Welcome to College Preparation Writing--Critical Thinking and Argumentative Writing! In this class, students will spend eight weeks developing a 3-4 page argumentative paper on a topic of their choice, while learning how to effectively communicate in an argumentative setting and how to think critically about information presented to them in a number of capacities. The goal of this course is to teach students how to use source material responsibly and effectively in their research, teach them how to outline an argument and take a position in a neutral, professional manner, and how to make sure their thoughts and ideas are well-supported with outside information. Each week, students will have 1-2 writing assignments related to their project that will be submitted to the instructor, and feedback will be given within 72 hours. 

The weekly course schedule is as follows: 

Week 1: Introductions to Class and Project Topic Selections

In the first week of the course, students will start with an overview of the classroom rules and expectations, as well as the weekly schedule and upcoming assignments, to ensure everyone is prepared for the upcoming course. Students will spend the majority of class going over the overall research project assignment, what the requirements are, and how to choose an appropriate topic for their project. For homework, students will write a one-page proposal for their project that will be approved by the instructor. Students will be expected to choose a topic where they will choose a side and develop a research paper outlining why they have chosen their position on the matter. 

Week 2: Finding Credible Sources 1--What Makes a Credible Source? and Taking Effective Notes from Source Materials

In this first week on source selection, students will begin with an overview of how to evaluate a source's credibility, including author or organization evaluation, determining potential bias, and using up-to-date information. This will be built upon over the following two weeks when we discuss specific source materials. Students will spend a portion of today's class also learning how to effectively take notes and engage with materials when researching, including tools like skimming large works for relevant information, self-summarizing, and using bullet points or mind maps. Students will begin a three-week-long project of developing an annotated bibliography for their research project today. For this week, students are expected to find two books that they could use for their project and evaluate their credibility with an annotation that discusses what the source is, what information they can get from it, and how they know it is credible. Students can use their personal book collections or local libraries to find books for their projects, but will also be shown where to access books online.

Week 3: Finding Credible Sources 2--Using the Internet Responsibly

This class focuses entirely on using the internet responsibly for academic research projects! First, students will cover the basics of identifying credible source materials on the web, including how to identify the sponsor of a website, how to identify biased sources, and using Wikipedia effectively and appropriately. Students will be provided with a rubric they can use when engaging with websites to identify if they are credible resources. Students will be expected to add three websites to their annotated bibliography this week and complete the provided rubric for each website they choose to demonstrate its credibility. 

Week 4: Finding Credible Sources 3--Using Academic Journal Articles and Other Miscellaneous Source Materials
Frequently, before entering a university-level class, students are not familiar with academic journal articles, one of the cornerstones of professional research. This class aims to fix that! In this day's lesson, students will learn about academic journals and what a peer-reviewed source is. They will also be introduced to JSTOR, a large database of academic journal articles frequently included in a university library. Students will learn how to identify the author's argument in a journal article quickly and how to skim for information that may be relevant to their topic. We will also cover using miscellaneous sources, including artworks, works of fiction, interviews, and surveys effectively in a research project. Students will add two academic journal articles to their annotated bibliography this week and complete the project. 

Week 5: Writing an Effective Thesis Statement and Organizing an Argument
This week, students will work on developing the thesis statement and introduction to their paper. Students will discuss how to develop a clear thesis statement that guides their readers through their research project. They will also think about the organization for their paper and be introduced to several styles of organization that may help them to communicate their views to their audience effectively. For homework, students will be asked to develop the full introduction to their paper with a thesis statement, as well as a basic outline where they choose what order they will discuss their points in through the body of their paper and tell the instructor why they believe that order makes the most sense. 

Week 6: Supporting Your Argument, Using Formal Language, and Avoiding Logical Fallacies
In this class, students will discuss how to effectively support their argument with a balance of their own ideas and their outside sources. 
To communicate effectively, they will learn how to avoid logical fallacies within their writing to ensure a strong discussion, as well as the use of formal language. This will allow students to avoid using emotionally charged, biased language that could, ultimately undermine their own argument. The goal of today's class is for students to learn how to argue strongly with a neutral, objective, formal writing style. 
For homework, students will write one full page of their 3-4 page project, practicing the use of formal, unbiased language throughout. 

Week 7: Addressing Conflicting Viewpoints in Your Writing and Citation Crash Course 
In today's class, students will learn about addressing opposing viewpoints in their work. We will discuss why it is important to acknowledge the other side of an argument, how that adds to the strength of your own work, and how to do it effectively. We will also have a short crash course on MLA citations and how to incorporate them in your work to provide credit to others' opinions and make sure no part of the work is plagiarized. Students will write one full page of their paper for homework. 

Week 8: Research Project Wrap-Up and Brief Presentations
In the final class of the course, we will start by discussing the final expectations for the course, review the requirements for the final project and the due dates for the paper itself.  Students will have the opportunity to perform a peer review of others' works and provide feedback to their peers if they choose to participate, as well as receive feedback on their own work. The homework for the final class is to complete the final full paper for a grade from the instructor and to prepare a brief presentation on their topic to be shared with the instructor.