Communication Studies 102:

Los Angeles Mission College

Spring 2016

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Instructor:
Office Hours: / Nune Dervishian
MW 12-12:15pm / Course:
Course Location: / Comm. Studies 102
INST. 1012
Voicemail: / 818-364-7600 ext.4417 / Section: / 0219
Email: /
/ Course Day/Time: / MW 12:15-1:40

Important Dates:

Last day to add class in person: February 19, 2016

Last day to drop without “W” with refund: February 21, 2016 Last day to drop with “W” (letter grade required after this) May 8, 2016

Required Text:“Arguments and Arguing”- Thomas A. Hollihan and Kevin T. Baaske, Waveland Press, 2016, 3rd Edition.

Course Description and Objectives:This course is an introduction to the advanced phases of critical thinking, research, and public speaking. The course will also cover comprehension of structure, evaluation of arguments, researching and presenting evidence, language usage, and evaluation of fallacious reasoning. The course will focus on persuasive speaking and argumentation. Adherence to ethicswill be stressed in all communication settings. Upon Completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Develop and enhance public speaking, organizational, research, and writing skills
  • Develop and enhance basic rhetorical criticism skills
  • Enhance and enrich critical thinking skills
  • Reduce tension while public speaking through enhanced self-confidence

Student Learning Outcomes:

At the conclusion of this class, students will be able to:

  • Research, write, and deliver a 7 minute persuasive speech, with the use of oral citations for support and backing
  • Distinguish and interpret the rhetorical concepts of logic, fallacies, critical thinking, and argument.

Classroom Policies:

Attendance: Attendance is a very important part of this class and is required for active thoughtful class participation. You are expected to attend all class meetings and you are expected to attend them on time. Each class session will allow students to discuss and elaborate on material covered in the book in addition to new content. Furthermore, there will be assignments worth anywhere from 5-10 points during certain class session. The following are general guidelines regarding attendance and will only change in cases of documented emergencies.

  1. Students who are absent or late will not be able to make up quizzes.
  2. Attendance on presentation days is MANDATORY, whether you are presenting or not. If you miss class during a day you may be called on to present, there will be a whole letter grade deduction from your speech grade.
  3. Missing class after you have completed your presentation while others still need to present will result in a half grade deduction from your speech grade.
  4. According to the 2015-2016 college catalog, “whenever absences in hours exceed the number of hours the class meets per week, the student may be excluded (dropped) from the class by the instructor. “ In other words, students can technically be dropped from the class after only 3 absences.
  5. Tardy attendance and leaving the class early will be taken into consideration during final assessment. Two tardy attendances or leaving early will be considered one absence.

Participation: Participation is a major part of this class and students are encouraged to engage in meaningful classroom discussion. Students should demonstrate preparation for class discussions and commitment to full participation in all engagements. Constructive feedback to other speakers is a responsibility of all class members and entails being honest and helpful in evaluations, using descriptive rather than prescriptive language, and providing negative comments with constructive recommendations. The quality and quantity of your participation may also be used to determine course grades in borderline cases.

Assignment Policy: Assignment due dates will not be negotiated. All assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the date indicated. Late assignments WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. If you will not be in class, it is your responsibility to notify me and to get the assignments turned in on time. In-class assignments CANNOT be made up in the case of an absence. All homework assignments must be typed and stapled (only exception is journals). Reading assignments must be read by the dates indicated on the syllabus. Exceptions can only be made in the case of documented emergencies.

The Social Contract: Enrolling in this class enters students and instructor in a social contract and it is the responsibility both to abide by the following:

  1. Demonstrate respect for the diverse experiences, cultures and preferences of each individual. This will help create an environment that is friendly, supportive, safe and non-threatening.
  2. Prepare for class discussions and commitment to the full participation in all engagements as well as providing sensitive, critical response to the work of others.
  3. Due to the nature of this course, a range of sensitive topics and perspectives may be presented. No limits are placed upon subject matter or extent of questioning however students are expected to demonstrate taste, tact, and caution with topic and language choices.
  4. DO NOT use electronic devices during this class. Absolutely NO Texting!
  5. DO NOT enter or exit the classroom while there is a speech in progress.

Academic Honesty: Academic dishonesty encompasses both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Plagiarism involves submitting the works of others as your own and includes improper source citation, no source citation, using materials prepared by another student, and using fictitious sources. You must clearly distinguish your ideas and words from the work of others. Remember, when in doubt, cite your source or ask the instructor for assistance. Any student caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a failing grade in the course. In addition, a report will be filed with the Dean of Students for further possible action (including expulsion from the school). Please refer to the Los Angeles Mission College Schedule of Classes for specific policies regarding academic honesty.

Students with Special Needs: If you have any health impairments that require medication, or any other disability that might require special accommodations, please call our campus Special Services department at 818-364-7734 as soon as possible or notify the instructor.

Assignments:

Speeches: During the semester, students will prepare and present a variety of speeches. Generally, most of the speeches will require both library research and preparation. You will be given a detailed prompt for each speech assignment.

  • Introductory Speech: For this assignment, you are to deliver a speech introducing yourself. Some of the things you will cover include educational background, career goals and personal background. (2-3 minutes)
  • Debate-Type Speech:In this debate type persuasive speech, you will be taking a stance on a controversial issue and defending your thoughts with sound evidence and credible sources. (5-6 minutes)
  • Persuasive Speech: In the persuasive speech, you will be choosing a topic that you feel is problematic or needs to receive more public attention. You will then explore what the current problems are and consequently propose a solution/policy that may alleviate these problems. (7-8minutes).

Outlines: With each speech, you will be required to turn in a typed full sentence outline. Further information on specific guidelines for each outline will be provided to students.

Journal Assignments:Throughout the course of the semester, students will complete short in-class or homework assignments worth 5 points each. These assignments must be completed in a college “blue book” in order to keep everything organized. Students must bring their blue books to class during every meeting as some of the assignments may be done in class.

Assignments will encourage students to engage in critical thinking and a better understanding of specific material covered in the course. Students may randomly be called on to share their responses with the class. The instructor will regularly check that assignments are completed and will randomly collect blue books.

Quizzes: You will be responsible for reading 11 chapters in the textbook. There will be a 5-question quiz on each chapter in order to ensure that students are doing the reading. Quizzes will consist of multiple choice and true/false questions and will be given the day the reading is due in the beginning of class.

Exams: There will be two (2) exams covering the lectures, class discussion, textbook readings, and any additional reading assigned to students. Examswill consist of multiple choice, true/false and matching questions.

Evaluations: Upon completion of the debate and the persuasive speech, students will be required to complete a self and peer evaluation of each speech. For the self-evaluations, students must have a classmate record them while they are presenting in order to get a better analysis. Evaluations will consist of 5-10 questions and will require short paragraph answers.

Course Requirements

Assignments / Points Received / Points Possible / Tentative Due Date
Introductory Speech & Outline / 15
Debate Speech / 50
Debate Outline / 30
Persuasive Speech / 60
Persuasive Outline / 40
Quizzes / 55
Exam 1 / 50
Exam 2 / 50
Self and Peer Evaluations / 20
Journal Assignments / 70

*Use this to keeptrack of your grade Total: 400

*Subject to change

SPRING 2016 SCHEDULE

Week / Date / In-Class Activity/Discussion / Assignments
1 / 2/8 / Course Overview/Syllabus
Informal Introductions/Review Introductory Speech / Review Syllabus/Buy Books
Introductory Speech
1 / 2/10 / Introductory Speech / Chapter 1
2 / 2/15 / NO SCHOOL-COLLEGE CLOSED
2 / 2/17 / Chapter 1: Argumentation as a Human Symbolic Activity
Quiz 1-Finish Introductory Speech / Chapter 2
3 / 2/22 / Chapter 2: The Foundations of Argument
Quiz 2-Watch GOP debate and answer questions / Chapter 3
3 / 2/24 / Foundation of Argument-Narrative Paradigm
4 / 2/29 / Chapter 3: Audiences and Fields of Argument
Quiz 3 / Chapter 4
4 / 3/2 / Audience Analysis
5 / 3/7 / Chapter 4: The Language of Argument
Quiz 4 / Chapter 5
5 / 3/9 / Language
6 / 3/14 / Chapter 5: Argumentation and Critical Thinking
Quiz 5
6 / 3/16 / Argumentation and Critical Thinking / Study for Midterm
7 / 3/21 / Midterm Exam / Chapter 6
7 / 3/23 / Chapter 6: Types of Arguments
Quiz 6
8 / 3/28 / Argument-Who’s Responsible / Chapter 7
8 / 3/30 / Chapter 7: The Grounds for Argument
Quiz 7
9 / 4/4 / SPRING BREAK
9 / 4/6 / SPRING BREAK / Chapter 8
10 / 4/11 / Chapter 8: Building Arguments
Quiz 8-Discuss Debate Speech
10 / 4/13 / Library Visit / Chapter 9
11 / 4/18 / Chapter 9: Refuting Arguments
Quiz 9
11 / 4/20 / Argument Analysis / Chapter 10
12 / 4/25 / Chapter 10: Visual Argument
Quiz 10
12 / 4/27 / Visual Arguments in Media / Study for Final
13 / 5/2 / Final Exam
Discuss Persuasive Speech / Debate Speech and Outline
13 / 5/4 / Debate / Debate Speech
14 / 5/9 / Debate / Debate Speech
14 / 5/11 / Debate
15 / 5/16 / Ch. 14: Argumentation and the Law
Quiz 11
15 / 5/18 / Persuasive Rough Draft Outlines / Persuasive Speech/Outline
16 / 5/23 / Persuasive Speech / Persuasive Speech
16 / 5/25 / Persuasive Speech / Persuasive Speech
17 / 5/30 / MEMORIAL DAY-COLLEGE CLOSED / Persuasive Speech
17 / 6/1 / Persuasive Speech / Persuasive Speech
18 / 6/6 / Persuasive Speech-Meeting Time-12:30-2:30pm / DONE!

*Note-Schedule is subject to change