Unit 1 seminar

Welcome to Effective Writing II for Arts and

Sciences Majors

Unit 1 seminarIntroductions and contact infoCourse outcomes Tips for successSyllabus informationProject guidelinesDiscussion guidelinesSeminar guidelinesCourse projectsWriting experiences

Me and my daughter, Taylor

Contact informationEmail: atemple@kaplan.eduE-mails: use CM 220-22: Concern in subject line (for example: CM 220-22 Unit 3 project question)

Office hours: Mondays 9-11 am ET and or by appointment (on AIM)

AIM ID: angietemple7

Course descriptionThis 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 argumentsCM220-2: Develop strategies for effective

problem solvingCM220-3: 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 e-mail 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 ptsUnits 2-9 Discussions: 240 pts totalUnit 2 Exercise: 25 ptsUnit 3 Project: 100 ptsUnit 4 Project: 100 ptsUnit 6 Project: 150 ptsUnit 7 Project: 85 ptsFinal Project: 225 pts

Late policiesProjects: one-letter-grade late penalty

per unitDiscussions: 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 guidelinesProjects due Tuesdays by 11:59 p.m.Use the correct unit’s dropbox to post

assignmentsWrite documents in MS Word with “doc”

or “docx” extensionRead 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 200-300 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 respectfulAvoid side conversationsBe prepared—briefly review material before class

Stay on topicAsk questions! Use ??? before a ?

Option 2 seminar assignments

Only required if you miss the live seminarSelect the “seminar” tab for that unitReview the questions.Post a response of about 150-300 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 1What 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/formal InformalUses 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, e-mails, Facebook entries, Tweets, diary entries

What is constructive collaboration?

Provides writer with useful feedbackGives 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 WordDictionaryThesaurusBartleby.com Kaplan libraryKaplan Writing

Center (live chats, Q & A, paper review, library)

Returns from internet searches

BlogsWikipedia

Unit 1 assignmentsReadings: “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 sourcesUnit 6: Rough draft of persuasive essayUnit 7:Peer review of classmate’s draftUnit 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 pageUse APA formatting and citationsMust cite a minimum of 5 sourcesAt 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?InformPersuadeEntertainDeal with specific audiences

Advantages to writingWriting 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

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?