"Rhetoric of the Written Argument in Context" is the second in a sequence of general education rhetoric and writing courses for first year college students. RWS 200 is one of several courses in the area of general education defined as “Communication and Critical Thinking.” Focusing particularly on argument, this course emphasizes four essential general education capacities: the ability to
construct, analyze and communicate argument,
contextualize phenomena,
negotiate differences, and
apply theoretical models to the real world.
Course Description
In this course, argumentative writing skills are developed and fine-tuned through informal blog writing and continuing to build skills in the academic conventions of the written argument learned in RWS 100. Writing will also occur as a result of discussion and collaboration in virtual and in-person spaces.
The course theme asks participants to consider the differences and connections between the categories of the human, animal, and environment through a variety of media and texts. Students identify issues and arguments This is primarily a writing class that develops skills by contextualizing, recognizing, and taking positions on arguable questions in the writing of others and in our own academic writing. Writing will be digital, analog, visual, and shared among the class.