Course Introduction Transcript

In this course, you will read and analyze informational and argument texts in several different genres, including government publications and websites, magazine articles, legal proceedings, and video presentations. Through topics as varied as zombie insects, Mars exploration, and the need for sleep, the course demonstrates ways to understand central ideas, organizational structures, and techniques of composition. You will examine argument writing in seminal US documents, such as in speeches by famous abolitionists and 20th-century US presidents. You will also learn how to interpret consumer documents such as government publications and financial information.

These examples will help you to evaluate explicit and implicit ideas, use of figurative language, text structure, and rhetorical appeals and devices. You will learn how to vary sentence structure for effect, determine specific word choice, interpret the connotations of words, and understand contested grammar rules. Writing projects in this course include a research-based informational essay and an argument essay.

Through the lessons provided in this course, you will master techniques that help you achieve a deeper appreciation of informational and argument texts.

Click the link to read through the Student Course Overview, which provides more detailed information on what you can expect throughout the course.

Course Objectives

• Analyze structure, effectiveness, viewpoints, purposes, claims, reasoning, and use of rhetoric in an informational text or argument. 
• Analyze the development of central ideas, details, organization, and purposes in informational text. 
• Analyze themes, purposes, arguments, reasoning, and rhetoric in seminal US documents. 
• Apply grade-level-appropriate techniques and skills to create presentations and review material. 
• Compose informational and argument essays, selecting relevant and sufficient evidence and organizing content effectively. 
• Demonstrate mastery of the conventions of standard English. 
• Determine the meanings of academic and domain-specific words and phrases. 
• Integrate and evaluate multiple sources and different media to address a question or solve a problem. 
• Participate in collaborative discussions and presentations while effectively integrating and presenting information from multiple sources. 

Major Concepts

• Themes and central idea
• Explicit and implicit ideas in informational and argument text
• Text structure
• Evidence and inferences
• Graphics and structure in informational mediums
• Author perspective and purpose
• Rhetorical appeals and logical reasoning
• Structure and purpose in seminal US texts
• Figurative language and word connotation
• Research, informational, and argument writing
• Vocabulary and grammar skills

Projects

• research paper on a topic of the student’s choice
• argument essay on an issue of the student’s choice