COURSE SYLLABUS OUTLINE

 

Course Title and Number:                   CMM 308  Persuasion

                Semester and Year:              Fall, 2004

*Course with Special Designation:  Writing Intensive

 

Text Information:  Required Text(s):  Borchers, Timothy A.  Persuasion in the Media Age. 2^nd Edition.  NewYork, McGraw Hill, 2004

                                                *Recommended Materials:

                                                *Additional Study Aids:

 

*Computer Requirements:   You will need to participate in the online activities suggested by the author of the text.

 

Instructor:             Name:                     Dr. Robert Edmunds

                                Office:                    SH 249; &  OM 236

                                Office Hours:        M, W, F  (Old Main 236)  1:30—4:00

                                                                T, R  (SH  249) 9:00-9:30; 11:00-12:30; 2:00-4:00

                                Phone/E-mail:        SH 249  696-2805

                                                                OM 236  696-2494

                                                                Edmunds@marshall.edu;  rfedmunds@aol.com

 

Course Description; Credits; Prerequisites:

Introduction to the understanding, practice and analysis of persuasion.  Behavioral and rhetorical theories of persuasion will be examined and applied to contemporary persuasive communications. (3 hours credit)  (Prere(Prerequisites:  CMM 103; CMM 104H;  CMM 207; CMM 305)

 

This Course meets General Education Core Outcome 1. Communication Skills

Competency in WAC/Communication Skills will be met by assessing the following objectives:  

 

1.             Introduction (or some other disciplinary-specific section):  Students will state the subject of a writing project concisely, clearly, specifically, and accurately (only if evaluated by faculty in student’s discipline), showing recognition of the subject’s worth, significance, and pertinence.  This section will demonstrate appropriate focus, unity, and use of transitions. 

2.             Integration of Evidence:  Students will present evidence, appropriate according to the disciplinary conventions, which they have identified/named as evidence, selected, extracted, and attributed, including quotations or paraphrased citations, tables, figures, statistics, or other discipline-specific forms of evidence. 

3.             Development of Ideas/Evidence and Discussion: Based on this evidence, students will analyze and/or explain and/or exemplify and/or synthesize and/or describe points, claims, or positions clearly, accurately (discipline specific), specifically (not vaguely), insightfully (discipline specific), in detail, and purposefully (without extraneous information).  This development/discussion must maintain and continue the unity and focus provided in the introduction in very paragraph and/or part.

4.             Writing Organization: Students will format their writing project through the following organizational structures as determined by specific disciplinary and/or course guidelines for formatting:

 

a.             titles which connect to project’s thesis and elicit interest,

b.             appropriate sections or parts, with or without heading (according to expectations of disciplinary audience),

c.             formal paragraphs and sentences, containing recognizable topic sentences and internal transitions with all sentences unified by topic sentence, and

d.             citations (format appropriate to discipline).

These structures must be coherent, unified, consistent, interconnected, focused, complete/thorough, and explicit.

5.             Grammar and Mechanics: Students will follow the conventions of standard American English, including syntax, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations that are appropriate to disciplinary conventions.

6.             Diction: Students will use diction appropriate to common usage and to current disciplinary language/conventions.

 

Desired Learner Outcomes/Objectives:  When finished with this course you should be able to:

 

1.                    define persuasion

2.                    identify at least 3 theories of persuasion

3.                    recognize a code of ethics in persuasive contexts

4.                    identify the variables (audiences and attitudes, visual images, language, culture, source, reasoning, and motivation) in persuasive contexts

5.                    identify persuasive contexts in at least one of the following:  campaigns and movements, advertising or interpersonal communication

6.                    evaluate communication in the persuasive context.

7.                    Identify the vocabulary of persuasion;

8.                    Evaluate mediated communication;

9.                    Evaluate your own ethical responsibility in terms of persuasion;

10.                 Apply one of more of the persuasive theories to a real-world situation.

11.                 Write more effectively.

 

 

Evaluation/Measurement/Assessment of Learner Outcomes:   All written assignments may be submitted via electronic means. Please prepare the assignments using WORD as your word processor and attach the document to an e-mail.  Papers will not be graded if sent as an e-mail.

 

TESTS:                   We will have a minimum of 4 examinations.  (Chapters 1-12)  Tests will last approximately 30-45 minutes.  The second half of class will be utilized for other activities.

 

ORAL PRESENTATION:  Prepare and present a persuasive oral presentation. (A written outline is to accompany the presentation.   Details will be presented on a separate handout. (time frame 12-15 minutes, points will be deducted for undertime or overtime.)

 

PAPER:                  You will prepare a ½ term speech analysis utilizing materials from the text using an outside oral presentation delivered in a public setting.    Details will be presented on a separate handout.

 

PROJECT:              You will prepare a ½ term project media analysis.  Details will be presented on a separate handout.

 

Grading Policy:

Grades will be determined using the point system   

                4 Tests @ 100                                                       400                          SCALE:

                1 Oral Presentation                                              150                                          A=          910-1000

                1 Written Outline for the presentation               50                                          B=           810-909

                ½ Term Project                                                     200                                          C=           710-809

                1 Rhetorical Analysis                                          120                                          D=           610-709

                Draft of Rhetorical Analysis                                50                                          F=           0-609

                Peer Critique Rhetorical Analysis                       30                          (total points will be adjusted in

                Up to 5 Random Quizzes  @10 points each       50                          relation to the number of quizzes)

 

 

Plagiarism Policy/Academic Honesty/Academic Integrity:

                All work in this class must be your own work.   The use of outside sources is vital to this course, but please properly acknowledge all outside materials you use.   It’s no sin to copy, the sin is in not properly acknowledging the source.

2003-2005 Undergraduate Catalog Academic Information. p.  101

Definitions of Academic Dishonesty

Below are definitions of some common types of academic dishonesty. Each instructor may modify the general definition of academic dishonesty to fit the immediate academic needs within that particular course of study, provided the instructor defines, in writing and preferably in the course syllabus, the details of any departure from the general definition.

Cheating: Any action which if known to the instructor in the course of study would be prohibited. This includes:

· The unauthorized use of any materials, notes, sources of information, study aids or tools during an academic exercise.

· The unauthorized assistance of a person other than the course instructor during an academic exercise..

· The unauthorized viewing of another person’s work during an academic exercise.

· The unauthorized securing of all or any part of assignments or examinations, in advance of submission by the instructor.

 

Fabrication/Falsification: The unauthorized invention or alteration of any information, citation, data or means of verification in an academic exercise, official correspondence or a university record.

 

Plagiarism: Submitting as one’s own work or creation any material or an idea wholly or in part created by another.

This includes:

· Oral, written and graphical material.

· Both published and unpublished work

It is the student’s responsibility to clearly distinguish their own work from that created by others. This includes the proper use of quotation marks, paraphrase and the citation of the original source. Students are responsible for both intentional and unintentional acts of plagiarism.

 

Bribes/Favors/Threats: Attempting to unfairly influence a course grade or the satisfaction of degree requirements through any of these actions is prohibited.

 

Complicity: Helping or attempting to help someone commit an act of academic dishonesty.

 

Assessment Policy:    From time to time the University engages in the assessment of student academic achievement.  At some point you may be asked to participate in one of these exercises.  If so, please consider your own ability and participate in the project giving it your best.

 

Policy statement on major projects, examinations and other assignments (due dates, make-ups):  Projects, oral presentations and papers are due on the dates indicated in the Daily Schedule.  If you are absent on the date indicated, work must be turned in on the day prior to the due date.

 

Attendance Policy:  Inclement Weather Policy:  We will follow the normal Inclement Weather Policy of Marshall University.

 

Statement Concerning Learning Disabled Students:  Please check the current student undergraduate catalogue for the proper statement.

 

Course Philosophy and Themes to be developed:  Persuasion is a fact of life.  Each day we are bombarded with hundreds of persuasive messages.  Our task is to critically analyze those persuasive messages and decide the appropriate courses of action for each of us.   Additionally this is an election year which is extremely important in our national wellbeing; therefore, we will be evaluating the persuasive messages of the candidates in order to make a decision as to whom to vote for.