Course Overview and Learning Outcomes

1.1 Review: The Rhetorical Situation — how context, purpose, and audience shape interpretation

Quiz 1.1

1.2 Advanced Critical Reading Strategies — annotating for argument, evidence, assumptions, and gaps

Quiz 1.2

1.3 Understanding Academic Conversations — how scholars respond to and build on each other's work

Quiz 1.3

1.4 Distinguishing Summary, Paraphrase, and Response — definitions, purpose, and when to use each

Quiz 1.4

1.5 Writing the Formal Academic Summary — structure, compression, and objectivity

Quiz 1.5

1.6 Writing the Critical Response Essay — agreeing, disagreeing, and extending an argument

Quiz 1.6

1.7 Avoiding Patchwriting — the difference between true paraphrase and disguised copying

Quiz 1.7

2.1 What Is Synthesis? Joining the Conversation vs. Reporting Sources

Quiz 2.1

2.2 Explanatory vs. Argumentative Synthesis — purpose and structural differences

Quiz 2.2

2.3 Organizing Synthesis Writing — by theme, by position, by chronology, by methodology

Quiz 2.3

2.4 The Synthesis Matrix — mapping sources against themes before drafting

Quiz 2.4

2.5 Advanced Signal Phrases for Synthesis — attributing multiple voices in a single paragraph

Quiz 2.5

2.6 Integrating Quotation, Paraphrase, and Summary in a Synthesis Paragraph

Quiz 2.6

2.7 Common Synthesis Errors — source-by-source structure, over-quotation, under-analysis

Quiz 2.7

2.8 MLA and APA Citation in Synthesis Context — citing indirect sources, block quotations

QUIZ 2.8

3.1 What Is a Literature Review? Purpose, Audience, and Academic Function

QUIZ 3.1

3.2 Types of Literature Reviews — standalone, as part of a research paper, systematic vs. narrative

QUIZ 3.2

3.3 Conducting a Systematic Literature Search — keywords, database strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria

QUIZ 3.3

3.4 Reading and Mapping a Field — identifying major works, debates, patterns, and gaps

QUIZ 3.4

3.5 Organizing the Literature Review — thematic, chronological, and methodological structures

QUIZ 3.5

3.6 Writing the Literature Review Introduction — framing the topic and research question

QUIZ 3.6

3.7 Writing Literature Review Body Paragraphs — grouping sources by position or finding

QUIZ 3.7

3.8 Identifying Gaps and Positioning the Research Question — the bridge from lit review to original inquiry

QUIZ 3.8

3.9 Writing the Literature Review Conclusion — synthesis of the field and rationale for the study

QUIZ 3.9

4.1 Review: Toulmin's Basic Schema — claim, grounds, warrant

Quiz 4.1

4.2 Advanced Toulmin — backing, qualifier, rebuttal; applying the full schema to complex arguments

Quiz 4.2

4.3 Rogerian Argumentation — understanding the opposition, finding common ground, proposing compromise

Quiz 4.3

4.4 Cause-and-Effect Arguments — establishing causation vs. correlation; single vs. multiple causes

Quiz 4.4

4.5 Comparison-Contrast Arguments — purpose, organizational patterns (block vs. point-by-point), and applications

QUIZ 4.5

4.6 Policy and Proposal Arguments — problem-solution structure; criteria for evaluating policy proposals

QUIZ 4.6

4.7 Ethical Arguments — values-based reasoning; applying ethical frameworks (utilitarian, deontological, virtue) to academic arguments

QUIZ 4.7

4.8 Logical Fallacies in Research — identifying and avoiding common fallacies in source material and student writing

QUIZ 4.8

5.1 Formulating a Research Question — moving from topic to focused, researchable question

Quiz 5.1

5.2 Types of Research — primary, secondary, qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods

Quiz 5.2

5.3 Primary Source Collection — conducting interviews; designing surveys; field observation and note-taking

Quiz 5.3

5.4 Advanced Database Searching — JSTOR, EBSCO, ProQuest, PubMed; field-specific databases

Quiz 5.4

5.5 Evaluating Sources: Beyond the CRAAP Test — lateral reading, source triangulation, identifying bias

Quiz 5.5

5.6 Working with Data and Statistics — reading charts and tables; citing quantitative evidence accurately

Quiz 5.6

5.7 Managing Research — annotated source notes; citation management tools (Zotero, Mendeley)

Quiz 5.7

5.8 Research Ethics — IRB basics, informed consent in student research, ethical use of sources

Quiz 5.8