Slide 1

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 2

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 3

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 4

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 5

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 6

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 7

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 8

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 9

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 10

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 11

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 12

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 13

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 14

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 15

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 16

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 17

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 18

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 19

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 20

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 21

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 22

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m


Slide 23

First Day Slide Show
CRTW 201
Dr. Fike

Syllabus
• You should read every word of it before
our next class.
• Go to http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem to
retrieve the syllabus and course calendar.
• We will begin our next session with your
questions about the course.
• Also have a look at the many links on our
course home page. You are responsible
for the information that they provide.

Course Description
• The course teaches you the nuts and bolts
of critical thinking (Nosich’s circle of
elements + standards).
• We will place special emphasis on
working with assumptions.
• A special feature of this course:
– Process component
– Final portfolio

More Description
• The course teaches skills that you will use for
the rest of your college career and beyond.
• The course challenges you, in particular, to
improve your reading, writing, and thinking—
skills that are intertwined. For example, it is
often said that you do not know what you think
about something until you have written about it.
• And the course challenges you to move out of
your comfort zone by looking at material from
multiple perspectives.

Goals
• The syllabus includes the Department of
English’s set of goals for CRTW 201.
• But the main goal that unifies all that we
will do is to think more deeply about your
thinking than you did during your freshman
year.

My Starting Assumption
• While you may have learned some things
about writing in WRIT 101 and GNED 102,
you did not retain the ability to implement
any of them in your writing.
• Therefore, we will start at the beginning.
We will spend a whole day (our next
session) reviewing the fundamentals of
good writing.

One Text Instead of Two
• CRTW 201’s original design called for two booklength nonfiction texts.
• It now calls for one, and I have chosen Francis
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future.
• The result is that we will be able to spend much
more time on writing instruction in class.
• The other text that I used last year is on reserve
at the library: Matt Ridley’s Genome. Some of
our course materials refer to this book.

What Does This Course Require?
• Process (55%)
–
–
–
–
–
–

Two exercises
Three short essays
Revisions of two of these
A research paper
A group presentation (on Fukuyama)
Two conferences

• Portfolio (45%)
–
–
–
–

Cover letter
Revision of one of your short essays
Revision of your research paper
Final examination

Notes
• The syllabus includes various notes on these
requirements. Have a look at these.
• The most important is that you have to get 70% (C-) on
both process and portfolio in order to avoid retaking the
course. As in WRIT 101 and GNED 102, you can pass
with a D, but you will have to retake the course.
• Winthrop’s policy is that you must get a C- in CRTW 201
to avoid retaking it.
• The course home page includes a Grade Estimation
Sheet to help you keep track of your work in progress.
Please do not ask me to calculate your grade for you.

Rubrics
• The syllabus includes rubrics for all of the
following types of assignments:
– Process papers
– In-class presentations
– Conferences
– Portfolio

Important Policies
• You must submit your four papers to turnitin.com. The
system is set so that you can get feedback ahead of time
and resubmit your paper if there is anything problematic
in it. See the syllabus for our course I.D. and password.
• If you miss 25% or more of the class sessions (7
absences), you will have to leave the class. If you hit 7
absences after the date for dropping with an automatic
“N,” you will receive an F.
• Note well: There is no such thing as an excused
absence or tardiness in CRTW 201. Being absent more
than 3 times will lower your course grade. Three tardies
equal a full absence. Being 5 minutes late or leaving 5
minutes early equals a full absence.

Tardiness
• If you come in late, you must see me
after class so that I change your
absence mark to a tardy mark. If you
do not see me after class, your
tardiness will count as an absence.

Athletes
• Your athletic-trip-related absences are
still absences. You do not get three
"free" absences on top of your triprelated absences.

“N”
• Winthrop has a new policy on this grade: the deadline
for dropping with an automatic “N” is now much later
than it used to be. It is now Friday, October 20th.
• After that, you have to appeal for an “N” to the Registrar.
Faculty members no longer have the authority to give
you an “N.”
• The point is that you should not expect to talk your way
to an “N” later in the semester if your grades are low.
• The “N” is for students who have unexpected
catastrophes.
• Apply for the “N” in the Registrar’s office.

Format for Papers
• I require Courier New 12-point
as your font for all of your
assignments. This is what it
looks like.
• If you use any other font, I will ask you to
reprint your work.
• The syllabus includes a paragraph
describing the required format for papers.

Next Time
• We will begin with your questions about the
course. Read the syllabus carefully before our
next class.
• For next time, you should read or skim Prentice
Hall 1-48 and bring your handbook to class.
• Read Nosich’s Chapter One and bring your book
to class.
• You may want to get a copy of the slide show
and bring it to class as well. Reading it ahead of
time would not hurt.

In-class Writing Exercise
• Spend 5 minutes writing about “critical
thinking.” Use the following format:
• S.E.E.I.:
– State definition (_________ is...)
– Elaborate (In other words...)
– Exemplify (For example...)
– Illustrate (It's like...)

What Points Do I Want You To Get?
• Critical thinking is thinking about thinking.
• Critical thinking leads to deep learning.
• Deep learning promotes transformation—of the self and
of the community. Deep learning also involves practical
application—real-life situations.
• This course is not about giving you tools to help you
argue for your preconceived notions.
• It instead gives you tools in hopes that you will open your
minds to alternatives that you might eventually embrace.
That is what I mean by “transformation.”

A Caveat
• If you think that you have to take MY
position on every issue, you have missed
the point.
• Remember: Whatever position you take,
you have to be able to reply to the
opposition, and my job is to make you
more fully aware of it.
• Challenging you to think more deeply is
my job.

Caveat from Chair of the
Department of English
• “See if students can finish the course without
knowing [the professor’s] views.”
• In other words, just as this course is not about
furthering YOUR political agenda, neither is it
about furthering MINE.
• During our third unit, there is one issue on which
I will make my own position clear; otherwise, I
hope to remain neutral or transparent.
• The key things to remember are these:
– You/we will analyze arguments using the elements
and standards in Nosich’s book.
– Only then will we evaluate—make judgments.

Bottom Line
• At its most fundamental, this course is
about the “nuts and bolts” of critical
thinking.

An Exercise Adapted from Nosich,
page 2
• Now that you have some idea of what critical
thinking is, write down an example of three
things:
– A situation in which you thought through something
critically.
– A situation in which you did not think something
through critically.
– What was the difference? In other words, why did
you think critically in one case but not the other?

• Does anyone want to share one of his/her
examples?

Something from GNED 102:
A Taste of Things To Come
• What different positions do you find in
each of the following quotations?
• http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem/Courses/
CRTW%20201/CRTW%20201%20Gore.ht
m