COM 347:  Argument and Critical Thinking
University of Maine

Sandra J. Berkowitz

Fall 2001

 

From the course catalog:

An introduction to the principles of decision-making through critical thinking applied to reasoned advocacy. Practical application of these principles through classroom experience. (Satisfies the General Education Writing Intensive Requirement.) Prerequisite: 3 hours of COM courses or permission. Cr 3.

What are we doing this semester?

Syllabus

Assignments

E-Reserve Readings at Fogler Library

Some sites you might find useful to help you understand argument concepts:

Argumentation Home  (University of Washington site with information on claims, evidence, reasoning, fallacies, etc.)

Fallacy List  (from Robert Gass's argumentation site at Cal State Fullerton)

The logical Fallacies Index

Links to Get You Started on Your Research
(Have a point of departure on your research quest.)

Debate Sites

2001-2002 High School Debate Topic Online Weapons of Mass Destruction  (Don't let the title fool you.  The University of Kansas Libraries developed this site to help high school students research the topic, which this year deals with weapons of mass destruction.  HOWEVER, this site also has many, many links to think tanks, government agencies, etc. that you might find useful.)

Search Engines

AltaVista

Dogpile

Google

Ixquick

Northern Light Search

Writing and APA Style Issues

Fogler Library Style Guides  (for information on APA style issues)

University of Maine Writing Center Online

Evaluating Websites

Evaluating Web Pages, Guide to Library Research  (Duke University Library)

Evaluating Web Sites  (Cornell University Library)

Native Web Site Evaluation  (an interesting site from the University of Arizona to help us think about additional issues of culture and representation.)