The student will be able to:
Writing
A. Write extended expository text-based compositions on readings and class discussion.
B. Formulate an arguable thesis and substantiate it through analysis, logical and systematic organization, supporting evidence, and clarity of expression.
C. Use diction and tone appropriate to the academic community and the purpose of the specific writing task.
D. Proofread for errors in language and mechanics to the degree that the nature and frequency of errors do not become distracting.
E. Use techniques of research, especially textual citations and MLA documentation.
Reading
A. Analyze college-level expository, narrative, and argumentative non-fiction prose written on a level of difficulty equivalent to the public letters of Martin Luther King, Jr. ("Letter from the Birmingham Jail"), the social commentary of Joan Didion ("Slouching Towards Bethlehem"), the essays of Richard Rodriguez ("Toward an American Language").
B. Comprehend and evaluate the author's line of reasoning, the overall main point, and the kind of evidence or development presented.
C. Identify the author's intended audience and rhetorical purpose for addressing that audience.
D. Draw comparisons to other works.
E. Draw reasoned inferences based on careful reading of a text.
F. Recognize differences in value systems based on culture in a given text.

Writing
A. Write a total of at least 6000 words: Thesis-based compositions increasing in length and complexity, the shortest of which will be 500 words
B. Focus on writing about course readings:
1. Paraphrasing
2. Summarizing
3. Synthesizing
4. Quoting and documenting (MLA)
C. Focus on writing as process (discovery and synthesis):
1. Invention, generation, collection of ideas
a. Discussion, brainstorming, journal-keeping
b. Mapping, outlining
2. Organization, development, concession
3. Formulation of arguable thesis
4. Drafting, revision, editing
D. Focus on writing as product:
1. Synthesis of texts and student ideas
2. Rhetorical features (structure, analysis, insight)
3. Readability
4. Volume
5. On-task
E. Focus on patterns of error and methods of correction
F. Focus on variety of sources (print/non-print/electronic) with evaluation of credibility and relevance of same
Reading
A. Read a minimum of two book-length works (including anthologies), supplemented at instructor's discretion by additional readings, handbook, reference, and/or rhetoric
B. Complete a sequence of reading assignments arranged in order of relatively less difficult to more complex, taking into consideration such factors as overall number of words or pages, complexity of syntax, level and range of vocabulary
C. Analyze prose for:
1. Main idea, support, organizational pattern
2. Rhetorical form, style, voice, and purpose
3. Genre and cultural context
4. Basic concepts of critical thinking
a. Assumptions from which arguments are developed
b. Logical use of evidence
c. Internal consistency
D. Determine how the author's assumptions on the reader's background knowledge/experience and the author's purpose contribute to the organization of the text
E. Examine connections among resources, e.g., personal experiences, course texts, and other materials
F. Evaluate points of view, development of arguments, and ideas in texts
G. Analyze the effects of culture on written form and content

Not applicable.

Journals
Tests and quizzes
Write a total of at least 6,000 words: a minimum of three untimed, formal essays (in-class or online) and two timed, informal essay exams (in-class or online)
Final examination: a composition or other written project to be completed within the allotted two hour period

Lectures
Discussions
Structured small-group-exercises

At least two full-length books (including an anthology), primarily focusing on non-fiction; supplemented at instructor's discretion with additional readings or handbook.

A. The following are suggested rhetorics/anthologies for the course:
1. Behrens and Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. New York: Longman, 2016.
2. Graff and Berkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. New York: Norton, 2018.
B. The following are suggested single author non-fiction books for the course:
1. Douglass, Frederick. A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Norton Critical Editions, 2016.
2. Gladwell, Malcolm. David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. New York: Little, Brown, 2015.
3. Mock, Janet. Surpassing Realness: What My Twenties Taught Me. New York: Atria Books, 2017.
4. Noah, Trevor. Born a Crime: Tales from a South African Childhood. New York: John Murray, 2016.
5. Tufekci, Zeynep. Twitter and Teargas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. New Haven: Yale, 2018.
6. Yunnus, Muhammad. A World of Three Zeros. New York: Hachette, 2017.

A. Reading non-fiction essays and at least one book-length non-fiction work
B. Journal responses to assigned readings
C. Formal academic written analysis of assigned readings