Fall 2000

MW 9:30 - 10:45

CPR 252

Peter Celello

FAO 212 (974-5946)

Email: pcelello@aol.com

Office Hours: W 3-4, R 12-1 and by appt.

Course Objectives: In Critical Thinking you will be introduced to elements of both informal and formal logic. By the end of the semester you should better understand argumentation so that you can both evaluate and construct arguments effectively.

Required Texts:

Notes on the Essay: The argumentative essay will be a minimum of five (and a maximum of eight) pages. It will be typed, doubled-spaced, and will have standard margins. Papers with excessive grammatical/spelling errors will be penalized. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and, if it occurs, will result in a grade of zero for the essay. A late paper will result in a full letter grade reduction (e.g. an "A-" to a "B-") for each calendar day it is late. I will read drafts of your essay and you are encouraged to submit at least one draft.

Attendance: Attendance is required. Absences in excess of three will result in the lowering of the attendance/exercise portion of your grade. Make-up exams will be given only in the case of a documented illness or death in the family.

Grading Policy/Scale: Each piece of graded work will receive both a letter and numeric grade. The grading scale is as follows:

A+ = 97 - 100

A = 93 - 96

1. = 90 - 92

B+ = 87 - 89

B = 83 - 86

B- = 80 - 82

C+ = 77 - 79

C = 73 - 76

C- = 70 - 72

D+ = 67 - 69

D = 63 - 66

D- = 60 - 62

F = 59 and below

Course Schedule: Please note that this is a tentative schedule. Naturally, you will be informed of any changes.