions and a working thesis statement Seminar: –Thesis workshop and topic selection workshop –Logical fallacies time permitting. Project: 2 parts: –Pitch your big idea, include working TS –and describe your research strategy Tech Lab: Using PowerPoint and Animoto

FINAL PROJECT Consists of 4 parts: page revision of the Unit 6 paper 2.Formal writing, revised from unit 5 version 3.Multimodal presentation, revised from unit 7 version 4.New for unit 9: A reflection essay considering your development and work over the course of the term. 5.ALL PARTS MUST BE SUBMITTED to receive full credit for the project. 17

TIPS FOR SUCCESS Review the “course home” materials about the library, plagiarism, and navigating the E-college platform. Learn to use essential course tools like the APA Quick Reference, the KU Library, and the Writing Center. Review the documents posted in Doc Sharing. Check and announcements frequently. Communicate with me and ask questions! Participate in the weekly discussions and seminars. Read previous discussion comments (including my own!): they will help you prepare your own posts. Read grading rubrics and guidelines carefully Ask questions!! 18

Some questions to consider What are differences between informative and persuasive writing? What kinds of persuasion do we see and use in our daily lives? How might you use persuasive writing in your professional life? What are some positive (or negative) experiences you have had with writing? What apprehensions do you feel about this class/final project? 19

DISCOVERING IDEAS Where do ideas for writing come from? Newspapers, magazines and journals Online discussion communities Current events Inspiration Gallery What are YOUR ideas for generating ideas? 20

Your Toolbox MS Word Dictionary Thesaurus Bartleby.com Kaplan library Kaplan Writing Center (live chats, Q & A, paper review, library) Google Scholar Google Books 21 USE THESE WITH CONFIDENCE: USE THESE AT YOUR OWN RISK! Generic websites Blogs Wikipedia

What are your BIG IDEAS? Share some of the possible Big Ideas you have. What are some local, national and global problems that you are interested in and that might be valuable to write about? How about a new product or software, improving an existing product or concept, or possibly starting a movement or business? Are there topics that might be problematic in any way, that might pose a challenge to the writer/audience ? 22

Questions or Concerns? Ask now or ask later But Please ask!! 23