My Degree Plan @ TESC and Progress

[Lady Grace of Pemberley]

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Argumentation & Debate @ LSU
Grade: A

Independent Study Course: CMST 2063
Professor: Joni Butcher

This was my first and only course at LSU, and I was a bit surprised as far as the layout of the course. It is old-fashioned; snail mail is the primary mode of completing coursework. You register online and you can check your grades and the day your assignments were received/mailed back online, but everything else requires a stamp.

For the last 3-4 assignments, you will be writing a brief, an advocate's argument, and opponent's argument, and a response to the opponent's argument based on a proposition that you will choose earlier in the course. Mine was "all life on earth was created by a Master Designer without the use of macroevolution." Just be sure to correctly and fairly argue your topic and don't worry about what subject you choose - she seemed fine with mine, and even though it had a slightly "religious" overtone to it (as you might say), I still got really good grades on all four lessons. So don't be afraid to go for a topic you're interested in, but are concerned she might not approve of.

The midterm consisted of five definition questions (worth four points each), maybe about 22 true or false questions (worth one point each), about 22 multiple-choice questions (also worth one point each), and two discussion questions (worth 18 points each). For the discussion questions, there were four options, from which I had to choose two to answer. They were quite similar to the types of questions you wrote your papers on. Know the questions on the provided practice test - they were quite similar to the real test. In fact, one of the multiple-choice questions from the practice test was actually on the real thing. The definition questions were harder than I expected, as there were some really random terms they threw out there. I know I got at least one of those wrong. You will be instructed to write the definition questions and the discussion questions in a blue notebook with wide-ruled paper. For the discussion questions, I tried to fill up two sheets of paper. There was a lot about generalizations on the test, as well as types of reasoning and fallacies. It looks like the midterm was actually harder than the final exam will be, as it covers nine chapters of the textbook and eight lessons, while the final exam covers about four chapters in the textbook and (for all intents and purposes, since four of the lessons are based only on the topic you are arguing) three lessons worth of work.

For the final, I prepared a study guide that covers the lessons/book chapters that the final exams covers to help me absorb the material.

The final exam consisted of ~21 true/false questions worth one point each, two discussion questions worth 18 points each, five definition questions worth four points each, and ~23 multiple-choice questions worth one point each. The neat part about my version of the exam was that all but one of the definition questions had already been provided word for word in other parts of the exam. So, for instance, if one of the words I was supposed to be "debate" (which it was not!!), the true/false section would have asked if to debate was to engage in argument by discussing opposing points. So all I really had to do was copy the definition from earlier in the test! One of the discussion questions, too, covered a topic that was also included in the multiple-choice section.

I took the final exam's practice test right before I took the test and didn't do so amazingly. :| Needless to say, I was very nervous for the real test, but the Lord gave me calm and peace, and the topics that I had JUST THEN reviewed were the ones on the test! PTL! So I would say that the final exam was slightly easier than its practice test.

Things to know for the final exam:
•Values, value criteria, value hierarchies
•How to actually present an argument
•Inference, significance, effect
•Counterarguments
•Formats of policy arguments
•Credibility
•Audiences
•Nothing on fallacies (the practice test really threw me off!)

Would I recommend this course? Yeah, sure. It was more technical that I was expecting, and the reading was slightly more intense than I was anticipating (although the chapters were relatively short). But it was interesting to get to know about an area of communications that I had never explored before. I don't think I learned a lot of "practical" knowledge - stuff that I'll use everyday - but the course was interesting and I liked the format (minus the turtle-paced processing and grading of assignments and exams - I guess I'm just spoiled from being used to submitting lessons online like from TESC ).

Would I recommend this professor? Well, I don't think you get to choose your professor at LSU, but if you did, I would 1,000.01% recommend her. She was a very lenient grader - she wasn't picky about writing, format, etc. at all. The only reason she didn't give me perfect marks on a few lessons is because there was clearly a right or wrong answer to the question, and I just plain got it wrong. She didn't provide a lot of feedback, but considering that I was content with my grades, I was fine with that. The only bone I could possibly pick with her was that she was a slow grader, but I think the whole snail mail thing was probably the reason.