Power and Persuasion 2016-17 FYSM 1900 G

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2016-17 Course code: FYSM 1900 G

Time: Wednesdays, 11:35 am – 2:25 pm

Location: 3320 RB (River Building)

This is a Fall-Winter (2 semester) course worth 1.0 credit towards a degree. It is a first year

seminar offered by the Enriched Support Program.

*

Arguably, everything is an argument. The toothpaste brands in our bathrooms and the

decisions we make about what to study and where to live are influenced by cultural

dialogues so convincing we may not even be aware we were persuaded. In this course, you

will learn about the power of persuasion. You will learn how to read, understand, and

analyse arguments, and how to make persuasive arguments of your own.

detect and analyse arguments in our everyday world as well as in the academic

realm.

presenting arguments powerfully and ethically

go beyond simple pro and con constructions to acknowledge that arguments can

have more than two sides

practice using language and images persuasively

learn about the roots of powerful argumentation drawing on principles from

classical rhetoric

Making a persuasive argument is a foundational academic skill for successful university

students, and it is also a life-skill. Not to mention that it can also be fun and interesting to

explore current issues that you care about.

*

Your instructor: Jennifer Gilbert

Available by appointment and also:

Email jennifer.gilbert@carleton.ca

Office hours: Mondays 10am to 12pm

Jen’s office: 1523 DT (Dunton Tower)

Your peer mentors: Sarah & Ben

Email SarahScott4@cmail.carleton.ca

Email BenPerrin@cmail.carleton.ca

Available 1-1 by appointment

Student lounge: 1521 DT

Your academic coach:

Mark Boucher

www.carleton.ca/esp to book a coaching

appointment.

Coaching Office: 1510 DT

Your academic advisor: Susan Burhoe

www.carleton.ca/esp to book an advising

appointment

Advisors’ offices are on 15th floor Dunton

Tower. Inquire at front desk 1516 DT

Power and Persuasion 2016-17 FYSM 1900 G

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Evaluation: how you will earn your grade.

Fall Semester Winter Semester

Contribution 24 – due every

week

Contribution 24 – due every week

Short written assignment 26 –

Oct 12

Short written assignment 26 – Feb

16th

Reading quizzes 40 –throughout

semester

Reading quizzes 20 –throughout

semester

Presentation or Debate 10 – Nov

30

Presentation/paper 30– Mar 22nd

Adds up to a score out of 100 Adds up to a score out of 100

Policy about missed deadlines: You must hand in all work, even if you have missed the

deadline. Late work will be penalized by 10% UNLESS you have contacted me ahead of time

AND I have granted an extension.

Required books to buy: Books are available at the on-campus bookstore in the UniCentre!

Everything’s an argument/with readings. (2016). Lunsford, Ruszkiewicz & Walters (eds).

Boston, New York: Bedford St. Martin’s

Class Schedule: For what to read when, topics of classes, guest speakers & events, please see

CUlearn

Learning outcomes and expectations for this course are based on

Carleton’s First Year Seminar goals: interactive learning, analysis of academic texts, teamwork, early assessment, culminating project,

consultation, advising & mentoring.

Power and Persuasion 2016-17 FYSM 1900 G

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Projected learning outcomes for the Power & Persuasion course

There are FOUR important learning objectives for this course.

As a successful student in this course you will contribute, learn, create, research, develop

leadership and teamwork, and also reflect and communicate!

1. CONTRIBUTE

Contribute to your own and everyone’s learning environment through regular attendance,

participation, and communication with peers, mentors, and instructor. You will fill out a

contribution card at the end of every class meeting.

2. LEARN

Describe, discuss, explain and critically apply rhetorical and other key concepts about

power, persuasion, and argumentation.

3. RESEARCH

Identify issues, assess evidence, form a position, write AND present effectively to make

convincing arguments!

4. DEVELOP LEADERSHIP & TEAMWORK

Work in teams to have productive debates in class.

Expectations for the Power & Persuasion course

What you can expect from me

This is my commitment to you, what you can expect from me and hold me accountable for.

I will be on time and prepared for every class, with a plan to make every meeting as

interesting and fun as it is in my power to do so.

I will devote my entire attention to teaching and interacting with you during class time.

I will value everyone’s contribution and make every effort I can to create a class that

includes everybody’s way of contributing.

I will be available outside of class by email, in my office hours, and by appointment.

I will deduct marks if you are absent, late, or leaving early unless you have a

documented reason (e.g. medical emergency; religious observance). If I confiscate your

cell phone or laptop during class, I will also deduct marks.

I will answer emails within 24 hours Monday to Friday. On weekends it may take a bit

longer.

I will give both encouragement and critical feedback on writing and creative assignments.

I will ask for and be open to your feedback on my teaching so that this class will exceed

your expectations and be an excellent experience.

Power and Persuasion 2016-17 FYSM 1900 G

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What I expect from you

This is what I expect from every student.

You will attend class from beginning to end, every week.

You will notify me in advance if you will be absent, late, or plan to leave early.

You will purchase/obtain the textbook and do all the readings to the best of your ability.

You will do all the assignments and hand them in on time.

You will turn off cell phones and social media feeds during class.

You will be prepared to learn and contribute to others’ learning when you are in class.

You will answer my emails within 24 hours Monday to Friday.

You will be open-minded and accepting of differences.

If (when!) things go badly or you make a mistake, you will keep trying. Persist!!!

Communication: three tips for your maximum success

1. Every week I will send one or two emails to the class regarding what we are doing in class. Please respond to my emails to acknowledge that you received them – a brief ‘Thanks Jen’ is fine. You don’t have to come up with an in-depth response (unless you want to).

2. Communicate proactively. If you aren’t coming to class or if you are afraid you will not make an upcoming deadline, email me ahead of time.

3. If something is interfering with school for you, please: tell someone who works at ESP. If you don’t know who to talk to, ask one of your peer mentors to help you find the resources you need. Many things large and small can interfere with school: it could be stress, a living situation, an illness or disability, family obligations, sports, fear of public speaking, or anything else – let us know!

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Enriched Support Program Resources

Peer Mentors Your peer mentors will run small groups, make presentations, help you integrate academically and

socially here at Carleton! Keep in touch with them by email. They can provide you with many resources

to help you be successful this year. Both have successfully completed ESP, and they will be able to help

you navigate this class and the wider university.

Academic Advisors

Your academic advisor this year will be Susan Burhoe. She can guide you through the academic year by

helping you explore degree possibilities, changing courses, understanding academic regulations and many

other important issues about being a university student. You can make an appointment with her or another

advisor by going to http://carleton.ca/esp and click on “Book an appointment.” If your issue is urgent, go

to the main office in 1516 Dunton Tower and ask to speak to an advisor. Stephanie will be visiting our

class four times this year to share important information.

Instructor’s Office Hours

Office hours are held for students to have the opportunity to come and meet their instructors one-on-one.

Students typically go to office hours to get clarification about assignments, ask for individual feedback on

course work, raise concerns that they have about the course, or even just to chat. If it is not possible to

come during office hours, make an appointment by email.

Writing and Coaching Support: Academic Advantage

ESP/AESP Coaches are upper-year Carleton students who can help you learn. They are positive, friendly

and encouraging. Coaches meet with students one-on-one for an hour, offering individual help with

challenges that new university students often experience:

- managing time and staying organized;

- thinking, researching, reading and writing to develop essays; and

- reviewing math, economics and science course content.

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Coaches can also meet small groups of students, so if you are working in a group and want to have a

session together, that can definitely be arranged.

To make an appointment, go to http://carleton.ca/esp and click on the link in the left sidebar, “Book an

appointment.”

Workshops

With each elective course, you will have the advantage of a weekly 3-hour ESP/AESP workshop. The

purpose of workshops is to help you with your elective courses. A trained facilitator leads the group in

activities designed to help you master the course material through active practice. A key element of the

workshops is that facilitators do not teach or explain the material to you—that is what your professors and

text books do. Instead, facilitators provide tools for you to work with others to understand and study the

course material. Attendance at your workshop is invaluable!

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Carleton Policies

Standing in a Course

Standing in a course is determined by the course

instructor.

The student advisors will be coming into our class to

discuss how the grading system works.

You may also ask me for clarification at any time.

Standing in courses will be shown by alphabetical

grades.

The system of grades used, with corresponding grade

points, is illustrated in the table to the right.

Academic Accommodations

You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an

accommodation request, see the following sections.

Pregnancy obligation

Write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class,

or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit

the Equity Services website: http://www.carleton.ca/equity/

Religious obligation

Write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class,

or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details visit

the Equity Services website: http://www.carleton.ca/equity/

Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with

Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and

impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision.

If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC

at 613-520-6608 or pmc@carleton.ca for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with

the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send me your Letter of Accommodation at the

beginning of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or

exam requiring accommodation (if applicable).

Grade

Percentage

Range (%)

Grade

Points

A+ 90-100 12

A 85-89 11

A- 80-84 10

B+ 77-79 9

B 73-76 8

B- 70-72 7

C+ 67-69 6

C 63-66 5

C- 60-62 4

D+ 57-59 3

D 53-56 2

D- 50-52 1

F 0-49 0

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After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with me to ensure accommodation

arrangements are made. Please consult the PMC website for the deadline to request

accommodations for the formally-scheduled exam (if applicable) at

http://www.carleton.ca/pmc/new-and-current-students/dates-and-deadlines/

You can visit the Equity Services website to view the policies and to obtain more detailed

information on academic accommodation at http://www.carleton.ca/equity/

Academic Stress University can be stressful at times. Please feel free to talk to mentors, instructors, and your

student advisor if you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone to listen.

Maintaining a healthy routine is a good way to guard against stress. So is being organized. If you

feel that your stress is interfering with your ability to study, please talk to one of the ESP Student

Advisors or me. There are campus resources to help.

One excellent resource is Health and Counseling in 2600 Training and Technology Centre.

You can make an appointment with a doctor or counselor by calling 613-520-6674. For more

information about Health and Counseling, go to http://www.carleton.ca/health/

Academic Integrity

Carleton University is a community of scholars dedicated to teaching, learning and research.

You are now entering this community. Sound scholarship rests on a shared commitment to

academic integrity based on principles of honesty, trust, respect, fairness and responsibility.

The integrity of a student's academic work is critical to enabling student success.

In class, we will be devoting time to discussing academic integrity, specifically how to avoid

plagiarism by using APA referencing and citation. Each student has a responsibility to

understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

Plagiarism

The University Senate defines plagiarism as “presenting, whether intentionally or not, the ideas,

expression of ideas or work of others as one’s own.” This can include:

reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else’s published or unpublished material,

regardless of the source, and presenting these as one’s own without proper citation or reference to

the original source;

submitting a take-home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment written, in

whole or in part, by someone else; using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased

material, concepts, or ideas without appropriate acknowledgment in any academic assignment;

using another’s data or research findings;

failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another’s works

and/or failing to use quotation marks;

handing in "substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once without

prior written permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs."

Plagiarism is a serious offence which cannot be resolved directly with the course’s instructor.

The Associate Deans of the Faculty conduct a rigorous investigation, including an interview with

Power and Persuasion 2016-17 FYSM 1900 G

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the student, when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been plagiarized. Penalties are not

trivial. They can include a final grade of "F" for the course.

For more information go to http://carleton.ca/studentaffairs/academic-integrity/

IMPORTANT University dates 2016-2017

September 5 Labour Day – University Closed

September 7 Classes start

September 20 Last day for registration and course changes in Fall and Fall/Winter

courses.

October 7 December exam schedule available online

October 10 Thanksgiving Day – University closed

October 24-28 Fall break, no classes

December 9 Classes follow a Monday schedule

December 9 Fall term ends. Last day of classes, Fall term. Last day for academic

withdrawal from Fall term courses. Last day for handing in term work

and the last day that can be specified by a course instructor as a due date

for Fall term courses.

December 10-22 December exams: Final examinations for Fall courses, mid-terms for

Fall/Winter courses. Exams are normally held all seven days of the week

December 22 All take-home exams are due.

January 1 University closed for the holidays

January 5 Winter term classes begin

January 18 Last day for registration and course changes in Winter term classes

Jan. 20-22, 27-29 Fall term deferred examinations will be written

February 17 April exam schedule available online

February 20-24 Winter Break, no classes

April 7 Winter term ends. Last day of Fall/Winter and Winter term classes. Last

day for academic withdrawal from Fall/Winter and Winter term courses.

Last day for handing in term work.

April 14 Good Friday – University closed

April 10-25 Final Examinations. Exams are normally held all seven days of the week

April 25 All take-home examinations for courses are due