Diagnostic Essay: 801-151

Diagnostic Essay

This is an essay to see how well you write and to see what I should first focus on as a teacher. Please do your best on this essay; you may word process it.

REMEMBER: Your essay should have:
1. An introductory paragraph which states your thesis and generally, your main points.
2. A body paragraph—or several paragraphs, each of which is about ONE of your main points. Remember to use description, details, illustrations to make your points clear and to “back up” the point you are trying to make.
3. A concluding paragraph—the “so what” of the essay. Having told me what your points are, describing them and offering proof-or back up information-here is where you tell me why you wrote about this and summarize your ideas. You can add a littler personal information here.

SET-UP OF PAPER
1. Please put your name and other information like this on your paper:

Ben-Shalom, Miriam

801-151-605 Comm. Sk. One

Professor Ben-Shalom

January 31, 2008

Notice that this is on the left margin and is double

spaced. The text of your essay, if you word

process it, shouldalso be double spaced

(As this is.) If you are hand writing your

essay, please skiplines as you write so I

have a place to put comments.

ESSAY TOPIC:
The idea of global warming is being spoken about at great length today. People are talking about how to stop it; how decrease greenhouse gasses; how to eliminate pollution; and how to prevent permanent damage to the whole earth, not to mention northern eco-systems, including the extinction of animals like the Polar Bear.
What do you know about global warming? Do you think there is anything you can do to help stop it, like using special light bulbs, recycling, or whatever? Do you think it can be stopped? Or do you think it is just a bunch of silliness and that there is no threat to our earth?
Again, make sure you use examples to illustrate your points; you can use personal experiences, etc. You can refer to things you might have heard on the news. (Just remember to say you heard it on the news!!)

First Eight Weeks: Road Map for Comm. Skills One Students

Communication Skills One: 801-151
First Eight Weeks: Our Road Map
Week One:
1. Read Chapter One and Chapter 31 for next week.
A. In Chapter One, please do the following exercises: 1.1, 1.4
B. In Chapter 31, please do the following exercises: 31.1, 31.2, 31.5, 31.6, and 31.7
2. In class diagnostic exercise: How well do you write?
3. Overview of syllabus and course requirements.
4. Time requirements: discussion for this class.
5. Essay assignment: "When We Look Inside Ourselves, We Sometimes See the Stars".
This is an annotated essay; this means that I put questions and terms you should know in the margins of the essay. I will discuss some of these terms in class. Your task is to answer the questions in your journal AND find 5 words you do not understand. You will write each word in your journal; first, write what you think the word means; next, write the part of speech it is and the dictionary definition; finally, you must use the word correctly in a sentence that shows you KNOW what the word means. These journals will be collected every three weeks. That means you will have 15 words for me to check every three weeks, answers to questions about essay assignments, class notes, and any other assignments I may give you to place in your journal.
Week Two:
1. 15 minute exercise: In your journal, please reflect on what you learned from Ch. 1 and 31. You may wish to discuss what areas you will need help with and what items you understood well. You may also wish to list several question you might have for our class discussion. Please date this entry.
2. Class discussion of Chapters 1 and 31 and essay.
3. In class work on sentence types (handouts).
4. For next week, please read Chapter 2 and Chapter 30.
A. Please register (if you have not done so already) for the online resources section. Print up any three of the exercises you find about sentences, do them and bring them to class.
B. Do exercises 30.1; 30.2; 30.3; 30.4 and 30.5
C. Do exercises 2.2; 2.3; 2.4
5. Essay assignment: "Simplicity". Answer the questions at the end of the essay in COMPLETE sentences! Find and highlight words you do not understand and follow the instructions from Week One for your journal (See above, Week One).
Week Three:
1. 15 minute exercise: In your journal, please write about the "For Your Journal" assignment on the first page of the essay "Simplicity". This will become the basis of our first essay.
2. Class discussion of Chapters 2 and 30. If we are in a computer lab, we will go to the online resources section and do some exercises on sentences and grammar. If not, I will provide handouts for you.
3. How to write and essay: Logic, coherence, unity. Begin rough draft for our first essay. Topic: "A Time When I Needed to Simplify My Life."
4. How to set up a paper: where to put items when word processing a paper, spacing, fonts, margins, etc. YOU WILL WANT TO TAKE NOTES ON THIS!!!!! This is the format you will use for all your papers; no deviations from this format will be acceptable because this is the first step in learning something called MLA Format.
5. Read Chapter 3 for next week.
A. Do exercise 3.2 for the essay you are working on. Do the exercise (also called 3.2) on page 48. 3.4; 3.5 for the essay you are working on now.
6. Find words you do not understand and enter them in your journal as you have been doing. Please remember that you must 1) put your definition of the word; 2) write the part of speech and the dictionary definition; 3) write a sentence using the word correctly and which shows you know what the word means.
Week Four:
1. Your journals ARE due at the beginning of class! No excuses. (Min 15 words with class notes and reflection writings).
2. Class discussion of Chapter Three.
3. Using the work you did last week, you will begin to write a rough draft of your essay about simplifying your life. This will be an in-class writer’s workshop where I will work with you individually when you ask about your essay. I will offer suggestions about grammar, language, tone, etc. If we are in a computer lab, you will begin word processing your rough draft of your essay using the format I have explained to you for set-up of text on a page. You may do this before hand if you wish and I will offer suggestions about grammar, etc. If you do it beforehand, then you may begin working on your final draft of the essay. The essay will have at least 5 paragraphs: An introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each paragraph will have a minimum of 5-8 sentences.
Week Five:
1. Journals are returned to you.
2. If you have completed your FINAL draft of your essay, hand it in NOW. If you have NOT completed the final draft, you will give me your rough draft; I will go over it with you and you will begin to work on your final draft, which must be completed by the end of class.
3. Read Chapter 5 for next week.
A. Handouts on editing to be completed for next week.
B. Do exercises 5.2; 5.3; 5.4
4. Essay reading: "How I Got Smart". Answer the questions at the end of the essay in COMPLETE sentences. Be sure to answer all parts of the questions!
5. Find and highlight words you do not understand. Enter them in your journal as you have been doing. And with the same information asked for as in Week One.
6. Begin your next writing assignment using number one of the suggested writing assignments at the end of this essay. You will have a word processed rough draft for next week, minimum of 5 paragraphs, with 5-8 sentences (if not more) for each paragraph.
7. READ pages 93 and 223: Peer Review. We will review each other’s essays in class, looking for transitions, details, illustrations, unity, coherence, and logic in our papers. I will circulate around to help you. Using suggestions given you by your peers, you will revise and edit your rough drafts and write a final draft due next week.
Week Six:
1. In your journal: reflect on the essay you read. What ideas did you get from this essay? 15 minute writing exercise.
2. Class discussion of essay "How I Got Smart".
3. Final draft due this class period.
5. Read Chapter Seven for next week.
6. Using the summarizing skills you will learn in this chapter, we will begin to learn how to summarize and annotate an essay. We will use the essay on pages 147-149 and follow the directions in exercise 7.1 on page 147 and write an annotation of "How I Got Smart" for next week.
7. Remember to find words you do not understand and enter them into your journal (you must have at least 5 words–you can find them anywhere. Remember to include your definition, the part of speech and dictionary definition, and a sentence using the word properly and which shows you know what the word means.
Week seven:
1. Journals are due at the beginning of class. No excuses. (Min 15 words with class notes and reflection writings).
2. In class work on annotation; revision and editing, format, parts of an annotation. Rough draft completed in class. Final draft will be done in class as the Midterm exam.
Week eight: MIDterm exam: in-class writing
1. Journals are returned to you.
2. Using your textbook:, pages 143-144/7b; page 147/7c; and your rough draft, you will write a FINAL DRAFT in class of a thoughtful summary of "How I Got Smart". Your essay will include the following: the name of the author, the title of the essay, a summary of the essay, and your personal response to the essay (3 paragraphs minimum–more is better.) Remember that each paragraph will have more than 5 sentences. All drafts will be spell checked and grammar checked. You may ask me for help with this if needed. Also, final drafts will be in proper format! Any paper not in the correct format will be returned to you to do that correctly.

Web Evaluation sites for GENREA and 801-151/152 students (print up for class!)

Below, you will find two sites on the Internet to help you learn how to evaluate web sites. Both of these sites are very easy to navigate and are very user friendly. The English is very clear and easy to understand.

*************************************************************************************
This is a great web site to help you learn how to evaulate web sites! This site clearly explains how to evaluate a site and gives very clear guidelines. There are many examples of web sites given, with questions about each web site. Print up any 4 sites and answer the questions about the site. Bring your work to class and we will discuss. Note that you must answer all questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES AND IN A COMPLETE THOUGHT; A 'YES' OR 'NO' ANSWER WILL NOT BE ENOUGH.

http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/lessons/webresourcesevaluation/


If you are a student who is in a medical specialty program like nursing or medical technology and are in my class, here is a very good site for you to go to if you want help evaluating Science WWW resources:

http://www.ncsu.edu/imse/3/evalweb.htm

You may want to print this up for reference when you are required to do a paper for a class, including mine! These evaluation tips work for other sites as well.

Course Overview 801-151 Comm. Skills One

COMM SKILLS 801-151
Ben-Shalom , Miriam Contacts: ben-sham@matc.edu //Tele: 414-933-6233 Office Hours: TBA
web page: http://ben-shalom.blogspot.com

Objectives:
The goal of this course is to prepare you for 801-152, 801-201 and 801-202 Additionally, this course will help you to successfully complete writing assignments for your other courses.
By the end of this semester, you will be able to:
Compose a five paragraph essay with a clear thesis, a sound introductory paragraph, three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Utilize the MATC Online Writing Lab and other work for skill enhancement.
Understand and apply the conventions of Standard American English.
Perform well on writing assignments for other classes.
Compose well-organized timed essays in response to a question or an article.
Be aware of library resources and basic documentation formats.
Produce a 5 to 7 page research paper in MLA Format with a works cited page and parenthetical citations.
Books:
The New McGraw-Hill Handbook
You should also have the following:
A college level dictionary
A notebook
A folder
A second folder for your final portfolio
A computer disk/CD-RW for keep your journals
Prerequisites:
Concurrent completion of GEN ENG with a grade of C or better or by testing; if you are ESL, have problems with writing, or have been out of school for a 'million years' it might be wise to take GEN ENG or GEN REA before this class. People who have obtained their GED more than 5 years ago are also encouraged to take these two classes to enhance their skill levels in reading/writing. Please note that 801-151 is NOT a Basic Skills class and it is assumed that you can read/write English at about the 6th or 7th grade level.
Course Requirements:
You will have to expect to spend about 3 hours a week doing the work for this course outside of the classroom. There is simply not enough time for getting all writing done while we are in class.
5 Paragraph Papers:
You will receive details about these assignments later in the course, including specific grading criteria and due dates. All essays will have a rough and a final draft. The final draft and the rough draft must be typed, double spaced, in a 12 point font: Times New Roman or Palatino. Late papers will loose 10% of the grade for each day late; as an example: you get a 90 [B] on a paper. It is 3 days late. 10% of 90 is nine, so you would loose 27 points for a final grade of 67 [F]. If you do not complete these assignments, you will fail the course. If a problem arises, see me BEFORE the assignment is due. I do not accept "same day" excuses, unless a problem in printing arises in the classroom.
Quizzes:
Quizzes will be given often to review material from the text-book or class discussion. Quizzes will often focus on grammar. Quizzes cannot be made up. Performance on quizzes will effect your participation grade.
Examinations: Must be made up during the next office hour after your absence.
In-class Writing:
We will be writing in class almost every day, and many of these in-class writings will be collected and graded. After I return an in-class essay with a grade, you will have the opportunity to revise the essay out of class, and resubmit it to me within one week (late revisions will not be accepted). When doing so, please submit the original along with the revision. Your grade for the essay will be the average of the two grades. Grading of in-class essays and revisions will depend heavily on the material currently covered in the course. In-class essays should be legible. Revisions should be typed. Missed in-class writings can only be made up in my office hour before the next class period. Your grade will be dropped 5 points for each class period that passes until you make up the essay.
The class period after any in-class writing (including the midterm), we may have individual meetings concerning the essay. This is the most important part of this course!!! If you miss a meeting about an essay, you must make it up in my office hour before the next class meeting. Again, your grade will be dropped 5 points for each class period until you have your meeting with me. If you do not meet with me about an in-class writing, the grade for the essay will be changed to 0.
You are strongly encouraged to bring writing assignments from other courses, such as Human Relations, Psychology, and so on, to class. Often, you will be able to work on a draft of a paper for another course and submit it to me as an in-class writing. This will allow you to enhance your performance in the other course, and work directly on your writing skills.
Midterm and Final Essay:
You will write an in-class midterm essay and an in-class final project; if you do not complete these essays and projects, you will fail the course.
Additional Assignments:
It may be necessary at times for me to assign additional work from the textbook. These will be counted toward your participation grade. There may be assignments where you simply get an A if you complete the assignment and an F if you don’t. I will make it clear how each assignment will be graded.
Participation:
-Your are expected to do the following during class: pay attention, participate in group work, contribute to class discussions, complete quizzes and in-class assignments, and actively participate in one-on-one meetings.
- Your participation grade will be the average of your quizzes and in-class assignments. You will get no participation points [100 per class] if you are absent (you can’t participate if you aren’t here!), and a reduction of 30 points if you arrive late or leave early [unless there is inclement weather].
- You can get bonus participation points for doing SkillsBank work above what may be required.. You will also lose participation points for any disruptive activity as described below in the classroom conduct section.
Attendance:
Attendance at all classes is expected. If you do miss a class, you are required to see me during office hours before the next class meeting. You are responsible for all material covered in class on the day you were absent. If you miss a class where there is an exam, you will still have to take the examination before the next class (this is why you should see me before the next class). [NOTE: examinations may be made up, quizzes cannot.] A word to the wise: This class meets one day a week. If you miss three classes, it is like you have missed 1/5 of the semester. I will speak with you on the event of a third absence. If you have a fourth absence, I will drop you, unless by prior agreement and due to an emergency of some sort. You are responsible for adjusting work schedules and child care. I will deal with this on a case by case basis, but you are responsible for contacting me and going to the web site/weekly road map to make up work. At 5 absences, I will drop you because you will have missed 1/3 of the semester if not more and you will NOT be able to make up work.
Please see my web site for further information:http:// ben-shalom.blogsopt.com
It contains further information about attendance.

Skills assistance:
-Feel free to meet with me on an individual basis during my office hour times (listed on the top of this syllabus and my supplemental schedule) to discuss any concerns, particularly if you are falling behind or having difficulty. Before and after each class, generally, I will be in our classroom or the Academic Support Center. I strongly suggest that you make appointments for skills assistance, as you will then be assured of having my time.
-In some cases, I may require you to see me about getting extra help. You will also be required to meet with me if you wish to revise your final paper. Bonus points may be added to your participation grade if you ask for skills assistance.
Grading:
I will grade papers using a numeric (0-100) scale. Numeric grades will convert to letters as follows, for the purpose of midterm and final grades:
A 100-93
B 92-86
C 85-79
D 78-70
F 69 and below
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
Class Participation 10%
In-class Writing: 20% [includesvocabulary/reading work, where warranted]
Midterm Exam: 10%
Final Exam/project*: 25%
Rough Draft of Essay: 10%
Final Draft of Essay*: 25%
*If you do not do the final essay or final exam, you cannot pass this course!
Plagiarism/Cheating:
Submitting work that is not your own will not be tolerated. Acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to: handing in someone else’s work; copying someone else’s work; and copying sentences, phrases, or even ideas without giving proper citations. The academic honesty policy of the college is stated in the Student Handbook, which you should review. Be advised that in any case of academic dishonesty, I will recommend the most severe allowable punishment
You may NOT use any sort of research that involves Wikipedia, or sites such as Cliff’s Notes, etc. If you are not sure that a site is OK to use, ask me! Basically, you should only use the MATC search sites like INFOTRAC, PROQUEST, etc., all of which are available for you from home. Do not use search engines like Yahoo or Google.
Classroom Conduct:
In any English class, or, indeed, any college-level course, the classroom environment should be conducive to learning, the free-exchange of ideas, and questions. Please feel free to express your own ideas or ask questions in class, and please respect the rights of others to do the same. Disruptive or disrespectful behavior undermines the goals of this class, this college, and your fellow students; it therefore will not be tolerated.
Here are a few specific regulations. Violation of these regulations will result in a drop in your participation grade.
1. Keep personal drama at home.
It does not belong in the classroom.
2. Turn OFF telephones before you come to class. This includes vibrating phones (they are just as disruptive). If a phone call is so important that you can’t wait until after class, leave the room quietly to answer the phone and accept a drop in your participation grade. If there is an emergency, notify me before class.
3. Respect yourself: respect others: others will respect you. Abusive/sexist/vulgar language will not be tolerated.
4. If you have a problem: ask to speak with me. I will accommodate you. It does not matter what the problem is. I will listen and pay attention to you.
5. Do not interrupt other students or me while we are talking. Interruption includes starting a conversation not related to class-work
6. Do not communicate with students outside of the classroom through the windows
7. Do not leave class excessively. If you need to use the restroom or take care of anything else urgent, leave quietly and return as soon as possible.
8. Eating is not allowed in class by school policy. If you like to have something to drink while in-class, just make sure you take any garbage with you and clean up any spills.
9. Show up to class on time. If you are late, entry quietly and go to your seat without disturbing the class. If you walk into class after a quiz starts, you will not be able to take that quiz. If there is severe weather, lateness will not be counted adversely and you may take the quiz.
10. School policy does not allow children to be in class. If you have no option but to care for your child during class time, you must miss class and see me for make up as soon as possible.
11. Do not do anything that purposely or accidentally disrupts the flow of class or group work. [THINK BEFORE YOU ACT] [See also number one.]
Final Thoughts:
Based upon your individual needs, this course may take many different shapes. I strongly encourage you to tell me your individual needs so they can be address during class time or skills assistance.
You should begin now thinking about the fact that you have a paper due at the end of this class. All work in this course builds up to that paper. We will systematically go through stages of writing paper, covering grammar, paragraph organization, and essay organization. If you follow along with this course and my suggestions, you will not have great difficulty. If you do not keep up, however, you will face serious problems as the due date approaches. Working hard all through the semester, and seeing me for help along the way, will ensure your success in this course.
My goal is to pass everyone in this course, but I cannot do so unless you are able to produce a 5-paragraph essay and a longer paper indicating you are prepared for advanced college-level work. If you think I can do anything to help meet that goal, please let me know. Particularly, if my assignments or instructions are ever unclear, ask questions so that we can come to understanding. Your active participation in the learning process is not only appreciated, but necessary for your success.
*******Learning/Physical Disabilities
The ADA of 1993 stipulates that any student who has a physical or learning disability that requires special circumstances in order to successfully attend school has that right. If any student has a diagnosed physical or learning disability that requires accommodations to provide the most optimum learning experience, students should contact the Accomodations Office immediately to develop those accommodations.*****
If you have special needs, such as a learning disability, you must arrange for test taking, etc. through the Special Needs Office. I am NOT averse to this, so do not worry if you must have more time for an exam due to a Special Need. You can arrange for notetakers as well as a plethora of other services. Please be aware that if you use Special Needs for tutoring, I will need to know so that I can forward assignments, etc. to your tutor so that we are all "on the same page." It is your responsibility to set up what you require through Special Needs.

More Information About Drops

Face-to-Face Courses
Instructors are required to document class attendance as specified in the course syllabus. It is the responsibility of each student to discuss his/her absences with his/her instructor. When an absence occurs, the responsibility for the makeup of the work lies with the student.
On-line Courses
Instructors are required to document class participation as specified in the course syllabus. When non-participation occurs, the responsibility for makeup of the work lies with the student.
See Also: MATC Administrative Regulation and Procedures DD0710, Instructor Initiated Withdrawals; and BB0202, Fee Refunds and Repayments
Office of Responsibility: Student Services

NEW Student Drop Policy from MATC

Withdrawal for Non-Attendance
A grade of “U” cannot be awarded for:
a student who never attended class as specified in the course syllabus for a face-to-face course.
a student who never participated as specified in the course syllabus for an on-line course.
The instructor should withdraw students who have never attended/participated by the 16th calendar day of the semester. In instances where non-attendance/participation cannot reasonably be determined by the 16th calendar day of the semester, instructors should withdraw the student by the 16th calendar day of the course. This will ensure accurate FTE reporting and that financial aid funds are disbursed in compliance with federal and institutional regulations.
It is recommended that the instructor contact the student prior to withdrawal.
Withdrawal for Other Reasons
The instructor may withdraw a student if:
the student fails to meet course requirements and expectations as specified in the course syllabus;
the student at any time poses a safety hazard to him/herself or others;
the student is unable to make up course work.
It is recommended that the instructor contact the student prior to withdrawal.
If neither the student nor the instructor initiates a withdrawal, and the student is not meeting course expectations and requirements, a final grade of “U” should be awarded. A grade of “U” cannot be awarded a student who never attended a fact-to-face course or who never participated in an on-line course.

Documenting an Instructor-Initiated Withdrawal
1. Complete the Instructor Recommended Withdrawal Form or complete the on-line Instructor Recommended Withdrawal Form for your campus found at ematc under E-Forms.
2. Indicate the reason for withdrawal.
3. If the reason for withdrawal is something other than “Never Attended,” record the student’s first and last date of attendance.
4. Submit the form to your campus Registration and Academic Records Office or submit the on-line form.
5. Retain a copy of the withdrawal form for your records.
Reinstating a Student after Withdrawal
If an instructor decides to reinstate a student who has been withdrawn from their class, he/she should:
Complete the first two lines of the “Instructor Recommended Withdrawal” form.
Write REINSTATE across the top of the form.
Sign the form and submit to your campus Registration and Academic Records Office.
The instructor should inform the student that an instructor-initiated withdrawal, as with any withdrawal, may adversely impact financial aid eligibility and academic standing. In addition, students withdrawn by their instructor are not eligible for tuition reimbursement.
See also: BB0202, Fee Refunds and Repayments; DD1001, Attendance
Office of Responsibility: Student Services

Favorite Web Sites (An Ongoing Process!)

1. Allied Artists. A great site with links to women's history and African-American history and much, much MORE!
http://www.allied-artists.blogspot.com/

2. Compass Guide--a web site if you are looking for scholarships. $3 million dollars in scholarships listed here! Especially for Metro Milwaukee area students. Help with forms, for parents, and if you are the first person in yout family to attend college.
http://www.compassguide.org/

3. Share Wisconsin. When times get tough, if you need a source for inexpensive food, this is the site to go to! ANYONE can buy food here; there are no requirements! Easy to navigate.
http://www.sharewi.org/

4. Teaching Tolereance is part of a number of sites from the Souther Poverty law center. Excellent materials for schools to help them challenge bias and hate.
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/web/power_of_words/

5. Ever wondered hown many people there are on Earth? Go here!
http://www.worldomters.info.org/

6. Learn which countried are the haves and have-nots.
http://www.allcoutries.org/maps/world_poverty_maps.html

7. Have you ever wondered about the Middle East's history? Here is a nice visual presentation about the "history of war" in that area. One wonders why this region has been so warred over by so many people! It alsmost seems as if there has never been peace there.
http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

8. FREE BOOKS!! Even if you aren't rich, you can have much of the world's libraries at your finger tips! Project Gutenberg provide free books; you may download and print or download and read online.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

9. Useful sites Milwaukee County parks and nature sites (think summer and kids!)
Milwaukee County Parks http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/ParksandPublicInfras7720.htm
Focus On Energy http://www.focusonenergy.com/
Urban Ecology Center http://www.urbanecologycenter.org/
Schlitz Audubon Center http://www.schlitzauduboncenter.com/
Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful http://www.kgmb.org/

10. Here is a wonderful way to help feed poor people and increase your vocabulary! I checked this out on snopes.com for validity, and this is REAL! When you go to this web site and play the vocabulary game, you earn grains of rice, which are paid for by the advertisers on this site. When there is enough rice, it is shipped to places where people are in need. I stopped at 100,000 grains of rice--that's a lot of rice indeed.
www.freerice.com

801-202 Students At the Black Holocaust Museum

801-201 English One Syllabus/Course Overview

Milwaukee Area Technical College-Milwaukee Campus
English 201—Introduction to College Writing
ENG-201-518 / 3 credits / Meeting Days: / Time: / Room:

Required Texts:
Eschholz, Paul & Alfred Rosa. Models for Writers . New York: St. Martins, 2004.
[ISBN: 0-312-40686-X]

Hesse, Douglas & Lynn Quitman Troyka. Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers (7th Ed.).
New York: Prentice Hall, 2005. [ISBN: 0-13-144350-X]

Supplementary Materials:
College-level dictionary and thesaurus
College-ruled, 8 ½ x 11 clean-edge paper
Notebook and folder
Pen (black or blue)
Red Pen for indicating corrections and revisions
Highlighter
*Computer disk
Course Description:
English 201 is an introductory writing and reading course emphasizing the thinking processes, practice in organizing ideas, documenting sources, and developing clear expository college-level writing that achieves unity, coherence, and development. It is also a course that emphasizes the development of reading skills through the analysis of a variety of college-level text forms such as essays. The student will have four formal papers throughout the semester as well as many reading assignments and additional writing assignment to prepare the student to write the four formal papers. Instruction is provided for understanding and development of standard grammar usage, sentence construction, punctuation, vocabulary development, paragraphing, and essay structuring. Vital to student success in English 201 is understanding and practicing writing as a process—brainstorming/freewriting, organizing ideas, outlining, drafting, revising, rewriting, and proofreading. Final MLA Documented Research essay is required.
Goals:
To recognize the range of communication through reading and writing
To use grammatical forms and appropriate levels of usage in college writing and speaking
To gather, organize, and express ideas clearly, effectively, and logically in writing and speaking
To listen with concentration, understanding, and discernment
To participate in a variety of formal settings with effectiveness and thoughtfulness and with appropriate goal-oriented behavior
To locate information sources
To learn MLA research and documentation technique and format

Attendance:
ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED – You are responsible for attending all classes and completing all course requirements. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor, in advance if possible, and obtain the makeup work assignments. Your instructor will attempt to assist you in arranging makeup work as much as is reasonably possible. Reminder – Each lecture hour requires at least two additional hours of student preparation. A Student Syllabus Receipt must be signed and returned to your instructor, indicating you understand course requirements and grading.

INSTRUCTOR RECOMMENDED WITHDRAW – You may be dropped for absenteeism when:

1. Your consecutive absences exceed the number of class meetings per week, or on the third consecutive absence in the case of classes that meet once a week.
2. Your attendance is sporadic (e.g., you miss seven class periods for a class meeting three periods a week), and you are unable to make up the instruction and assignments missed.
3. You fail to meet attendance requirements of licensing agencies.
4. You pose a safety hazard to yourself or others because of missed instruction critical to safe class or lab performance.
5. You are unable to make up instruction missed in a lab/shop class.
6. You have not attended class during the first two weeks of the term.

If you have documented health or unusual personal problems affecting your attendance, and your instructor agrees that you can make up the work, you may be allowed to continue and may be advised to use MATC support services (e.g., child care, financial aid, counseling, academic support, etc.). However, if your instructor determines you cannot complete the work or you will hinder instruction of other students, you will be withdrawn. You do have the right to appeal a withdrawal by first discussing it with your instructor. If your appeal is denied, a final withdrawal appeal may be made with the academic dean’s office. If you are appealing, you may stay in the class until the drop is official, unless your presence may cause a safety hazard to yourself or others.

Because this particular section of English 201 meets once a week for 4 hours, I am contractually bound by MATC to retain your presence in class for the entire 4 hours that we are assigned to meet each week and to utilize that time for productive in class instruction and work. As a result, at the beginning of each class meeting, I will take attendance. Midway through the class period, you will be given 15 break. After the mid-period break, I will take attendance again. If you do not return after the mid-period break, you will be marked absent. I do understand that on occasion emergencies will occur requiring that you leave early. As a result, if you must leave early due to an emergency, you are responsible for making up missed instruction and work.

Americans with Disabilities Act:
If you have a learning, emotional, and/or physical disability that challenges your classroom performance, and you wish to request ADA accommodations, contact MATC’s Center for Special Needs at 414/297-6838. They may require documentation to substantiate your disability claim to enable them to comply with your request. Admission of a disability is voluntary and will be handled in a confidential manner. MATC does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities and fully complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To ensure your academic success in this class and in your program, you are strongly encouraged to provide me and your other instructors with a copy of the Instructor Notification Form from the Center for Special Needs substantiating your disability. If an ADA Instructor Notification Form is not provided to me, I cannot provide ADA accommodations to you strictly based on your verbal claim of a disability. It must be substantiated.

4 Paragraph Assignments = 25 points each = 100 points
4 Quizzes = 25 points each = 100 points
3 Essay Assignments = 100 points each = 300 points
1 Summary Assignment = 100 points
*1 Short Research Essay = 200 points
Midterm Exam = 100 points
*In-Class Final Exam/Paper = 100 points

1000 points = A; 1000-900 points = A; 899-800 points = B; 799-700 points = C; 699-600 points = D; 599-0 points = F

RESEARCH ESSAY & FINAL EXAM POLICY:

*TO RECEIVE A SATISFACTORY PASSING GRADE FOR ENGLISH 201, YOU MUST DO THE SHORT RESEARCH ESSAY AND ITS FINAL DRAFT MUST REFLECT C LEVEL WORK OR HIGHER. ALSO, YOU MUST TAKE THE IN-CLASS FINAL EXAM. SO, IF YOU FAIL TO SUBMIT THE SHORT RESEARCH ESSAY AND YOU FAIL TO TAKE THE IN-CLASS FINAL EXAM, YOU WILL RECEIVE A FAILING GRADE FOR THE COURSE NO MATTER HOW HIGH YOUR AVERAGE WAS UP TO THAT POINT. NOT DOING ONE OR THE OTHER OR BOTH WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC FALIURE OF THE COURSE.

*Final drafts for all formal writing assignments will be doubled-spaced, TYPED or COMPUTER GENERATED and submitted to me at the beginning of the class period on specific due dates indicated on the syllabus unless I inform you any due date changes. I do not accept LATE assignments. TO MEET COURSE CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES, THE WEEKLY COURSE CALENDAR SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT MY DISCRETION.

Course Design & Structure:
This course is designed and structured as a series of steps and tasks, or building blocks, in which each step and task is interrelated and built upon the previous task. The steps and tasks are organized in sections, and the sections are interrelated. You will learn to “revise” and “clarify” your skills (thinking, writing, reading, and speaking) with each new task you undertake; however, as you move on to each new step or task, they will grow increasingly difficult because each new step or task will present new challenges of their own. In addition, this particular class curriculum will address writing demands you can expect to encounter in other disciplines. As a result, crucial to success in this class is attendance, time management, and homework preparedness.

Odds & Ends:

▪ Cell Phones: While in class, please turn them off. Cell phones going off in class are highly disruptive.
▪ Food & Drink: While class is in progress, I don’t mind if you sip soda, coffee, or water or have a light snack as long you are quiet about it and clean up after yourself.
▪ Instructor & Student Conduct: In my classes, students’ emotional and physical safety comes first. As a result, it is very import that we work together to build a positive, collaborative, productive, and non-threatening leaning environment. Do not hesitate to ask me questions; however, please raise your hand, and wait to be called upon. Let’s be aware and sensitive in how we communicate to one another. I expect my students to conduct themselves with maturity associated with adult college-level student learners; you can expect from me accessibility, fairness, professionalism, and instructional preparedness. Two-way communication is very important. Remember, as your instructor, I am there to help you achieve the course’s objectives and goals.

English Two Syllabus/Course Description

English Two: Human Thought and Action [Lit. Analysis]
Miriam Ben-Shalom Friday 9 -11:55
Contact: ben-shalom@sbcglobal.net
15 weeks for 3 credits
Prerequisite: English One or its equivalent in transfer credit [completeing 801-152/154 does not meet this prerequisit]

Course Description
English Two introduces multiple ideas, disciplines, and forms of making meaning. It serves as an introduction to humanist inquiry, focusing on critical thinking, the analysis of ideas, formulating questions, and the interconnectedness of knowledge and the various disciplines.

The philosophical, historical, theological, psychological, and sociological narratives created by humans form the structure of our lives. Human Thought and Action investigates the human meaning-making impulse and the articulation of human ideas and experiences through various disciplines.

Extended Course description:
English Two is an interdisciplinary inquiry into human thought, action and reaction. In this course, teachers and students will examine the way that humanist knowledge and processes have influenced humankind’s perception of self through millennia as shown through literature. As a prerequisite for the upper-level humanities courses, English Two focuses on significant forms of knowledge and ontological questions using literature as the object/motivator for questioning. Students will be challenged to reflect upon and discuss definitions of literary analysis, group problem-solving activities, “community,” cultural literacy, and the importance of human action and witness to a culture in literature and personal experience.

Through study of specific texts, students will explore the way that humans have borne witness to their experiences and sought to find meaning in them in various ways. Students will explore different views on the human experience through familiar activities – close reading of primary and secondary texts, class discussions, inquiry journals and take-home essays and transactional writing, participation in public events in the MATC community. Critical inquiry is at the heart of all activities in English Two

Ongoing Activities in English Two
Inquiry activities practiced in English Two include:
Writing practices – both formal and informal
Oral presentations: both individually and in groups
Research Practices: Use of primary and secondary source material, presented formally and informally
Reading: increased capacity for reading complicated or challenging texts
Community Literacy: An increased capacity for discussion and for knowledge about, community

Learning and Performance Objectives
Students who successfully complete English Two should be able to do the following work, both orally and in writing:

Recognize and analyze the interconnectedness of the humanities
Recognize and analyze the interconnectedness of different forms of knowledge
Read and discuss works representing different “frames” or disciplines in the humanities
Demonstrate a cultural literacy that features understanding and appreciation for a variety of cultures and ways of knowing
Demonstrate an ability to analyze and interpret course readings based on the context of each work
Demonstrate a growing ability to formulate thoughtful questions as a way of shaping and conducting inquiry
Demonstrate an ability to use a variety of forms to conduct and manifest primary and secondary research
Continue development of college-level critical thinking, reading and writing skills introduced in English One.

Verbal Skill Development
Students are challenged to use writing, reading, discussion and presentations as interdependent inquiry activities. Students will be expected to prepare formal and informal projects and to contribute regularly to class discussions and/or oral, collaborative efforts – such as focused discussions, panel discussions that relate to course material.

Criteria for Evaluation:
% 40 Written work
% 20 Orality – Public presentations, participation
% 20 Group Work/class participation/attendance [25 pts per class]
% 20 Final Project
__________________________________
% 100 Final Grade

Required Materials for Course

Gaines, Ernest. A Lesson Before Dying.
Sophocles, Three Theban Plays (Antigone, Oedipus the King)
Spiegelman, Art. Maus.
Wiesel, Elie. Night
Handouts assigned by instructor—see calendar
Notebook [at least a 2 subject--for notes and journals], computer disk or CD-R

Final Project/ Assessment
Please see attachment to this syllabus for the two ooptions for the final project.

Academic Honesty – MATC's Policy
Academic work that is submitted to an instructor is assumed to be the result of one’s own work, thought, research, or self-examination. Further, when wording, organization, images, music, lyrics, audio sources, or ideas are borrowed from another source, that source is to be adequately acknowledged, according to proper academic conventions; at MATC, MLA formatting guidelines are used throughout the Liberal Studies curriculum.

Academic dishonesty can exist in visual work as well as in written work. In the interest of avoiding the perception of academic dishonesty, images copied, scanned, collaged, or otherwise appropriated from existing sources must be cited according to proper academic conventions, specifically, according to MLA guidelines. This will be the case even when appropriated images are re-configured to make a different organization and/or meaning than the original piece.

Projects completed for an assignment in one course cannot be turned in for another course unless the two courses have been assigned a joint project. Collaborative works should acknowledge the contribution of each of the collaborators.

Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge the use of words, ideas, images, music, and/or organization of another. Plagiarism can be grounds for failing a class. Anyone engaged in plagiarism may face a disciplinary hearing, possibly leading to dismissal from MATC.

Learning Resource Center
MATC has a rich resource in the Academic Support Center staffed by learning specialists and trained student tutors. All students should be encouraged to make use of it – for developing writing and reading strategies, study skill building, and time-management. ASC staff provide excellent feedback and enrichment for students at all levels of study in all parts of their coursework. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the Support Center and I will make referrals when students are struggling. Copies of all syllabi, writing prompts, and so on, will be placed in my folder in the Support Center for your convenience.

*******Learning/Physical Disabilities
The ADA of 1993 stipulates that any student who has a physical or learning disability that requires special circumstances in order to successfully attend school has that right. If any student has a diagnosed physical or learning disability that requires accommodations to provide the most optimum learning experience, students should contact the MATC Special Needs Office at the West Campus immediately to develop those accommodations.*****

ESL
If English is not your first language, you should let your instructor know immediately to determine what learning strategies will work best for successful completion of this course.

Grading Policy: Paper will be awarded 100 points:
A. Documentation: is 1/3 of the grade of the paper [33 points out of 100]
1 Be sure to document references to specific lines or passages in the plays. If you quote or refer to a specific passage, identify that passage through in-text citation. Do this by writing the name of the play and the line number(s) you’re referring to in parentheses immediately after your reference. For example, if I were to generally refer to the “ship of state” speech by Creon in Antigone, I would need to write (Antigone 179-235) at the end of the sentence or passage in which I am discussing the speech.
Follow the same procedure for direct quotations. If I were to write Creon states: “[n]ever at my hands will the traitor be honored above the patriot” then I would need to add (Antigone 232-233) at the end of that sentence. If it’s obvious which play I’m quoting or paraphrasing, I can omit the title from the parentheses (232-233). If you have questions about in-text citation, or how to work with direct quotations, summaries, or paraphrases, see me or a tutor at the Learning Resource Center.
You will use MLA Format for paper setup and citations and Works Cited page and Bibliography if one is necessarry.
1/2 point will be taken for each error--so be rigorous about Format!

You will receive a rubric for grading which will show you how the remaining 2/3 of your grade is achieved, which includes grammar, spelling, punctuation, and the following 4 areas. 1/3 point will be taken for each error in spelling, grammar, punctuation.

Essays which identify a truly thoughtful and challenging question, which respond to those questions in truly well-developed and insightful manner, which open up the complications in these ideas or themes discussed AND which incorporate solid specific evidence from the plays will likely receive an “A”. Your thinking must be quite clear. You must refer to both plays in your essay. [100-96 "A", 95-93 "A-"]
Essays which identify an important question and discuss it in a refined and fully-developed manner and make good use of specific supporting passages/evidence will receive no higher than a “B”. You thinking must be clear. You must refer to both plays in your essay. [92-90 "B+". 89-87 "B" 86-84 "B-"]
Essays which identify a questions and discuss it in a fairly obvious and general way will receive no higher than a “C”. Your thinking must be clear. You must refer to both plays in your essay. [83-81 "C+" 80-79 "C" 78-76 "C-" 75-73 "D+" 72-70 "D" Below 70 "F"]
Essays with no in-text documentation, which are not completed on time or by the extension date, or do not respond thoughtfully to the prompt, will not receive a passing grade.
For take home exams, just substitute 'exam' for 'essay' in the above 4 grading points.

With regards late work: unless by PRIOR AGREEMENT AND COMMUNICATION WITH INSTRUCTOR, late work will be dealt with as follows: for EVERY DAY THE PIECE IS LATE YOUR GRADE WILL DROP BY ONE I.E.: An "A" paper a day late will get a 'B'; two days late a 'C'; three days late a 'D'; 4 days late an 'F'. If you are sick, have a family emergency, or have another emergency:
it is your responsibility to contact me!
Not your mother, father, significant other, or Naomi Green. You have my e-mail address or you may call the school and have a note placed in my mail box. Contacting me does NOT mean you walk into class on the day the paper or project is due and expect me to give you an extension. Under those circumstances, you will not get one. Period. [For your information, an extension is usually 3 days.] Do not come to me with a "sob story" if you did not do what you were supposed to do. This is an extremely intense class; if you are not prepared to do the required work, please drop. MATC students are notorious for not being rigorous about time lines and deadlines; such will not be very well tolerated in this class. Deadlines are deadlines and I expect them to be honored, just as you would on the job, in the real world. Having firm deadlines is training and discipline applicable to the real world.
*******If you are a special needs student who requires extra time, it will certainly be granted with no loss of points. However, it is of unmost importance to notify me and your special needs advisor as soon as you see you will need extra time. You may not walk into class the day an assignment is due, however, and request an extension. You must communicate with me before the due date.*********

Course Calendar
Is attached to this syllabus. "Course planning Calendar"
Writing Prompts
Are attached to this syllabus with due dates. Unless you get the idea of the century, you may not substitute your own assignment idea for a prompt.
Other Info
Absolutely NO cell phones or other electronics allowed in class. If you must have a cell phone because of an emergency, do the following : notify me before class; turn the phone to vibrate ONLY, no ringers; if you must take a call, leave class quietly, walk down from our room and take the call. DO NOT stand in the doorway and gab. There will be a one class grace period for this; thereafter, you will loose all you participation points for the class if your phone goes off. No excuses.
Read again later work policy!
No abusive language will be tolertated: treat others as you would like to be treated. If you disrupt class, you will get one warning after which, you will be asked to leave should you continue to disrupt.

Envisioning Equality by Kaethe Morris Hoffer

As students, you will often hear the words equality, justice, gender equity, and other terms relating to diversity and rights people should have, What do these terms mean? Here's an essay that should help students begin to sort it all out. . .

ENVISIONING EQUALITY
With Kaethe Morris Hoffer
Kaethe Morris Hoffer, a feminist attorney, explores equality, justice, and the complexities of living in a world in which power is abused and gendered.
With Gratitude for Ms. Parks, and Ms. Vinson,
and the Fighters Yet to Come....
©Kaethe Morris Hoffer, 2006
(1) Most Americans realize they owe a debt to Rosa Parks. With enormous personal courage and an inspiring commitment to justice, she helped change the legal and social landscape of our country. Although her bravery was initially self-serving—a demand that she, as an individual, be treated with dignity—the fruits of her labor have benefited every person, of every race, creed or color, who subscribes to the American dream of equality.
(2) There is another woman, also African-American, but less well-known, to whom all equality-loving people owe much. Her name is Michelle Vinson, and she is a rape survivor. She fought for justice and dignity for herself, and changed the world for all Americans, especially women.
(3) A quarter of a century ago, Ms. Vinson was simply trying to make a living as a bank teller. Tragically, her supervisor exploited the power of his position and subjected her to abuse and harassment, and on a number of occasions, he raped her. As with most rape victims, Ms. Vinson did not trust the criminal justice system to provide her with justice, but she did think—perhaps because of Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement—that civil law could provide her with some relief. And so, with assistance from civil attorneys and a newly developed legal theory which said sexual abuse in the workplace constituted unlawful sex discrimination, Ms. Vinson sued her employer.
(4) Ms. Vinson did not have legal history or law on her side when she started her fight. But she believed that what was done to her was wrong, that it should be regarded as unlawful, and that she was entitled to justice and compensation. And in 1986, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed with her. When the Court issued its’ decision in Vinson v. Meritor Savings Bank, the law in America was transformed from a place in which sexual abuse in the workplace could be regarded as the personal problem of its victims, into illegal discrimination that courts, and employers, had obligations to prevent and to respond to with justice.
(5) It took another five years, and another brave African-American woman—Anita Hill—before the American public really became aware that the law prohibits sexual abuse in the workplace. But since 1986, employers have become increasingly attentive to the legal rights of women workers. And rape and other forms of sexual abuse have become more unusual in the workplace. In fact, the transformation of the American workplace has been so profound that attitudes which flourished when Ms. Vinson was raped seem inconceivable now. It used to be common to regard a boss groping his secretary as a trivial matter, confirmation that sexual “relations” were the natural by-product of men and women working together, or evidence that the subordinate woman was using sex to get ahead. Nowadays, a boss groping his secretary is seen to be enacting sex discrimination, and he is frequently viewed as a liability, whose actions merit severe financial punishment.
(6) When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, she was living in a culture where most people could not imagine that segregation would ever be regarded as a shameful vestige of slavery. Perhaps even she had trouble imagining a day when the legalized subordination of Black Americans would be almost universally regarded as obscene. But somehow, whatever she foresaw, she found the courage to oppose an unjust act committed against her. In refusing to move to the back of the bus, she engaged in one act of civil legal disobedience, and galvanized a whole movement of people, which transformed our country for the better.
(7) Today, thanks in large part to Ms. Vinson, the workplace is much safer for women. But sexual assault outside of the workplace occurs with a frequency that is astonishing and offensive. According to the United States Department of Justice, more than one in ten American women are raped. And most rape victims never report being raped to the criminal justice system, believing (rightly, I think) that rape is almost never taken seriously or dealt with effectively. These facts suggest that our culture regards rape as inevitable, or that we have a social inability to imagine a world in which men are reliably—not rarely—held accountable for sexually violating others.
(8) Whether or not someone like Rosa Parks or Michelle Vinson leads the way, we must re-imagine and re-shape our society into a place where rape is not regarded as inevitable any more than it is tolerated or left un-remedied. In Illinois, a new law can help us do this. Under the Illinois Gender Violence Act, sexual violation is unlawful sex discrimination, and survivors can sue their rapists in civil court—whether or not the criminal justice system ever charged or prosecuted the assault. In the hands of survivors, this is a tool that can make an individual difference, with potentially global implications.
(9) I have difficulty imagining what the world will feel like when rape becomes a truly rare event, rather than a common occurrence. But as a student of the Civil Rights movement, an admirer of Michelle Vinson, and an attorney devoted to representing survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, I have no difficulty imagining what it will take to make that happen. It will take civil lawsuits which prove that rapists can be taken to task for what they’ve done. And those lawsuits will be brought by regular women (or girls, or boys or men perhaps) who take a stand for themselves, and in refusing to tolerate their own sexual violation, improve our collective ability to prevent, respond to, and ultimately eradicate, sexual violation

How Do You Know It's Good? by Marya Mannes

Here's a great essay about "art". What is it? How do you know if you are looking at art? How do you know if it is good? As students, you will be making judgments like this; here's hoping this essay makes it a little easier!
ow Do You Know It’s Good?
By Marya Mannes


(1) Suppose there were no critics to tell us how to react to a picture, a play, or a new composition of music. Suppose we wandered innocent as the dawn into an art exhibition of unsigned paintings. By what standards, by what values would we decide whether they were good or bad, talented or untalented, successes or failures? How can we ever know that what we think is right?
(2) For the last fifteen or twenty years the fashion in criticism or appreciation of the arts has been to deny the existence of any valid criteria and to make the words “god” and “bad” irrelevant, immaterial, and inapplicable. There is no such thing, we are told, as a set of standards, first acquired through experience and knowledge and later imposed on the subject under discussion. This has been a popular approach, for it relieves the critic of the responsibility of judgment and the public of the necessity of knowledge. It pleases those resentful of disciplines, it flatters the empty-minded by calling them open-minded, it comforts the confused. Under the banner of democracy and the kind of equality which our forefathers did not mean, it says, in effect, “Who are you to tell us what is good or bad?” This is the same cry used so long and so effectively by the producers of mass media who insist that it is the public, not they, who decides what it wants to hear and see, and that for a critic to say that this program is good is purely a reflection of personal taste. Nobody recently has expressed this philosophy more succinctly than Dr. Frank Stanton, the highly intelligent president of CBS television. At a hearing before the Federal Communications Commission, this phrase escaped him under questioning: “One man’s mediocrity isanother man’s good program.”
(3) There is no better way of saying “No values are absolute.” There is another important aspect to this philosophy of laissez faire: It is the fear, in all observers of all forms of art, of guessingwrong. This fear is well come by, for who has not heard of the contemporary outcries against artists who later were called great? Every age has it arbiters who do not grow with their times, who cannot tell evolution from revolution or the difference between frivolous faddism, amateurish experimentation, and profound and necessary change. Who wants to be caught flagrante delicto [literally, “while the crime is blazing”] with an error of judgment as serious as this? It is far safer, and certainly easier, to look at a picture or a play or a poem and to say “This is hard to understand, but it may be good,” or simply to welcome it as a new form. The word “new”—in our country especially—has magical connotations. What is new must be good; what is old is probably bad. And if a critic can describe the new in language that nobody can understand, he’s safer still. If he has mastered the art of saying nothing with exquisite complexity, nobody can quote him later as saying anything.
(4) But all these, I maintain, are forms of abdication from the responsibility of judgment. In creating, the artist commits himself; in appreciating, you have a commitment of your own. For after all, it is the audience which makes the arts. A climate of appreciation is essential to its flowering, and the higher the expectations of the public, the better the performance of the artist. Conversely, only a public ill-served by its critics could have accepted as art and as literature so much in these last years that has been neither. If anything goes, everything goes; and at the bottom of the junk pile lie the discarded standards too.
(5) But what are these standards? How do you get them? How do you know they’re the right ones? How can you make a clear pattern out of so many intangibles, including that greatest one, the very private I?
(6) Well, for one thing, it’s fairly obvious that the more you read and see and hear, the more equipped you’ll be to practice that art of association which is at the basis of all understanding and judgment. The more you live and the more you look, the more aware you are of a consistent pattern—as universal as the stars, as the tides, as breathing, as night and day—underlying everything. I would call this pattern an this rhythm an order. Not order—an order. Within it exists an incredible diversity of forms. Without it lies chaos. I would further call this order—this incredible diversity held within one pattern—health. And I would call chaos—the wild cells of destruction—sickness. It is in the end up to you to distinguish between the diversity that is health and the chaos that is sickness, and you can’t do this without a process of association that can link a bar of Mozart with the corner of a Vermeer painting, or a Stravinsky score with a Picasso abstraction; or that can relate an aggressive act with a Franz Kline painting and a fit of coughing with a John Cage composition.
(7) There is no accident in the fact that certain expressions of art live for all time and that others die with the moment, and although you may not always define the reasons, you can ask the questions. What does an artist say that is timeless; how does he say it? How much is fashion, how much is merely reflection? Why is Sir Walter Scott so hard to read now, and Jane Austen not? Why is baroque right for one age and too effulgent for another?
(8) Can a standard of craftsmanship apply to art of all ages, or does each have its own, and different definitions? You may have been aware, inadvertently, that craftsmanship has become a dirty word these years because, again, it implies standard—something done well or done badly. The result of this convenient avoidance is a plenitude of actors who can’t project their voices, singers who can’t phrase their songs, poets who can’t communicate emotion, and writers who have no vocabulary—not to speak of painters who can’t draw. The dogma now is that craftsmanship gets in the way of expression. You can do better if you don’t know how you do it, let along what you’re doing.
(10) I think it is time you helped reverse this trend by trying to rediscover craft: the command of the chosen instrument, whether it is a brush, a word, or a voice. When you begin to detect the difference between freedom and sloppiness, between serious experimentation and ego therapy, between skill and slickness, between strength and violence, you are on your way to separating the sheep from the goats, a form of segregation denied us for quite a while. All you need to restore it is a small bundle of standards and a Geiger counter that detects fraud.
. . .
(11) Purpose and craftsmanship—end and means—these are the keys to your judgment in all the arts. What is this painter trying to say when he slashes a broad band of black across a white canvas and lets the edges dribble down? Is it a statement or violence? Is it a self-portrait? If it is one of these, has he made you believe it? Or is this a gesture of the ego or a form of therapy? If it shocks you, what does it sock you into.
(12) And what of this tight little painting of bright flowers in a vase? Is the painter saying anything new about flowers? Is it different from a million other canvases of flowers? Has it any life, any meaning, beyond its statement? Is there any pleasure in its form or texture? The question is not whether a thing is abstract or representational, whether is it “modern” or conventional. The question, inexorably, is whether it is good. And this is a decision which only you, on the basis of instinct, experience, and association, can make for yourself. It takes independence and courage. It involves, moreover, the risk of wrong decision and the humility, after the passage of time, or recognizing it as such. As we grow and change and learn, our attitudes can change too, and what we once thought obscure or “difficult” can later emerge as coherent and illuminating. Entrenched prejudices, obdurate opinions are as sterile as no opinions at all.
(13) Yet standards there are, timeless as the universe itself. And when you have committed yourself to them, you have acquired a passport to that elusive but immutable realm of truth. Keep it with you in the forests of bewilderment. And never be afraid to speak up.

The Fine Art of Baloney Detetction

This is one of my favorite essays. In this essay, Carl Sagan clearly and with humor, describes all the errors in logic a person could commit. If you are working on a persuasion paper, you will WANT to read this essay!

The Fine Art of
Baloney Detection
by Carl Sagan
from The Demon-Haunted World

My parents died years ago. I was very close to them. I still miss them terribly. I know I always will. I long to believe that their essence, their personalities, what I loved so much about them, are -- really and truly -- still in existence somewhere. I wouldn't ask very much, just five or ten minutes a year, say, to tell them about their grandchildren, to catch them up on the latest news, to remind them that I love them. There's a part of me -- no matter how childish it sounds -- that wonders how they are. "Is everything all right?" I want to ask. The last words I found myself saying to my father, at the moment of his death, were "Take care."

Sometimes I dream that I'm talking to my parents, and suddenly -- still immersed in the dreamwork -- I'm seized by the overpowering realization that they didn't really die, that it's all been some kind of horrible mistake. Why, here they are, alive and well, my father making wry jokes, my mother earnestly advising me to wear a muffler because the weather is chilly. When I wake up I go through an abbreviated process of mourning all over again. Plainly, there's something within me that's ready to believe in life after death. And it's not the least bit interested in whether there's any sober evidence for it.

So I don't guffaw at the woman who visits her husband's grave and chats him up every now and then, maybe on the anniversary of his death. It's not hard to understand. And if I have difficulties with the ontological status of who she's talking to, that's all right. That's not what this is about. This is about humans being human. More than a third of American adults believe that on some level they've made contact with the dead. The number seems to have jumped by 15 percent between 1977 and 1988. A quarter of Americans believe in reincarnation.

But that doesn't mean I'd be willing to accept the pretensions of a "medium," who claims to channel the spirits of the dear departed, when I'm aware the practice is rife with fraud. I know how much I want to believe that my parents have just abandoned the husks of their bodies, like insects or snakes molting, and gone somewhere else. I understand that those very feelings might make me easy prey even for an unclever con, or for normal people unfamiliar with their unconscious minds, or for those suffering from a dissociative psychiatric disorder. Reluctantly, I rouse some reserves of skepticism.

How is it, I ask myself, that channelers never give us verifiable information otherwise unavailable? Why does Alexander the Great never tell us about the exact location of his tomb, Fermat about his Last Theorem, John Wilkes Booth about the Lincoln assassination conspiracy, Hermann Goring about the Reichstag fire? Why don't Sophocles, Democritus, and Aristarchus dictate their lost books? Don't they wish future generations to have access to their masterpieces?

If some good evidence for life after death were announced, I'd be eager to examine it; but it would have to be real scientific data, not mere anecdote. As with the face on Mars and alien abductions, better the hard truth, I say, than the comforting fantasy. And in the final tolling it often turns out that the facts are more comforting than the fantasy.

The fundamental premise of "channeling," spiritualism, and other forms of necromancy is that when we die we don't. Not exactly. Some thinking, feeling, and remembering part of us continues. That whatever-it-is -- a soul or spirit, neither matter nor energy, but something else -- can, we are told, re-enter the bodies of human and other beings in the future, and so death loses much of its sting. What's more, we have an opportunity, if the spiritualist or channeling contentions are true, to make contact with loved ones who have died.

J.Z. Knight of the State of Washington claims to be in touch with a 35,000-year-old somebody called "Ramtha." He speaks English very well, using Knight's tongue, lips and vocal chords, producing what sounds to me to be an accent from the Indian Raj. Since most people know how to talk, and many -- from children to professional actors -- have a repertoire of voices at their command, the simplest hypothesis is that Ms. Knight makes "Ramtha" speak all by herself, and that she has no contact with disembodied entities from the Pleistocene Ice Age. If there's evidence to the contrary, I'd love to hear it. It would be considerably more impressive if Ramtha could speak by himself, without the assistance of Ms. Knight's mouth. Failing that, how might we test the claim? (The actress Shirley MacLaine attests that Ramtha was her brother in Atlantis, but that's another story.)

Suppose Ramtha were available for questioning. Could we verify whether he is who he says he is? How does he know that he lived 35,000 years ago, even approximately? What calendar does he employ? Who is keeping track of the intervening millennia? Thirty-five thousand plus or minus what? What were things like 35,000 years ago? Either Ramtha really is 35,000 years old, in which case we discover something about that period, or he's a phony and he'll (or rather she'll) slip up.

Where did Ramtha live? (I know he speaks English with an Indian accent, but where 35,000 years ago did they do that?) What was the climate? What did Ramtha eat? (Archaeologists know something about what people ate back then.) What were the indigenous languages, and social structure? Who else did Ramtha live with -- wife, wives, children, grandchildren? What was the life cycle, the infant mortality rate, the life expectancy? Did they have birth control? What clothes did they wear? How were the clothes manufactured? What were the most dangerous predators? Hunting and fishing implements and strategies? Weapons? Endemic sexism? Xenophobia and ethnocentrism? And if Ramtha came from the "high civilization" of Atlantis, where are the linguistic, technological, historical and other details? What was their writing like? Tell us. Instead, all we are offered are banal homilies.

Here, to take another example, is a set of information channeled not from an ancient dead person, but from unknown non-human entities who make crop circles, as recorded by the journalist Jim Schnabel:


We are so anxious at this sinful nation spreading lies about us. We do not come in machines, we do not land on your earth in machines ... We come like the wind. We are Life Force. Life Force from the ground ... Come here ... We are but a breath away ... a breath away ... we are not a million miles away ... a Life Force that is larger than the energies in your body. But we meet at a higher level of life ... We need no name. We are parallel to your world, alongside your world ... The walls are broken. Two men will rise from the past ... the great bear ... the world will be at peace.


People pay attention to these puerile marvels mainly because they promise something like old-time religion, but especially life after death, even life eternal.

A very different prospect for something like eternal life was once proposed by the versatile British scientist J.B.S. Haldane, who was, among many other things, one of the founders of population genetics. Haldane imagined a far future when the stars have darkened and space is mainly filled with a cold, thin gas. Nevertheless, if we wait long enough statistical fluctuations in the density of this gas will occur. Over immense periods of time the fluctuations will be sufficient to reconstitute a Universe something like our own. If the Universe is infinitely old, there will be an infinite number of such reconstitutions, Haldane pointed out.

So in an infinitely old universe with an infinite number of appearances of galaxies, stars, planets, and life, an identical Earth must reappear on which you and all your loved ones will be reunited. I'll be able to see my parents again and introduce them to the grandchildren they never knew. And all this will happen not once, but an infinite number of times.

Somehow, though, this does not quite offer the consolations of religion. If none of us is to have any recollection of what happened this time around, the time the reader and I are sharing, the satisfactions of bodily resurrection, in my ears at least, ring hollow.

But in this reflection I have underestimated what infinity means. In Haldane's picture, there will be universes, indeed an infinite number of them, in which our brains will have full recollection of many previous rounds. Satisfaction is at hand -- tempered, though, by the thought of all those other universes which will also come into existence (again, not once but an infinite number of times) with tragedies and horrors vastly outstripping anything I've experienced this turn.

The Consolation of Haldane depends, though, on what kind of universe we live in, and maybe on such arcana as whether there's enough matter to eventually reverse the expansion of the universe, and the character of vacuum fluctuations. Those with a deep longing for life after death might, it seems, devote themselves to cosmology, quantum gravity, elementary particle physics, and transfinite arithmetic.



Clement of Alexandria, a Father of the early Church, in his Exhortations to the Greeks (written around the year 190) dismissed pagan beliefs in words that might today seem a little ironic:


Far indeed are we from allowing grown men to listen to such tales. Even to our own children, when they are crying their heart out, as the saying goes, we are not in the habit of telling fabulous stories to soothe them.


In our time we have less severe standards. We tell children about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy for reasons we think emotionally sound, but then disabuse them of these myths before they're grown. Why retract? Because their well-being as adults depends on them knowing the world as it really is. We worry, and for good reason, about adults who still believe in Santa Claus.

On doctrinaire religions, "Men dare not avow, even to their own hearts," wrote the philosopher David Hume,


the doubts which they entertain on such subjects. They make a merit of implicit faith; and disguise to themselves their real infidelity, by the strongest asseverations and the most positive bigotry.


This infidelity has profound moral consequences, as the American revolutionary Tom Paine wrote in The Age of Reason:


Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe. It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.


T. H. Huxley's formulation was


The foundation of morality is to ... give up pretending to believe that for which there is no evidence, and repeating unintelligible propositions about things beyond the possibilities of knowledge.


Clement, Hume, Paine, and Huxley were all talking about religion. But much of what they wrote has more general applications -- for example to the pervasive background importunings of our commercial civilization: There is a class of aspirin commercials in which actors pretending to be doctors reveal the competing product to have only so much of the painkilling ingredient that doctors recommend most -- they don't tell you what the mysterious ingredient is. Whereas their product has a dramatically larger amount (1.2 to 2 times more per tablet). So buy their product. But why not just take two of the competing tablets? Or consider the analgesic that works better than the "regular-strength" product of the competition. Why not then take the "extra-strength" competitive product? And of course they do not tell us of the more than a thousand deaths each year in the United States from the use of aspirin, or the roughly 5000 annual cases of kidney failure from the use of acetaminophen, chiefly Tylenol. Or who cares which breakfast cereal has more vitamins when we can take a vitamin pill with breakfast? Likewise, why should it matter whether an antacid contains calcium if the calcium is for nutrition and irrelevant for gastritis? Commercial culture is full of similar misdirections and evasions at the expense of the consumer. You're not supposed to ask. Don't think. Buy.

Paid product endorsements, especially by real or purported experts, constitute a steady rainfall of deception. They betray contempt for the intelligence of their customers. They introduce an insidious corruption of popular attitudes about scientific objectivity. Today there are even commercials in which real scientists, some of considerable distinction, shill for corporations. They teach that scientists too will lie for money. As Tom Paine warned, inuring us to lies lays the groundwork for many other evils.

I have in front of me as I write the program of one of the annual Whole Life Expos, New Age expositions held in San Francisco. Typically, tens of thousands of people attend. Highly questionable experts tout highly questionable products. Here are some of the presentations: "How Trapped Blood Proteins Produce Pain and Suffering." "Crystals, Are They Talismans or Stones?" (I have an opinion myself.) It continues: "As a crystal focuses sound and light waves for radio and television" -- this is a vapid misunderstanding of how radio and television work -- "so may it amplify spiritual vibrations for the attuned human." Or here's one "Return of the Goddess, a Presentational Ritual." Another: "Synchronicity, the Recognition Experience." That one is given by "Brother Charles." Or, on the next page, "You, Saint-Germain, and Healing Through the Violet Flame.'' It goes on and on, with plenty of ads about "opportunities" -- running the short gamut from the dubious to the spurious -- that are available at the Whole Life Expo.

Distraught cancer victims make pilgrimages to the Philippines, where "psychic surgeons," having palmed bits of chicken liver or goat heart, pretend to reach into the patient's innards and withdraw the diseased tissue, which is then triumphantly displayed. Leaders of Western democracies regularly consult astrologers and mystics before making decisions of state. Under public pressure for results, police with an unsolved murder or a missing body on their hands consult ESP "experts" (who never guess better than expected by common sense, but the police, the ESPers say, keep calling). A clairvoyance gap with adversary nations is announced, and the Central Intelligence Agency, under Congressional prodding, spends tax money to find out whether submarines in the ocean depths can be located by thinking hard at them. A "psychic" -- using pendulums over maps and dowsing rods in airplanes -- purports to find new mineral deposits; an Australian mining company pays him top dollar up front, none of it returnable in the event of failure, and a share in the exploitation of ores in the event of success. Nothing is discovered. Statues of Jesus or murals of Mary are spotted with moisture, and thousands of kind-hearted people convince themselves that they have witnessed a miracle.

These are all cases of proved or presumptive baloney. A deception arises, sometimes innocently but collaboratively, sometimes with cynical premeditation. Usually the victim is caught up in a powerful emotion -- wonder, fear, greed, grief. Credulous acceptance of baloney can cost you money; that's what P. T. Barnum meant when he said, "There's a sucker born every minute." But it can be much more dangerous than that, and when governments and societies lose the capacity for critical thinking, the results can be catastrophic -- however sympathetic we may be to those who have bought the baloney.

In science we may start with experimental results, data, observations, measurements, "facts." We invent, if we can, a rich array of possible explanations and systematically confront each explanation with the facts. In the course of their training, scientists are equipped with a baloney detection kit. The kit is brought out as a matter of course whenever new ideas are offered for consideration. If the new idea survives examination by the tools in our kit, we grant it warm, although tentative, acceptance. If you're so inclined, if you don't want to buy baloney even when it's reassuring to do so, there are precautions that can be taken; there's a tried-and-true, consumer-tested method.

What's in the kit? Tools for skeptical thinking.

What skeptical thinking boils down to is the means to construct, and to understand, a reasoned argument and -- especially important -- to recognize a fallacious or fraudulent argument. The question is not whether we like the conclusion that emerges out of a train of reasoning, but whether the conclusion follows from the premise or starting point and whether that premise is true.

Among the tools:


Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the "facts."

Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.

Arguments from authority carry little weight -- "authorities" have made mistakes in the past. They will do so again in the future. Perhaps a better way to say it is that in science there are no authorities; at most, there are experts.

Spin more than one hypothesis. If there's something to be explained, think of all the different ways in which it could be explained. Then think of tests by which you might systematically disprove each of the alternatives. What survives, the hypothesis that resists disproof in this Darwinian selection among "multiple working hypotheses," has a much better chance of being the right answer than if you had simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.*

* NOTE: This is a problem that affects jury trials. Retrospective studies show that some jurors make up their minds very early -- perhaps during opening arguments -- and then retain the evidence that seems to support their initial impressions and reject the contrary evidence. The method of alternative working hypotheses is not running in their heads.


Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours. It's only a way station in the pursuit of knowledge. Ask yourself why you like the idea. Compare it fairly with the alternatives. See if you can find reasons for rejecting it. If you don't, others will.

Quantify. If whatever it is you're explaining has some measure, some numerical quantity attached to it, you'll be much better able to discriminate among competing hypotheses. What is vague and qualitative is open to many explanations. Of course there are truths to be sought in the many qualitative issues we are obliged to confront, but finding them is more challenging.

If there's a chain of argument, every link in the chain must work (including the premise) -- not just most of them.

Occam's Razor. This convenient rule-of-thumb urges us when faced with two hypotheses that explain the data equally well to choose the simpler.

Always ask whether the hypothesis can be, at least in principle, falsified. Propositions that are untestable, unfalsifiable are not worth much. Consider the grand idea that our Universe and everything in it is just an elementary particle -- an electron, say -- in a much bigger Cosmos. But if we can never acquire information from outside our Universe, is not the idea incapable of disproof? You must be able to check assertions out. Inveterate skeptics must be given the chance to follow your reasoning, to duplicate your experiments and see if they get the same result.

The reliance on carefully designed and controlled experiments is key, as I tried to stress earlier. We will not learn much from mere contemplation. It is tempting to rest content with the first candidate explanation we can think of. One is much better than none. But what happens if we can invent several? How do we decide among them? We don't. We let experiment do it. Francis Bacon provided the classic reason:


Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument.


Control experiments are essential. If, for example, a new medicine is alleged to cure a disease 20 percent of the time, we must make sure that a control population, taking a dummy sugar pill which as far as the subjects know might be the new drug, does not also experience spontaneous remission of the disease 20 percent of the time.

Variables must be separated. Suppose you're seasick, and given both an acupressure bracelet and 50 milligrams of meclizine. You find the unpleasantness vanishes. What did it -- the bracelet or the pill? You can tell only if you take the one without the other, next time you're seasick. Now imagine that you're not so dedicated to science as to be willing to be seasick. Then you won't separate the variables. You'll take both remedies again. You've achieved the desired practical result; further knowledge, you might say, is not worth the discomfort of attaining it.

Often the experiment must be done "double-blind," so that those hoping for a certain finding are not in the potentially compromising position of evaluating the results. In testing a new medicine, for example, you might want the physicians who determine which patients' symptoms are relieved not to know which patients have been given the new drug. The knowledge might influence their decision, even if only unconsciously. Instead the list of those who experienced remission of symptoms can be compared with the list of those who got the new drug, each independently ascertained. Then you can determine what correlation exists. Or in conducting a police lineup or photo identification, the officer in charge should not know who the prime suspect is, so as not consciously or unconsciously to influence the witness.



In addition to teaching us what to do when evaluating a claim to knowledge, any good baloney detection kit must also teach us what not to do. It helps us recognize the most common and perilous fallacies of logic and rhetoric. Many good examples can be found in religion and politics, because their practitioners are so often obliged to justify two contradictory propositions. Among these fallacies are:


ad hominem -- Latin for "to the man," attacking the arguer and not the argument (e.g., The Reverend Dr. Smith is a known Biblical fundamentalist, so her objections to evolution need not be taken seriously);

argument from authority (e.g., President Richard Nixon should be re-elected because he has a secret plan to end the war in Southeast Asia -- but because it was secret, there was no way for the electorate to evaluate it on its merits; the argument amounted to trusting him because he was President: a mistake, as it turned out);

argument from adverse consequences (e.g., A God meting out punishment and reward must exist, because if He didn't, society would be much more lawless and dangerous -- perhaps even ungovernable.* Or: The defendant in a widely publicized murder trial must be found guilty; otherwise, it will be an encouragement for other men to murder their wives);

* NOTE: A more cynical formulation by the Roman historian Polybius:

Since the masses of the people are inconstant, full of unruly desires, passionate, and reckless of consequences, they must be filled with fears to keep them in order. The ancients did well, therefore, to invent gods, and the belief in punishment after death.


appeal to ignorance -- the claim that whatever has not been proved false must be true, and vice versa (e.g., There is no compelling evidence that UFOs are not visiting the Earth; therefore UFOs exist -- and there is intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe. Or: There may be seventy kazillion other worlds, but not one is known to have the moral advancement of the Earth, so we're still central to the Universe.) This impatience with ambiguity can be criticized in the phrase: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

special pleading, often to rescue a proposition in deep rhetorical trouble (e.g., How can a merciful God condemn future generations to torment because, against orders, one woman induced one man to eat an apple? Special plead: you don't understand the subtle Doctrine of Free Will. Or: How can there be an equally godlike Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in the same Person? Special plead: You don't understand the Divine Mystery of the Trinity. Or: How could God permit the followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- each in their own way enjoined to heroic measures of loving kindness and compassion -- to have perpetrated so much cruelty for so long? Special plead: You don't understand Free Will again. And anyway, God moves in mysterious ways.)

begging the question, also called assuming the answer (e.g., We must institute the death penalty to discourage violent crime. But does the violent crime rate in fact fall when the death penalty is imposed? Or: The stock market fell yesterday because of a technical adjustment and profit-taking by investors -- but is there any independent evidence for the causal role of "adjustment" and profit-taking; have we learned anything at all from this purported explanation?);

observational selection, also called the enumeration of favorable circumstances, or as the philosopher Francis Bacon described it, counting the hits and forgetting the misses* (e.g., A state boasts of the Presidents it has produced, but is silent on its serial killers);

* NOTE: My favorite example is this story, told about the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, newly arrived on American shores, enlisted in the Manhattan nuclear weapons Project, and brought face-to-face in the midst of World War II with U.S. flag officers:

So-and-so is a great general, he was told.
What is the definition of a great general? Fermi characteristically asked.
I guess it's a general who's won many consecutive battles.
How many?
After some back and forth, they settled on five.
What fraction of American generals are great?
After some more back and forth, they settled on a few percent.

But imagine, Fermi rejoined, that there is no such thing as a great general, that all armies are equally matched, and that winning a battle is purely a matter of chance. Then the chance of winning one battle is one out of two, or 1/2, two battles 1/4, three 1/8, four 1/16, and five consecutive battles 1/32 -- which is about 3 percent. You would expect a few percent of American generals to win five consecutive battles -- purely by chance. Now, has any of them won ten consecutive battles ...?


statistics of small numbers -- a close relative of observational selection (e.g., "They say 1 out of every 5 people is Chinese. How is this possible? I know hundreds of people, and none of them is Chinese. Yours truly." Or: "I've thrown three sevens in a row. Tonight I can't lose.");

misunderstanding of the nature of statistics (e.g., President Dwight Eisenhower expressing astonishment and alarm on discovering that fully half of all Americans have below average intelligence);

inconsistency (e.g., Prudently plan for the worst of which a potential military adversary is capable, but thriftily ignore scientific projections on environmental dangers because they're not "proved." Or: Attribute the declining life expectancy in the former Soviet Union to the failures of communism many years ago, but never attribute the high infant mortality rate in the United States (now highest of the major industrial nations) to the failures of capitalism. Or: Consider it reasonable for the Universe to continue to exist forever into the future, but judge absurd the possibility that it has infinite duration into the past);

non sequitur -- Latin for "It doesn't follow" (e.g., Our nation will prevail because God is great. But nearly every nation pretends this to be true; the German formulation was "Gott mit uns"). Often those falling into the non sequitur fallacy have simply failed to recognize alternative possibilities;

post hoc, ergo propter hoc -- Latin for "It happened after, so it was caused by" (e.g., Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila: "I know of ... a 26-year-old who looks 60 because she takes [contraceptive] pills." Or: Before women got the vote, there were no nuclear weapons);

meaningless question (e.g., What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? But if there is such a thing as an irresistible force there can be no immovable objects, and vice versa);

excluded middle, or false dichotomy -- considering only the two extremes in a continuum of intermediate possibilities (e.g., "Sure, take his side; my husband's perfect; I'm always wrong." Or: "Either you love your country or you hate it." Or: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem");

short-term vs. long-term -- a subset of the excluded middle, but so important I've pulled it out for special attention (e.g., We can't afford programs to feed malnourished children and educate pre-school kids. We need to urgently deal with crime on the streets. Or: Why explore space or pursue fundamental science when we have so huge a budget deficit?);

slippery slope, related to excluded middle (e.g., If we allow abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy, it will be impossible to prevent the killing of a full-term infant. Or, conversely: If the state prohibits abortion even in the ninth month, it will soon be telling us what to do with our bodies around the time of conception);

confusion of correlation and causation (e.g., A survey shows that more college graduates are homosexual than those with lesser education; therefore education makes people gay. Or: Andean earthquakes are correlated with closest approaches of the planet Uranus; therefore -- despite the absence of any such correlation for the nearer, more massive planet Jupiter -- the latter causes the former*);

* NOTE: Children who watch violent TV programs tend to be more violent when they grow up. But did the TV cause the violence, or do violent children preferentially enjoy watching violent programs? Very likely both are true. Commercial defenders of TV violence argue that anyone can distinguish between television and reality. But Saturday morning children's programs now average 25 acts of violence per hour. At the very least this desensitizes young children to aggression and random cruelty. And if impressionable adults can have false memories implanted in their brains, what are we implanting in our children when we expose them to some 100,000 acts of violence before they graduate from elementary school?


straw man -- caricaturing a position to make it easier to attack (e.g., Scientists suppose that living things simply fell together by chance -- a formulation that willfully ignores the central Darwinian insight, that Nature ratchets up by saving what works and discarding what doesn't. Or -- this is also a short-term/long-term fallacy -- environmentalists care more for snail darters and spotted owls than they do for people);

suppressed evidence, or half-truths (e.g., An amazingly accurate and widely quoted "prophecy" of the assassination attempt on President Reagan is shown on television; but -- an important detail -- was it recorded before or after the event? Or: These government abuses demand revolution, even if you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs. Yes, but is this likely to be a revolution in which far more people are killed than under the previous regime? What does the experience of other revolutions suggest? Are all revolutions against oppressive regimes desirable and in the interests of the people?);

weasel words (e.g., The separation of powers of the U.S. Constitution specifies that the United States may not conduct a war without a declaration by Congress. On the other hand, Presidents are given control of foreign policy and the conduct of wars, which are potentially powerful tools for getting themselves re-elected. Presidents of either political party may therefore be tempted to arrange wars while waving the flag and calling the wars something else -- "police actions," "armed incursions," "protective reaction strikes," "pacification," "safeguarding American interests," and a wide variety of "operations," such as "Operation Just Cause." Euphemisms for war are one of a broad class of reinventions of language for political purposes. Talleyrand said, "An important art of politicians is to find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the public").
Knowing the existence of such logical and rhetorical fallacies rounds out our toolkit. Like all tools, the baloney detection kit can be misused, applied out of context, or even employed as a rote alternative to thinking. But applied judiciously, it can make all the difference in the world -- not least in evaluating our own arguments before we present them to others.


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