Area A: Foundations of Communication

Public Speaking

Students will be able to:

• Understand the importance of oral argument in citizenship and public decision-making.
• Understand key concepts from the tradition of rhetoric and use these concepts to assess both their own speaking and that of others.
• Identify and evaluate ethical issues in public address, including plagiarism and gender and cultural stereotyping.
• Fashion a clear and concise thesis statement.
• Identify and use compelling, credible evidence and anticipate audience support of, or opposition to, evidentiary claims.
• Identify and evaluate lines of reasoning (both logical and fallacious), and types of proofs and appeals.
• Adapt arguments to various audiences and occasions.
• Demonstrate facility in multiple genres/modes of public discourse, organizing material in a manner appropriate to the speech genre/mode.
• Create a speech outline that categorizes and subordinates ideas to produce a clear, appropriate organizational pattern.
• Properly cite a variety of sources.
• Adjust voice appropriately to audience, room and material.
• Demonstrate appropriate vocal variety (e.g., pitch, rate, volume) while controlling speech anxiety.
• Demonstrate fluency when delivering speech from notes or outline.
• Use nonverbal cues to enhance the speech rather than detract from it.
• Use visual aids (e.g., multimedia) effectively.

Rhetoric and Composition

Students will develop competence in these areas:

• Critical analysis of academic discourse: Students critically analyze linguistic and rhetorical strategies used in long and complex texts from a variety of genres, subjects, and fields.
• Integrating multiple academic sources: Students incorporate multiple texts of length and complexity within a unified argumentative essay, addressing connections and differences among them.
• Academic research: Students develop sophisticated research questions and compose substantial arguments in response to those questions, incorporating extensive independent library research and demonstrating mastery of standard academic documentation modes.
• Style: Students edit their own prose to achieve a clear and mature writing style in keeping with the conventions of academic and/or professional discourse.
• Revision: Students develop revision strategies for extending and enriching early drafts and for producing polished advanced academic writing.