Catalog Description

Prerequisite: Placement by matriculation assessment process OR completion of ENGL N with grade of "C" or better
Advisory: Eligibility for ENGL 1A
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Designed to teach critical thinking and critical examination of texts and other printed material. Emphasizes principles of critical thinking, logic and fallacies, reasoning strategies, author's purpose and bias, research evaluation, propaganda, advertising, and reading for academic purpose. Includes instruction in analyzing digital texts. (CSU)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Explain arguments and biases.
  • CSLO #2: Analyze and evaluate a wide range of research sources.
  • CSLO #3: Evaluate and interpret fiction and non-fiction book length works.
  • CSLO #4: Develop and apply a personalized reading process.
  • CSLO #5: Develop extended analytical written responses to text.

Effective Term

Fall 2019

Course Type

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

1. Produce an annotated bibliography, including a variety of academic material, that demonstrates ability to develop a critical line of inquiry using research;
2. Construct a critical written response to various types of texts;
3. Propose logically sound questions in order to develop critical response to author's writing;
4. Infer author's meaning according to purpose and tone;
5. Differentiate between components of logic, thought and fallacial argument;
6. Analyze author's word choice & use of figurative language(denotation, connotation, etc);
7. Detect and examine author's bias from text;
8. Judge author's reliability and credibility in any type of printed or digital source;
9. Assess common propaganda techniques in text, advertising, and political commentary;
10. Relate varying types of prose to a larger theme (Examples: How "Lord of the Flies" relates to political science; Why "Frankenstein" speaks to bioethics); and
11. Evaluate and analyze non-academic reading in the context of critical thinking and logical thought.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Comm & Analyt Thinking
    • AA/AS - Reading Skills
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - A3 Critical Thinking
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)

      Articulation Information

      • CSU Transferable

      Methods of Evaluation

      • Essay Examinations
        • Example: Read and annotate the following essay. As part of your response, discuss the author's bias and methods of persuasion. Cite and discuss specific evidence.
      • Projects
        • Example: With your group, examine "On Dumpster Diving" and choose ten words the author uses that best capture the mood, tone, and essence of the essay. Be able to orally justify each selection to the class.
      • Other
        • Example: Choose five assignments from the group work we have done this semester. Write approximately 500 words discussing how these assignments helped you grow as a reader. Evaluate the components of logic, persuasion and critical thinking used in the assignments as part of your discussion.

      Repeatable

      No

      Methods of Instruction

      • Lecture/Discussion
      • Distance Learning

      Lecture:

      1. Also, the instructor will guide students in exploratory synthesis of the ideas expressed in "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and "The Handmaid's Tale." This paper will require students to take a position on which method of argument was the most effective for them and explain that position, using examples from the text and the critical thinking terminology. Example 2: Students will analyze advertisements for critical thinking fallacies and will engage in graded, guided discussion re: how that advertisement appeals to an audience.

      Distance Learning

      1. Online discussion boards; group activities; oral presentations; evaluative writing; exploratory writing; collaborative activities; guided reading; lecture; small group discussion; large group discussion. Example 1: The instructor will lead discussion and coordinate activities regarding the critical interpretation of "Reading Lolita in Tehran." Students will isolate arguments and discuss the effectiveness of evidence. Students will engage in critical discourse and will apply ideas of critical thinking to the reading. Students will then read a relate fiction book and discuss the differences in argumentation style between the non-fiction and the fiction. Students will receive feedback from instructor on a discussion board rubric that will advise on where to improve specificity and precision of responses.

      Typical Out of Class Assignments

      Reading Assignments

      1. Read and annotate "Lord of the Flies". 2. Read and prepare to discuss Voter's Information Handbook sample proposition analysis. 3. Using an appropriate search engine, find two different types of websites (personal, non-profit, consumer, etc.) that address the same topic. Make a list of major differences. 4. From your thematic list of works, read and annotate one short story, one poem and one piece of expository prose. Prepare to discuss and explore in class. Be sure to annotate words, images and phrases that indicate the given theme.

      Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

      1. Detect and examine author's bias and reliability from arguments for and against any proposition from the Voter's Information Handbook. 2. Write an essay in which you relate the themes of "Reading Lolita in Tehran" to the themes in "The Handmaid's Tale". What political statements do each of these texts make? How are they the same and how are they different? 3. Based on your reading of "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, write a paper in which you discuss the issue of the narrator's bias and reliability. Include specific quotes to support your assertions. 4. Using a list of set criteria, develop and produce an annotated bibliography on a research question (approved by instructor) that includes at least ten works. Specifically address how each work will contribute to the overall development of your research question. 5. Rewrite Hamlet's monologue from Act V Scene II in contemporary language, preserving, as closely as possible, Hamlet's mood and tone. Consider the denotations and connotations of your vocabulary carefully.

      Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

      1. Students will produce a portfolio of all graded work to present at the final exam. 2. Students will present an annotated bibliography that incorporates their acquired skills. 3. Students will give an oral presentation that presents at least two of the works studied during the course.

      Required Materials

      • Writing Logically, Thinking Critically w Readings
        • Author: Sheila Cooper & Rosemary Patton
        • Publisher: Longman
        • Publication Date: 2015
        • Text Edition: 8th
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • Learning to Think Things Through
        • Author: Gerald Nosich
        • Publisher: Prentice Hall
        • Publication Date: 2011
        • Text Edition: 4th
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:
      • Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking
        • Author: M. Neil Browne
        • Publisher: Bedford/St Martins
        • Publication Date: 2011
        • Text Edition: 14th
        • Classic Textbook?:
        • OER Link:
        • OER:

      Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.