CMST 2060 : CMST 2060 Syllabus McElearney Fall 2014 Final
CMST 2060—Fall 2014
McElearney
CMST 2060 PUBLIC SPEAKING
Fall 2014 – Sections: 02, and 06
Instructor: Patrick McElearney
Office: Coates Hall 325
Phone: 225-578-9053
Email: p.mcele1@lsu.edu
Class Times: Section 2: MWF 7:30 – 8:20 AM; Section 6: 8:30-9:20 AM
Office Hours: Mon. 9:30-10:30AM, Wed. 9:30-11:30 AM, Fri. 9:30-10:30 AM
Required Texts: Lucas, Stephen (11 ed.) The Art of Public Speaking. McGraw Hill.
COURSE DESCRIPTION/GOALS
CMST 2060 is a General Education Humanities Course designed to familiarize students with the study of
public speaking. The act of public speaking is the culmination (and often the beginning) of a long process of
critical dialogue between oneself, language, and the imagined responses of the audience. In other words, it
takes being confident in who you are, what you want to say, how you are going to say it, who you want to say
it to, and why you should say anything at all. Throughout the semester, students will be introduced to the
fundamental concepts of rhetorical public speaking: selecting, analyzing, adapting, organizing and delivering
your ideas.
As a General Education Humanities Course, CMST 2060 will enable students to demonstrate an
understanding of historical, cultural, and philosophical complexity that supports sophisticated discourse.
As a result of this course, students should:
1. Understand the principles of rhetoric and effectively utilize them in crafting well researched, reasoned,
and appealing speeches.
2. Choose topics for public speaking that are timely, relevant, and adaptable given varying situations in
which the message may be delivered, and for different audiences.
3. Effectively and critically evaluate message/speech content and delivery, both when examining one’s
own work as well as that of others.
4. Understand and utilize the verbal and nonverbal elements essential for exemplary speech delivery.
5. Analyze and discuss speeches of historical, political and social significance.
COURSE POLICIES
Attendance & Participation: Your attendance at each class meeting is expected. You are expected to attend
all classes just as you would be expected to go to work every day if this was any other job. Your class
participation grade will be determined based on in-class discussion participation, assignments/exercises, and
analysis of in-class presentations throughout the semester.
COMMITMENT to COMMUNITY—HONESTY PLEDGE: Louisiana State University is an interactive
community in which students, faculty, and staff together strive to pursue truth, advance learning, and uphold
the highest standards of performance in an academic and social environment. LSU is a community that fosters
individual development and the creation of bonds that transcend the time spent within its gates.To demonstrate
my pride in LSU, as a member of its community, I will: accept responsibility for my actions; hold myself and
others to the highest standards of academic, personal, and social integrity; practice justice, equality, and
compassion in human relations; respect the dignity of all persons and accept individual differences; respect the
environment and the rights and property of others and the University; contribute positively to the life of the
campus and surrounding community; and use my LSU experience to be an active citizen in an international
and interdependent world. The continued success of LSU depends on the faithful commitment by each
community member to these, our basic principles.
Adopted as a “Statement of University Position” on behalf of the
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical Co
CMST 2060—Fall 2014
McElearney
Plagiarism: You are to assume that all assignments in this course are individual assignments unless explicit
instructions are provided for a group project. Any student found to have turned in material not their own (either
downloaded from the internet or written by another student) in part or in whole will immediately be reported to
the Dean of Students. The Internet has made plagiarism very easy and very tempting. Hundreds of sites offer
papers, research, writing, and editing. The ease with which such material is available over the Internet does not
lessen the seriousness of claiming material from the Internet as your own. See the LSU policies on plagiarism
here: http://www.lib.lsu.edu/instruction/plagiarism2.html. Your paper would be considered as plagiarized in
part or entirely if you do any of the following:
• Submit a paper that was written by someone other than you.
• Submit a paper in which you use the ideas, metaphors or reasoning style of another, but do not cite
that source and/or place that source in your list of references. Simply rewording a sentence does not
make work your own.
• Submit a paper in which you “cut and paste” or use the exact words of a source and you do not put the
words within quotation marks, use footnotes or in-text citations, and place the source in your list of
references.
Extra Credit: No extra credit assignment will be allowed.
Disabilities: The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitations Act of 1973 states: “If you have a
disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require
accommodations, please see a coordinator in the Office of Disability Affairs (112 Johnston Hall) so that such
accommodations can be arranged.” After you receive the accommodation letters, please meet with me to
discuss the provisions of those accommodations.
Grades: Final grades will be determined based on scores earned in the following assignments. All work must
be done during the semester and not made up after the fact.
Course Assignments:
Research Requirement ..................................................... 3%
Introductory Speech ....................................................... 5%
Informative Speech ...................................................... 10%
Persuasive Speech ........................................................ 10%
Commemorative Speech .............................................. 10%
Activity Speeches ......................................................... 12%
Reading Assessments ................................................... 15%
Midterm Exam .............................................................. 15%
Final Exam ................................................................... 20%
Missed Presentations and Late-Work:
If a student is absent the day she/he is scheduled to speak and has not made prior arrangements with the
instructor, a ZERO grade will be recorded for the presentation portion of the assignment. If time permits on the
last day of presentations for the assignment, the speech may be made up with the grade averaged in with the
zero score.
If you are unable to make a scheduled speech time, you may still receive full credit for speech outlines if they
are submitted by the start of class on the scheduled speaking day. If a speaker knows she/he cannot attend class
the day of an assigned speech presentation, she/he can find a replacement without penalty.
Document Summary
Class times: section 2: mwf 7:30 8:20 am; section 6: 8:30-9:20 am. Cmst 2060 is a general education humanities course designed to familiarize students with the study of public speaking. The act of public speaking is the culmination (and often the beginning) of a long process of critical dialogue between oneself, language, and the imagined responses of the audience. In other words, it takes being confident in who you are, what you want to say, how you are going to say it, who you want to say it to, and why you should say anything at all. Throughout the semester, students will be introduced to the fundamental concepts of rhetorical public speaking: selecting, analyzing, adapting, organizing and delivering your ideas. As a general education humanities course, cmst 2060 will enable students to demonstrate an understanding of historical, cultural, and philosophical complexity that supports sophisticated discourse. Attendance & participation: your attendance at each class meeting is expected.
