English 103
In English 103, students examine the principles of critical thinking as applied to writing and reading arguments on complex issues. This course focuses on close textual analysis, argumentative/persuasive writing, and logical reasoning.
The Student Learning Outcomes for English 103 are:
- Analyze the principles of logical reasoning
- Evaluate the strength of written and visual arguments on a range of different issues and controversies
- Compose logical, well-reasoned arguments on selected topics such as popular culture, politics, social issues, and moral and ethical issues
To achieve these goals, students will learn to:
- Identify the issue of an argument
- Recognize the conclusion/claim of an argument
- Differentiate different types of reasoning, such as inductive, deductive, and analogical
- Delineate the different types of evidence and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
- Explain the importance of assumptions in arguments in general and recognize them in specific arguments
- Define and give examples of ambiguous language
- Name the most common logical fallacies and recognize them in specific arguments
- Differentiate different types of appeals, such as pathos, ethos, and logos
- Evaluate the strength of assumptions in specific arguments
- Select reliable sources for the evidence in an argument
In this course, students can expect to write formal essays outside of class totaling 6,000-8,000 words.