College Composition

Units

1. 1

   The rhetorical situation: claims and evidence

   3 lessons

   1. The rhetorical situation: SPACEName the speaker, purpose, audience, context and exigence of a text and explain how each shapes the writer's choices.
   2. Finding the claimDistinguish a text's central claim from its supporting claims and explain how the writer states and develops it.
   3. Appeals and strategiesIdentify appeals to ethos, pathos and logos and explain how each serves the writer's purpose with a specific audience.
2. 2

   Audience, purpose and line of reasoning

   3 lessons

   1. Audience and purposeShow how a writer adjusts claims, evidence and tone to an audience's knowledge, values and beliefs.
   2. The line of reasoningTrace how claims connect and build, from premise to conclusion, and say why the order matters.
   3. Commentary that explains evidenceMove from quoting evidence to explaining how it supports the claim and why it matters.
3. 3

   Evaluating evidence and writing arguments

   3 lessons

   1. Types of evidenceCompare evidence types (facts, statistics, anecdotes, expert testimony, examples) and match them to claims.
   2. Evaluating evidenceJudge whether evidence is relevant, sufficient, representative and credible, and spot fallacies in an argument.
   3. Choosing evidence for your own argumentSelect and sequence evidence from reading and experience to build an argument.
4. 4

   Thesis, introductions and conclusions

   3 lessons

   1. A thesis that previews reasoningWrite a defensible thesis that makes a claim and previews the line of reasoning, not a restatement of the prompt.
   2. Introductions that workWrite an introduction that sets context and leads to the thesis.
   3. Conclusions that go furtherWrite a conclusion that extends the argument or its implications rather than repeating it.
5. 5

   Coherence, transitions and organization

   2 lessons

   1. Transitions and coherenceUse transitions and repeated key ideas to make the relationship between sentences and paragraphs clear.
   2. Methods of developmentRecognize and use comparison, cause and effect, definition, narration and process as organizing choices.
6. 6

   Sources, perspective and bias

   3 lessons

   1. Reading sources: perspective and biasRead a source for author, audience, purpose and bias and decide how much weight it deserves.
   2. Reading visual and quantitative sourcesInterpret a chart, graph, image or cartoon in an argument and use it as evidence.
   3. Putting sources in conversationShow how sources agree, disagree or complicate each other and use that to build your own claim.
7. 7

   Complexity: qualifying claims and counterarguments

   3 lessons

   1. Qualifying a claimQualify claims with careful language (usually, in some cases) and modal verbs so the argument fits the evidence.
   2. Concession and rebuttalAcknowledge a counterargument fairly and answer it, strengthening the argument.
   3. The sophistication pointExplore tensions, the broader context or an alternative view, or use style that is vivid and persuasive (the sophistication point).
8. 8

   Style: diction, syntax and tone

   3 lessons

   1. Diction and toneAnalyze how word choice (connotation, register) creates tone and serves purpose.
   2. Syntax for emphasisAnalyze how sentence length, structure and punctuation (parallelism, periodic sentences, fragments) create emphasis.
   3. Revising for purposePractice the revision questions on the multiple-choice section: combine sentences, fix transitions, strengthen evidence and tone.
9. 9

   Synthesis, rhetorical analysis and argument essays

   8 lessons

   1. Rhetorical analysis: reading the prompt and exigenceRead a rhetorical analysis prompt and a passage, and identify the situation and the writer's choices.
   2. Rhetorical analysis: a thesis about choicesWrite a thesis that names the writer's strategies, their effect and their purpose.
   3. Rhetorical analysis: a body paragraphWrite a paragraph with a claim about a choice, evidence and commentary linking the choice to its effect and purpose.
   4. Argument essay: taking a positionRead an argument prompt, choose a defensible position and plan a line of reasoning.
   5. Argument essay: evidence and counterargumentDevelop an argument with evidence from reading and experience and answer a counterargument.
   6. Synthesis essay: reading six sourcesRead six sources quickly (including a visual or quantitative one) and sort them by position.
   7. Synthesis essay: using sources to support your argumentWrite a thesis that uses at least three sources and make sources talk to each other with attribution.
   8. Reading the scoring rubricScore a sample paragraph on the 6-point rubric (thesis, evidence and commentary, sophistication) and revise it.