COMPOSITION II - COM102/2 Fall 2020
Course

COM 102 develops the writing skills taught in COM 101: It hones the student’s ability to think critically and originally; consolidates their ability to make appropriate stylistic choices with regard to specific purpose, register and genre, and it reiterates the stages of the writing process. Moreover, COM 102 concentrates on developing the skills required to produce a substantial academic research paper. These include: critical reading and research, formulating and supporting a thesis, incorporating credible sources and properly employing citation and bibliographic techniques.
Here is the course outline:
1. Critical Thinking
Sep 22
Syllabus Review, The Writing Process, Aristotlean Appeals, Critical Thinking |
2. Rhetoric
Sep 29
Concision, Prewriting, Citation Styles, Prototype Semantics, Isocrates’ Didactic Approach, “Bullshit” in academic writing |
3. Analytical Reading
Oct 2
Text analysis, In-Text Citations, Thesis Statements vs. Claims, Academic Ethos, Wittgenstein's Motto |
4. Prewriting
Oct 6
Drafting an Extended Outline, Film Screening (to be announced) |
5. Gathering and Evaluating Sources
Oct 13
Online Databases, Boolean Operators, Types of Research, Peer Review |
6. Information Literacy
Oct 20
Online Databases, The CRAAP Test, The Academy of Sciences Library |
7. Referencing
Oct 27
Quoting, Text Analysis, Compiling a List of References |
8. Plagiarism
Nov 3
Types of Plagiarism, Read articles on Schavan and zu Guttenberg, Paraphrasing |
9. Select a Topic
Nov 6
Thesis Statements and claims, The Oscar Wilde Taste Test |
10. Working Bibliography
Nov 10
Aphorisms about Conciseness, Citation Styles, Quotations, Editing Exercise |
11. Extended Outline
Nov 24
Examining Sample Papers, Formatting, Long Quotations |
12. Drafting
Dec 1
Final Paper Checklist, Editing Exercise, Peer Review |
13. Peer Review
Dec 8
Hyphens-Italics-Capitals, In-Class Peer Evaluation |
14. Presenting and Defending
Dec 15
Presentation and Defense of Research Papers |