1. Outcome:Upon successful completion of this course, the student will paraphrase the main ideas presented in college-level reading materials; compose a question of original, inventive inquiry; select and arrange citations supporting the student's original thesis statement; and compose a documented essay written in Standard Written English.
   Assessment:Students will demonstrate these outcomes in short writings composed regularly as homework assignments, in on-demand writing assignments, and in documented essays assigned outside of class.

I.  Elements of Critical Thinking

     a. Investigating a problem

     b. Establishing point of view/frame of reference

     c. Identifying assumptions

     d. Defining conceptual and empirical dimensions

     e. Formulating inferences and conclusions

     f. Controlling purpose

     g. Avoiding logical fallacies

II. Elements of Evaluative Reading

     a. Identifying premises and conclusions

     b. Distinguishing among facts, concepts, and judgments

     c. Detecting inductive and deductive arguments

     d. Recognizing cultural assumptions

     e. Making inferences

     f. Distinguishing denotative and connotative language

     g. Evaluating diction and tone

     h. Recognizing humor, satire, irony, paradox, and analogy

III. Elements of Prewriting

      a. Composing a question of inquiry

      b. Formulating a thesis

      c. Collecting, assessing, and arranging source material

      d. Selecting an organizational pattern

      e. Identifying an audience

      f.  Employing prewriting strategies

IV. Elements of Composition

      a. Executing a precis/planning sheet/outline

      b. Conceptualizing the rough draft

      c. Synthesizing original thought with source material

      d. Composing the rough draft

V.  Elements of Revision

     a. Partnering with an editor

     b. Revising the rough draft for substantive changes

     c. Revising the rough draft for Standard Written English grammar and mechanics

     d. Revising the rough draft for appropriate scholarly attribution of sources

Thorstein Veblen's Pecuniary Emulation

Journal Assignment:

Select one of Veblen's conceptual assertions from "Pecuniary Emulation." Introduce the quotation by explaining how it supports Veblen's thesis.  Quote the assertion with MLA formatting.  Then translate what Veblen is saying by putting his complex, dated diction into your own language. Provide a contemporary illustration to illustrate Veblen's concept.  Conclude by arguing whether or not, in your own life and your observations, you find Veblen's point to be convincing.

Documented Essay Assignment:

In their autobiographical essays concerning white-on-black prejudice, Brent Staples and Jesus Colon reach different conclusions about how a stereotyped ethnicity might cope with prejudicial perceptions. In "Night Walker," Staples tells us that he'll continue to do his best to defuse the fear he inspires on the street by whistling classical music and thus signaling his innocence. He implicitly argues that he can adopt this preventative stereotype-breaking behavior without diminishing his own pride and integrity.

In "Memorial Day," however, Colon decides that he will refuse to submit to the stereotyped perceptions of white Americans; he will never again hesitate to help a needy person for fear of being repulsed because doing so would diminish his personal and cultural morality.

Neither man addresses, however, what the prejudicial person might do in order to alleviate the dehumanizing effects of the practice of prejudice.

Put yourself in the position of the women whom Staples has unintentionally frightened and whom Colon has encountered. Determine whether the avoidance behavior exhibited by these women doing the stereotyping constitutes blatant, unthinking prejudice or defensible and valid cautionary action. Decide which of the following thesis statements you want to support, and extend the sentence to include your reasoning supporting your stand in an essay documented with the thoughts of Staples and Colon.

1. In most situations, it is better to measure the elements of the situation before stereotyping, prejudging, and assuming that an individual is harmful because. . .
2. In most situations, it is better to assume that harm is forthcoming and to conduct oneself defensively, even if it means relying on stereotypes, because. . .

Real World Application:

After instruction in fallacies of reasoning, the student will identify a minimum of 10 fallacies in real-world applications, such as newspapers, magazines, advertisements, billboards, letters to the editor, op ed pieces, political speeches, etc.