ENGLISH C1001

Laney College

Syllabus – Fall 2025

 

Instructor: Elizabeth Cowan


Email: ecowan@peralta.edu


 

“Let difficulty be our plough.”—Yeats, on the practice of writing

 

Course Description

 

A Critical Thinker is a clear thinker, a deliberate thinker, an objective and influential thinker. Developing the skills necessary to think critically is something we all begin at an early age, but it can take years of study to master these approaches, and a great deal of practice to effectively apply these skills to our communication – reading, writing, and speaking. In this course, we will work to develop your own pre-existing critical thinking skills, making the practice a more transparent and intentional one. We will examine the building blocks of argumentation, as well as the myriad ways an argument can fail. Logical fallacies will be identified and combatted, various forms of evidence located, evaluated, and deployed. Because much of argumentation begins with intuition, feeling, and experience, we will begin our explorations looking at works of fiction that tackle various aspects of the human experience, in this country and others, amongst young and old, immigrants and native citizens alike. We will look inward, then outward, then inward again, culminating the course with two extended pieces of formal writing that represent the best of critical thinking and logical power.

I look forward to working with you and sincerely hope that this course is one that you will find enjoyable and of tangible benefit to yourself as a writer, a student, and an adult actively engaging with the world.

Required Texts & Materials

No Required Texts! All readings will be provided in Canvas

 

Student Learning Outcomes

 

At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Apply fundamentals of critical thinking to reading, writing, and communicating with self and others.

2. Investigate language and identify fallacies, value judgments and assumptions in speech and writing.

3. Formulate and communicate persuasive arguments for particular audiences for specific outcomes.

4. Conduct appropriate research and synthesize outside support sources into writing.

 

Diversity

It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that your learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. I am a straight, white, cis-gendered woman, and while I have faced sexism and misogyny in my life, I remain someone who lives with a great deal of unearned privilege. I am also the mother of four biracial children whom I share with my partner of more than 15 years, a Black man. Because of this, I think daily about the ways that my privileges show up in my life and the barriers that many unlike me face. As a teacher and a human, I strive to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions to increase diversity--e.g., materials that present course topics from other perspectives or more inclusive activities--are encouraged and appreciated. Please let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally, or for other students or student groups. Last, I ask that everyone respect the diverse backgrounds of their fellow classmates and encourage others to share their perspectives.

 

Bias

Language is power. And academic writing is a specific language with vocabulary, grammar, and conventions that differentiate it from other Englishes. As a writer and writing teacher, I am aware of the ways that marginalized voices are relegated, and the ways in which different uses of the English language can be stigmatized and judged. I know that the words you use and the syntax of your prose is not the measure of your intelligence, the value or sophistication of your ideas, or your worth. I also know that many people erroneously treat it that way. Too much unacknowledged bias impacts how readers interpret written language and the conclusions that reach about its authors. In this class, I strive, and urge you also, to abandon those linguistic biases our culture promotes. I am not here to judge how you use language. I am here to provide you with the tools to wield it in such a way as to protect yourself from the unfair judgement of others. To achieve a deeper and deeper fluency in the particular language that is academic writing, so that your ideas can be truly appreciated and fully heard in contexts where those biases are most firmly rooted. 

 

Communication Plan

You will be hearing directly from me throughout the week. I will post an announcement at the start of every module explaining the instructional focus and assignment deadlines and instructions. I will also post an announcement at the end of every module with reminders for completing your assignments fully and on-time. In addition to these twice-a-week messages, I will post announcements when there are opportunities for extra credit or supplementary learning. At midterm, I will write to you directly with a comprehensive progress report, letting you know how well you have been meeting the expectations of the course, and what, if anything, you should adjust in your participation and performance to achieve maximum success in the course. 

 

Participation

Participation is a crucial component of this course. To improve your critical reading, writing, and thinking skills, it is imperative that you engage in all class activities and online discussions. This classroom is a writing community and therefore you are responsible not only for your own, but for assisting your peers throughout the writing process. Discussion and peer review form the foundation of the course. The class is conducted “asynchronously,” which means there is no specific day/time when you need to be logged in, but this course is not self-paced. You will be completing the work of each week along with the rest of class, which will require you to log in several times a week – though at a time that is convenient to you. You can begin submitting work on the Sunday of each module week. When we have discussions, which will be most weeks of the semester, you are expected to make your first post by Wednesday and the remaining posts by the end of the module. Unless otherwise noted, all assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Saturday.

 

Course Participation Expectations

• Participate in all weekly discussion forums on at least two different days, beginning each week no later than Wednesday
• Prepare for each week’s discussions and activities by carefully reading and annotating all assigned reading and completing all written assignment.
• Professionally prepare all documents, following formatting guidelines, taking care to proofread and spellchecked
• Participate in all discussions, activities, and peer review exchanges

 

Writing

All writing for this course should be considered public. We will be reading each other’s work in order to conduct peer review sessions. To make this an effective and supportive writing community, you have two primary responsibilities: do not write anything that you are unwilling to have read by your classmates and treat every piece of student writing you read in this class with the utmost respect and consideration.

 

Grades 


 

Quizzes & Exams ………..…………………....…….……….5%

Short Essays ...................................................................20%

Writing Process …………................................................15%

Research Papers …………..............................................35%

Participation………………………………….……………..25%

 

Prerequisites

Before taking this course, students must have successfully completed English 1A.

 

Deadlines

 

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE BY 11:59 ON SATURDAY. I expect all assignments to be submitted (complete, properly formatted, and carefully proofread) by the deadline. Late work will not be accepted unless arrangements are made ahead of time. In the case of unusual circumstances, you may contact me in advance of the deadline to discuss a possible extension, which may be granted on a case-by-case basis. You will not be able to upload any assignments after the deadline, and any late submissions due to extraordinary circumstances for which you did not receive an extension prior to the deadline require approval and documentation for credit to be considered. Be sure to communicate early and often if you are having trouble meeting the course deadlines.

 

Plagiarism

Any plagiarized work for this class will immediately receive a failing grade. Plagiarism occurs when a student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own. Plagiarism may consist of using ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another without appropriate acknowledgement, but it also includes employing or allowing another person to write or substantially alter work that a student then submits as his or her own.

 

 

 

Here are some grading benchmarks to guide you:

A  Completes all required work in a thorough, timely and exceptional manner; actively
participates in activities and discussions.

B  Completes all required work, but not exceptionally; participates, but not so actively.

C  Minimal requisite work completed; assignments turned in late; minimal participation; missed assignments; erratic performance in class and/or written work; lack of effort.

D  Bare minimum performance in all regards; consistently inferior/missing work; consistent lack of effort.

 

Schedule

Module 1 - Introduction to Arguments & Thinking Styles - September 8

Module 2 - Summarizing an Argument - September 15

Module 3 - Logos - September 22

Module 4 - Responding to Arguments - September 29

Module 5 - The Research Process - October 6

Module 6 - Defining Purpose - October 13

Module 7 - Drafting - October 20

Module 8 - Peer Review - October 27

Module 9 - Critical AI Literacy and Critical Assessment - November 3

Module 10 - Planning & Ethos - November 10

Module 11 - Drafting - November 17

Module 12 - Logical Fallacies & Peer Review - November 24

Module 13 - Final Essay Revision! - December 1

FINALS WEEK - Module 14 - Final Revision