Unit 1 seminar Welcome to Effective Writing II for Arts and Sciences Majors

Unit 1 seminar Introductions and contact info Course outcomes Tips for success Syllabus information Project guidelines Discussion guidelines Seminar guidelines Course projects Writing experiences

Me and my daughter, Taylor

Contact information s: use CM : Concern in subject line (for example: CM Unit 3 project question) Office hours: Mondays 9-11 am ET and or by appointment (on AIM) AIM ID: angietemple7

Course description This course helps students apply research and critical thinking skills to develop effective persuasive arguments. Students will create professional writings, incorporating post-draft revision strategies and working constructively with colleagues.

Course outcomes 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

Tips for success Review the “course home” materials about the library, plagiarism, and navigating the E-college platform. Review the documents posted in Doc Sharing. Check and announcements frequently. Communicate with your instructor and ask questions! Participate actively in the weekly discussions and seminars. Read grading rubrics carefully.

Grades for course (1000 points) Seminar Discussions: 45 pts Unit 1 Discussion 1: 15 pts Unit 1 Discussion 2: 15 pts Units 2-9 Discussions: 240 pts total Unit 2 Exercise: 25 pts Unit 3 Project: 100 pts Unit 4 Project: 100 pts Unit 6 Project: 150 pts Unit 7 Project: 85 pts Final Project: 225 pts

Late policies Projects: one-letter-grade late penalty per unit Discussions: must post within one week after unit ends to receive partial credit (up to 10 points taken off for late posts) Seminars: must attend one live flex seminar or post a response to the seminar question in the seminar discussion thread by the end of the unit (no exceptions unless prior arrangements are made with me)

Project guidelines Projects due Tuesdays by 11:59 p.m. Use the correct unit’s dropbox to post assignments Write documents in MS Word with “doc” or “docx” extension Read grading rubric and project guidelines carefully! Be sure to review Kaplan’s plagiarism policy (see the syllabus and the Writing Center for details)

Substantive discussion posts Avoid short expressions of agreement or disagreement or summaries of a classmate’s post. Pose follow-up questions to issues raised by myself 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.

Substantive discussion posts Refer to our course readings and offer relevant parallels between those readings and our discussions. Demonstrate your knowledge of the course material. Stay on topic. Are at least words in length for the initial response (see instructions in each unit) and about 100 words each for the follow-up responses to your classmates. In follow-up posts, ask questions, agree/disagree (and explain why), give additional examples.

Effective seminar discussions Be respectful Avoid side conversations Be prepared—briefly review material before class Stay on topic Ask questions! Use ??? before a ?

Option 2 seminar assignments Only required if you miss the live seminar Select the “seminar” tab for that unit Review the questions. Post a response of about words in that seminar’s discussion thread by the end of the unit. Note: I will post the presentation that I use for that unit in Doc Sharing and the seminar thread. Review that as well as the transcript since I will cover that week’s assignments in the seminar.

Unit 1 What are the qualities of formal writing? How does it differ from informal writing? Academic writing? Why is collaboration useful for a writer? How can I write a helpful peer review? What are some tools that I can use to improve my writing? What are the expectations for the final project?

Academic, formal, and informal writing Academic/formalInformal Uses standard American English (no slang, contractions) Carefully edited and revised Academic writing references and cites credible sources using conventions of a field (APA, MLA, etc.) May use slang, abbreviations, contractions Often not edited for grammar, mechanics, spelling Examples: text messages, s, Facebook entries, Tweets, diary entries

What is constructive collaboration? Provides writer with useful feedback Gives specific suggestions regarding grammar, mechanics, APA Offers ideas about how to strengthen argument Notes what works, what doesn’t, and why Avoids personal attacks

Your toolbox USE! BE CAREFUL! MS Word Dictionary Thesaurus Bartleby.com Kaplan library Kaplan Writing Center (live chats, Q & A, paper review, library) Returns from internet searches Blogs Wikipedia

Unit 1 assignments Readings: “Communication Skills” and “Write Well, Go Far” (both in the Kaplan library Academic Search Premier database, Electronic articles) Optional: “Leadership in Writing” Post in the “introduce yourself” thread. Discussion 1: What aspects of the final project worry or intimidate you? Discussion 2: Summary of article from Writing Center library that addresses one of your concerns Attend the unit 1 seminar or post in the option 2 seminar dropbox.

Unit 1 exercise Read the "Final Project Requirements" document located under the Course Home section of this course. Open a new MS Word document and develop a thoughtful response to the following questions: 1.) Based on your current writing skills and work habits, which parts of working on the paper (coming up with a thesis statement, research, time management, etc.) do you anticipate will be most challenging for you? 2.) Please list and discuss three of the challenges or concerns you have, save your document, and post your response to the Unit 1 (Looking Forward to the Final Project) Discussion 1.

Other course projects/assignments Unit 2 exercise: Analysis of speech (writing vs. speaking) Unit 3: Choosing a topic, discussing controversies, and developing a thesis statement Unit 4: Revised thesis and two sources Unit 6: Rough draft of persuasive essay Unit 7:Peer review of classmate’s draft Unit 9:8-10 page persuasive essay on topic selected in unit 3

Final project Write an original persuasive essay (takes position on an issue of your choice) Must be 8-10 pages, not counting title and references page Use APA formatting and citations Must cite a minimum of 5 sources At least 2 sources must be books or academic articles (from academic journals). One great way to find academic sources is to look in the Kaplan Library for articles in refereed or peer-reviewed journals. "Academic Search Elite" (one of the Kaplan Library Electronic Articles databases) allows you to limit your search to scholarly or peer-reviewed journals.

Why write? Inform Persuade Entertain Deal with specific audiences

Advantages to writing Writing gives you time to reflect and research – shape and reshape material. Writing makes communication more precise. Writing provides a permanent record of thoughts, actions, and decisions. Writing saves time-- we absorb information more swiftly when we read than when we hear.

What to know before you write Purpose: Why are you writing? Audience: to whom are you writing? Context: Terminology Nature of text (essay, , etc.)

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?