Instructor: Yingshihan Zhu ([email protected])

Classroom: B – Vert 10-120

Office Hours on Zoom: by appointment

OER Textbook:

Matthew Van Cleave (2016), Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking. 

Grading and Course Requirements:

• Attendance + Exit questions 10%
• Participation 5%
• Reading quizzes 10%
• Homework Exercises 35%
• Final Essay 40%
• Extra Credit 2% (midterm + final evaluation)

Letter Grades and Grade Point Equivalents

A         4.0       93.0-100.0

A-        3.7       90.0-92.9

B+        3.3       87.1-89.9

B          3.0       83.0-87.0

B-        2.7       80.0-82.9

C+       2.3       77.1-79.9

C         2.0       73.0-77.0

C-        1.7       70.0-72.9

D+       1.3       67.1-69.9

D         1.0       60.0-67.0

F          0.0       below 60.0

Attendance and Exit Questions

• Please try not to be late. I know things happen sometimes, but people who routinely turn up late inevitably end up missing an important announcement or student question, and this can come back to bite them.
• At the end of each class, I will give you 3-5 minutes to write down exit questions BEFORE you leave. Exit questions are meant to give you the opportunity to ask me any questions or raise any concerns you have about the course. I will address your questions in the following class. If you don’t have a specific question, please write done a comment about the class. Exit questions will also be used to take attendance. If you submit your exit question for a class, you will get 1 point (full credit). If you do not come to a class, you will automatically get a zero. You may miss up to three classes without penalty. You need to get at least 23 points to receive full credit for this part of your grade.

Participation

• I expect you to fully participate in this course. There are many forms of participation. You may share your thoughts in class, email me your questions, and/or come to my office hours.
• Readings are due before each class on day listed. If you have not done the reading, you will not be able to successfully participate in our sessions.

Reading Quizzes

You will have 8 reading quizzes in the last 1/3 of the course. I will give you a few minutes in the beginning of each class to finish the quiz. Late quizzes will NOT be accepted. These quizzes are meant to check whether you have done the reading for the day. If you have done the reading, they should be fairly easy. Your lowest 2 grades will be dropped.

Homework Exercises

You will have 7 HW exercises throughout the semester. These HW assignments should be submitted to BB and are due before 9 am on days listed below. Late homework will NOT be accepted. Your lowest 2 grades will be dropped. You may type out or write out your HW. If latter, please make sure I can read your handwriting.

Final Essay

You will write a 4- to 6-page final essay. I will send out the prompts after Spring break. This assignment will allow you to practice critical thinking and philosophical writing skills. We will discuss more details of the final essay in April. Please submit the essay to BB by 11:59 pm on May 20^th ET. Late papers will be penalized 1/3 of a grade (A to an A-, etc.) per 24-hour period it is late. I will grant extensions only if there is a family or medical emergency, and it must be verified by the Office of the Dean of Students. If there is a family or medical emergency, you should contact Baruch Dean of Students ([email protected]). That office will check your documentation and follow up with me. I don’t read drafts, but I’m happy to talk through your ideas. Feel free to see me at any point to discuss your writing. I encourage you to make use of the writing center (email listed below) as well.

Email Policy:

If you have questions or concerns regarding any aspect of the course, please reach out to me at the email listed on the first page. I want to help you succeed in this course. I will respond within 48 hours, barring unusual circumstances, but please do not expect me to reply to emails outside of regular business hours (9 AM – 5 PM on weekdays).

Lecture Slides:

I will upload slides to BB.

Teaching Modality:

The class is in person. Some sessions may be switched to Zoom if needed. I will try my best to hold classes in person and inform you ASAP if I need to change teaching modality.

Cheating and Plagiarism:
Cheating and plagiarism are extremely serious offenses in all academic areas. I’m obliged to report any suspected plagiarism to the Dean of Students. Academic sanctions in this class will range from an F for a given assignment to an F for the whole course. Do NOT plagiarize.

 The following definitions are based on the College’s Academic Honesty website:
 
Cheating is the attempted or unauthorized use of materials, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise. Examples include but are not limited to: (a) copying from another student during an examination or allowing another to copy your work; (b) unauthorized collaborating on a take home assignment or examination; (c) using unauthorized notes during a closed book examination; (d) using unauthorized electronic devices during an examination; (e) taking an examination for another student; (f) asking or allowing another student to take an examination for you; (g) changing a corrected exam and returning it for more credit; (h) submitting substantial portions of the same paper to two classes without consulting the second instructor; (i) preparing answers or writing notes in a blue book (exam booklet) before an examination; (j) allowing others to research and write assigned papers including the use of commercial term paper services.
            Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own. Examples include, but are not limited to (a) copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes (a functional limit is four or more words taken from the work of another); (b) presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging them; (c) using information that cannot reasonably be considered common knowledge without acknowledging the source thereof; and (d) failure to acknowledge collaborators on homework and other assignments.

For more, see http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html. A tutorial on plagiarism may be found at http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/plagiarism/index.htm.

Chat-GPT and Other AI Writing Tools:

Do NOT use it.