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Welcome to the New CM 220

College Composition II

Contact Information

Course Leader for CM 220:Stephanie Thompson:

sthompson3@kaplan.edu

Department Chair:Mike Keathley: mkeathley@kaplan.eduAsst. Dept. Chair for 200 level courses:Kim Westerman: kwesterman@kaplan.edu

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Course Issues

•Course Issues link under Course Home

•Use to report any links that do not work,

missing readings, etc.

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Readings

• No readings from The Kaplan Guide to Successful Writing included in the readings for each unit; students should have hard copy if they just took CM 107, or they can download from the Writing Center.

• Sharepoint site has zip file with all of the readings

• Inspiration Gallery posted under Course Home (unit 1)

• Logical Fallacy Gallery posted in Doc Sharing

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Invention: The Journey of the “Big Idea”

•CM220 takes the theme of invention and the exploration of BIG IDEAS that impact the world, our communities, and our lives, while situating these themes within a persuasive writing framework.•You will explore and practice several persuasive forms of writing throughout the course and examine writing as invention in various settings and situations. •You will create an “appeal for change” as a final project that presents an idea and a plan for implementation. One component of the final will be a multi-modal component such as a blog, podcast, or web site that can disseminate their idea to a wide audience.

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The Inspirations . . .

• Reunification of composition departments

• MSNBC program The Big Idea• Desire for more innovative topics and

less opportunity to plagiarize• Need to eliminate repetition of 107

while maintaining “flow” from one course to next

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Big Ideas

Issue/problem Limiting topic Audience Solution/Argument

Violence Bullying in the school system 1. Local board of education 2. Local government

1. Create a no-tolerance policy

2. Create a jobs program OR business internship program for teenagers

Obesity Obesity among the young A specific school district Mandatory physical education courses OR banning soda machines in the schools OR creating an on-site garden for improving school lunches

Bad education system Low student scores and high drop- out rates

State school system Create a year-round school calendar

Hunger Hunger in a particular community A community or business Create a food-bank OR create a community garden or co-op

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Course Description

CM220 is designed to develop the writer’s skills in:• Research, both primary and secondary• Evaluation of research • Application of critical thinking skills • Development of effective persuasive arguments • Supporting arguments with credible sources• APA citation• Collaboration• Prewriting, editing, and revision process

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Course Tour

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Doc Sharing

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Assignments

• Invention Labs (Discussions): 40 points each• Units 5 and 7 have two responses/two threads• Seminars (10 points each)• Projects: Unit 2 “pitch” (thesis), unit 4 interview

sheet and discussion of research, unit 6 draft, unit 9 final

• Tech Labs in units 2-7 will introduce students to technologies they can use for multimodal component of final

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Invention Labs

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Units 2, 4, 6 projects

Unit 2: Create working thesis statement, research plan, and “pitch” for big idea

 Unit 4: Primary and secondary research. Complete pre-

interview worksheet, summarize 3 outside sources (which ones helpful and why, one must be an opposing viewpoint), References page

 Unit 6: 3-5 page draft, in addition to the title and references

page). Must include 3 sources (one must be academic) 

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Tech Labs (Units 2-7)

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Tech Labs

• Introduce students to technologies like Animoto, podcasts, and blogging that they can use to create the multimodal component of their final

• Grade students on ideas, not technological proficiency

• Tech Labs rate difficulty level and provide links so students can see examples

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Scribus Poster Example

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Final Project: Portfolio

• Revision of draft (unit 6 project)• Revision of letter to the editor (unit

5 invention lab)• Revision of technology presentation

(unit 7 invention lab)• Responses to reflection questions

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Reflection for finalFor the final, you will also write a reflection piece that

answers the following questions in paragraph form: • What did you learn about yourself as a writer? As a

thinker?• What did you learn about the process of writing?• What skills did you develop that might help you in the

future?• What did you take from the larger conversation with

others? • How did your feedback from peers and your

instructor affect the revision of your blueprint, letter to the editor, and presentation?

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Invention LabWhat is a problem in the nation or in your community that

needs changing and why? Do you have any “big ideas” for addressing this problem? This problem could be tied to your field of study or it could be something with more personal implications.

If you do not yet have a “big idea,” find one from the Inspiration Gallery to discuss for this week’s lab. Hopefully, this unit will help inspire you to find a problem that needs solving or help you brainstorm potential ideas.

Your initial post should be about 200-250 words, and your responses to two classmates should be a minimum of 100 words each. Offer suggestions regarding your classmate’s “big idea,” noting whether you think it is a solvable problem and why.

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