1. Critical Thinking with Georgie Ziff
Welcome to English 5
Critical Thinking with Georgie Ziff

2. About English 5 You will develop your ability to: Analyze Evaluate
Understand logic and reasonable arguments
Form a critical response to readings and exercises.
You will develop the critical methods of inquiry and evaluation written analysis and argument.
You will apply these methods of analysis and argument in analytical papers, in class discussions, and assignments.

3. About Writing…
my favorite writing quote:
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”
William Strunk Jr. Elements of Style

4. Required Course Materials
Writing Logically, Thinking Critically 6th edition – get the correct edition! Amazon link
The first two chapters are available as pdf files in the course.
USB flash drive and/or an online free account with Dropbox.com – make sure your work is available online to access from the computer lab

5. About you… On a piece of paper please write the following…
name and student I.D. number
other courses you are currently taking
what college English courses you’ve taken and where
Current employment and schedule
things - anything I should know to better help y help you during the class
how y – how you feel about your writing –

6. About me… Georgie Ziff - Two boys: 18 & 21 (BHS graduates)
We live in Oakland.
Grew up on the East Coast and the Midwest, but came to California for a one year job and never left.
M.A. in Composition and Creative Writing from CSUEB
B.A. from CSUEB: double major in English
and Women’s Studies
8th year teaching college composition at California State University East Bay; 6th year at Merritt College; 5th year at Berkeley City College; 2nd year at Los Medanos College
Certified Scorer/Reader – Educational Testing - SAT, EPT, EAP
My advice: school will always be ready for you when you are ready for school.

7. Moodle Online All classwork will be submitted
through Moodle and Turnitin.com.
This will include weekly assignments about writing topics, discussion forums, and major writing assignments.
Work is NOT accepted outside of these websites.
Turnitin.com - Final drafts must be submitted to Turnitin.com. The class code is: and the class password is: english
In the event of technical difficulties, please contact the I.T. Dept at BCC for assistance with Moodle

8. Save Your Work Online
* Create a free account at  saving your work online. You can then access it in the computer lab. This is a great tool – it not only provides you with a place to save work, it also synchronizes any changes you make online, so your Dropbox is always up to date!
* Use a flashdrive as backup, in case you cannot go online.

9. Grading in the Course Here’s how the numbers add up: Five Essays 60%
Weekly Assignments %
Discussion Forum Board %
Group Presentation %
Final Rhetorical Analysis %

10. Essay Writing
There will be five essays which will be multi-draft and peer reviewed.
The final drafts will be submitted to Turnitin.com
Check the Moodle Calendar for due dates; late work will have a full letter grade deduction.
Considering Audience and Purpose (2)
Taking a Stand
Composing an Argument Based
on a Definition  
Analyzing an Extended Argument

11. Weekly Assignments
Each week you will read an article, watch a video, and view a power point about a writing topic.
You will then write THREE paragraphs: 
1. Paragraph one summarizes the topic, describing the main points of the article/video/power point.
2. Paragraph two is your response: what you learned; how it could influence your writing.
3. Paragraph three evaluates by comparing and contrasting how the topic is discussed and explained in the different media formats. From a rhetorical perspective, how does audience and purpose affect the creation of the video, for example? Look at the fonts and styles used in the power points. Examine the language of the article. Which media did you find most effective and why? 

12. Discussion Forum
The essays from the book will require you to respond to the discussion questions following each assigned reading. You will post your responses to the Forum and respond (with substantive, thoughtful posts) to TWO of your classmates.
Please show respect for your classmates and their ideas.
Forum Posts are due by Wed. midnight. 
Forum Responses to TWO classmates are due by Friday 5pm, after which the Forum is closed.
Late posts are not accepted.

13. Textbook Exercises
On the Moodle Weekly Schedule you will see that each week there will be an exercise or two from the chapter in the book.
Instructions vary according to what the chapter is about; some have questions to answers; some are thought-provoking riddles; some ask you to consider examples from your own life about logic, etc.
Submit your answers through the assignment links in Moodle
Assignments are due Friday pm to receive full credit.

14. Class Policies Attendance: required for the class meetings
Come to the class meetings prepared.
Missing any of the meetings will result in a deduction from the final grade.
Late work policy: late assignments are accepted for partial credit. 5 points = week it is due; 3 points = week after it’s due; 1 point after that. Discussion Forum posts are NOT accepted late; due Friday 5 pm.
Late essays receive a FULL GRADE deduction.
Last class = May 14. NO work will be accepted for any reason after that.

15. The Class Meetings
The four class meetings are: Feb. 5, March 5, April 9, and May 14
What to expect:
Writing Presentations
Peer Reviews
Plagiarism Lesson
Final Writing Analysis at last class meeting

16. Today’s Objectives
To get oriented to the course, the syllabus, requirements, expectations, and so forth.
To break/melt the ice with one another
To form and begin working in collaborative groups

17. Break the Ice Form groups of three
Find one thing that everyone in your group has in common.
Find out what everyone likes to do outside of school.
Exchange contact information.

18. In the Spot Light
Each of you will in turn introduce one person in your group and share something you learned about him/her
Share what everyone in your group has in common

19. Working as a Team
Together come up with 3 to 4 questions you may have about this course
Now, with the syllabus, try to find the answers to the questions you came up with
Let’s talk about the questions you couldn’t find answers to…

20. To Do
Buy textbook-“Writing Logically, Thinking Critically” 6th edition at the bookstore or online
Access the pdf files of the first two chapters online in Moodle
Read the Orientation, FAQ’s, and Syllabus
Due Friday! - Forum: How to Be an Online Student – respond to two classmates.
Assignment: Exercise 1A
Consider presentation topic with your group