SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies

CRS 325

PRESENTATIONAL SPEAKING

3 Credit Hours

Course #50892 Section M001

Spring 2025

Mon-Wed 3:45-5:05pm

Sims Hall 135

 

Professor: Jim Dunagan Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 1-2PM
Email: jadunaga@syr.edu Cell Phone: 315-882-2435
Office: Sims 141 Mailbox: 100 Sims Hall (CRS department office)

 

REQUIRED TEXT

Gunn, J. (2021). Speech Craft (2nd ed.).  Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s. ISBN: 978-1-319-34387-3 (Note: DO NOT purchase this textbook before class begins. You will be provided access to the text and online learning materials during our first meeting)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

(From the course catalog)

Conceptual and practical dimensions of formal presentations in organizational settings. Analysis, adaptation, strategic arrangement, and development of ideas, verbal and nonverbal presentational skills.

(From me)

We will examine the art and craft of public speaking and presentations from several perspectives and contexts. You’ll work independently on activities designed to solidify your understanding of communication skills necessary to becoming a better public speaker, including regular demonstrations of your presentation abilities both on video and in the classroom. We will hopefully have some fun together as we grow in our abilities to speak informatively and (often) persuasively to others.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, it is expected that you will be able to:

  • Understand the importance of listening to be a good speaker
  • Predict with some accuracy what kind of audience your speech will have
  • Identify the purpose and topic for a speech and know how to research it
  • Know the major speech genres and when they are appropriate to use
  • Organize and outline a speech, incorporating introductions, transitions, and conclusions
  • Incorporate style into a speech by way of language and delivery
  • Adapt your presentation style to particular situations

COURSE SCHEDULE

The course schedule is provided in a separate document and is also available on the Professor Dunagan website. The schedule is subject to change.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

  • Class discussion, student interpretation/reaction to work
  • Learning module content delivered via Common Ground Scholar learning environment
  • Feedback/evaluation of recorded and live speech presentations

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  • Attendance in-class participation and professional conduct
  • Complete all Scholar learning module updates, satisfy contribution requirements
  • Completion of all required recorded and live speech presentations

GENERAL POLICIES

Presentational Speaking is a highly desired skill, yet about 3 out of every 4 people are afraid to speak in public.  My aim is to conquer that fear by helping all of you learn what it takes to feel confident when speaking in front of others. A good deal of your work in this class will be done via what’s called “asynchronous” content (online only), thanks to a new tool (for many of you) called Common Ground Scholar. It is an online learning community which we will start working with right away.

Attendance–This class is considered “in-person instruction,” which means attendance every class session is required. As such, 150 points, or 15% of your total grade, is based on attendance and participation. You will earn points each week based on being present in class and involved in class discussions and other activities – 12 points each week beginning with Week 2 through Week 13. You will also earn additional points for having no unexcused absences over the semester. While I do expect you to attend all class sessions, I also know that life often interferes with our best-laid plans. If there is a situation that keeps you from attending class, you will find me both understanding and fair in my dealings with you, provided you keep me informed.  Read more about how excused and unexcused absences are treated below.

  • Excused absences will be permitted if I am notified in advance for an appropriate reason (illness, personal/family issues, etc.) Doing work for another class or some related reason will not be excused.  If you are excused from class attendance, you will still receive attendance points for that day, but you will not earn participation points. An excused absence also does not relieve you of any other class responsibilities. A maximum of two unexcused absences will be permitted. Student athletes with permission from their team to miss class for games/events will be given excused absences for those occasions. If you face serious life/family/health difficulties that are impacting your attendance, please let me know and I will help you to figure out what to do.
  • Unexcused absences are simply any absences that are not excused. Unexcused absences receive no points for attendance or participation for each instance. Those absences will also result in a zero for any work done in class that day. Multiple unexcused absences will have a damaging effect on your final grade. See below for how those unexcused absences could affect your final grade:
    • Two unexcused absences        18 points – about 2% of final grade
    • Four unexcused absences       30 points – 3% of final grade
    • Five unexcused absences        36 points – nearly 4% of final grade
    • Six unexcused absences          42 points – over 4% of final grade
  • In addition, six unexcused absences will require a mandatory meeting with me to avoid getting a failing final grade for the class. In this meeting, we will address issues related to your absences. Eight unexcused absences may result in a failing final grade.

Participation – Class participation is crucial in our work together. It is often my best indication that you understand the concepts that we are talking about. There will be in-class discussions I will initiate with you. I will also ask each of you to speak to the class twice about the content you create in Scholar. Everyone will also complete video activities over the semester. They will appear every week for a total of 13. You will be expected to complete 10 of them with the extra three being optional and for extra credit. In addition, you will participate in other graded activities:

  • 3 specific speech presentations: Impromptu (30 points), Informative (40 points), and Persuasive (50 points)
  • Everyone will be asked five times at random over the semester to speak on an impromptu basis on a particular topic. You will earn 10 points for the first two basically by being in front of the class and coming up with something meaningful to say. The last three are worth 20 points and will have greater expectations. Your grade will be based on completing the speech within a 1 to 2-minute range, speaking clearly and thoughtfully on the topic, and sharing something of substance with the class. There will be new topics every week posted on the Professor Dunagan website. It will be your responsibility to know what each topic is and be ready to give a speech on it if you are called upon to do so.

Punctuality – Being on time is so important to our ability to accomplish all the things we need to do. I reserve the right to consider repeated episodes of tardiness as unexcused absences. Please do your part by being on time and to let me know if something will cause you to be late.

Deadlines – As a rule, I do not like deadlines. I find them somewhat arbitrary and unnecessary for students able to manage their workloads. However, they are useful for students who struggle with time management. So, there will be deadlines established when necessary and I will retain discretion as to whether or not I will consider any such work as “late.” You will be expected to keep up with the weekly updates from Scholar and to complete the required activities. Since Scholar is not designed to be particularly deadline-friendly, you should also periodically meet with me in a 1-on-1 session to review your Scholar progress. LearningCurve assessments have “bulk” due dates – a group of 4 or 5 assessments will have a due date related to when you ought to have completed them. If they are completed late, that grade will not transfer to Blackboard. Please see me for particular situations that might allow such late work to receive credit.

Technology – Our class work requires that you have a mobile device in class, so I am asking you to bring your laptop to each class meeting. You may also use a phone or tablet if you prefer. However, please limit any device use to classroom activity.  If you have a pressing need to call or text someone, please leave the classroom so as not to distract other classmates.

Communication – In the event that you need to email me, please use only your official “syr.edu” email account. Do not use your personal email or your SU Gmail address (name@g.syr.edu). I do not monitor this email. Please be sure to include “CRS 325” in the subject line. I will do my best to respond to you in a timely fashion, but don’t assume I have forgotten about you if it’s less than 24 hours after sending me a message. Also, I don’t automatically respond to all emails. If you need a response, please make sure you note that if it’s important to you.

Scholar – Common Ground Scholar will be the principal learning environment for this class. Please visit my Professor Dunagan website for help with creating a Scholar user account and then joining our class community, which is called “CRS 325 Spring 2025 Presentational Speaking.” We’ll spend a significant amount of time during the first week in class making sure everyone understands how it works and how you will contribute to it. Please let me know if you are having any specific problems related to Scholar or Scholar activities. The importance of participating in Scholar activities throughout the semester cannot be understated. A failure to join the class Scholar community and complete any of the required work will result in a failing grade in the course.  Be sure to speak or meet with me if any part of your Scholar participation is difficult or unclear to you.

Blackboard – We won’t be using Blackboard extensively in this class, but it will have a major purpose. It will be where you can keep track of your grade progress (exclusive of Scholar). In addition, you will use Blackboard as an interface for accessing the textbook as well as tailored online assessments provided by the textbook publisher. More on that below.

Achieve – Achieve is an online resource that will be used in conjunction with this class. You will automatically have access to this content from Day 1 of the class. Your bursar account should already have been billed $73.65 for these materials. While you can “opt out” of purchasing this way, it will still be necessary for you to obtain these materials. I can assist you with purchasing these materials directly from the publisher if you would rather not have this charge billed to your SU student account. Achieve will be used for weekly content assessments via their LearningCurve tool. There are a total of 18 LearningCurve assessments available, one for each textbook chapter we will use. You are expected to complete 13 of these assessments. In addition, you can complete up to 2 additional assessments for extra credit.

Grading – You will have constant and real-time access to your grade progress during the course.  Via the My Grades tool, you can follow your progress in completing LearningCurve assessments via the Achieve online content in Blackboard. You can also note your completion of in-class presentations. In addition, you will be able to monitor your progress in Scholar via the Analytics module.  As you complete Scholar activities, you will be assessed a score based on the individual metrics of each activity. It’s a bit complicated but it will make sense as we progress through the semester. My goal for each of you is to encourage you to do your best possible work, In any case, please remember that I will always be happy to work with you on succeeding in this class. That said, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure you have received credit for the work you have done, which means monitoring My Grades in Blackboard and the Analytics tool in Scholar. I will always be happy to make sure your grades are correct, but I will not be making such changes as a result of last-minute requests at the end of the semester. Once a final deadline for requesting changes has been established and communicated to you (which will be done well in advance), NO REQUESTS FOR GRADE CHANGES WILL BE CONSIDERED. Grades for this course will be determined based on the table below:

Requirement

 

 Points

 
“Ready for Scholar” activities (watch videos, join group, complete first update) 50
 Scholar class participation (2 in-class Scholar update presentations @10 pts.) 20
13/18 LearningCurve activities @10 pts. (complete up to 2 additional for extra credit) 130
Attendance and participation 150
10 of 13 “Flip” video activities @ 10 pts. (complete additional for extra credit) 100
5 impromptu speeches (1-2 @ 10 points, 3-5 @ 20 points) 80
 In-class speeches (1 celebratory @ 30 points; 1 informative @ 40 pts; 1 persuasive @ 50 pts.) 120
 Final speech presentation 100
Scholar Participation score, based on Analytics value of approximately 60-65 250
Total Points 1000

Grading Breakdown: 1000 – 930 = A; 929 – 900 = A-; 899 – 870 = B+; 869 – 830 = B; 829 – 800 = B-; 799 – 770 = C+; 769 – 730 = C; 729 – 700 = C-; 699 – 650 = D; 649 – 0 = E

OTHER POLICIES

Academic Integrity –Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy reflects the high value that we, as a university community, place on honesty in academic work. As a pre-eminent and inclusive student-focused research institution, Syracuse University considers academic integrity at the forefront of learning, serving as a core value and guiding pillar of education. Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy provides students with the necessary guidelines to complete academic work with integrity throughout their studies. Students are required to uphold both course-specific and university-wide academic integrity expectations such as crediting your sources, doing your own work, communicating honestly, and supporting academic integrity. The full Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy can be found by visiting class.syr/edu, selecting, “Academic Integrity,” and “Expectations and Policy.”

Upholding Academic Integrity includes the protection of faculty’s intellectual property. Students should not upload, distribute, or share instructors’ course materials, including presentations, assignments, exams, or other evaluative materials without permission. Using websites that charge fees or require uploading of course material (e.g., Chegg, Course Hero) to obtain exam solutions or assignments completed by others, which are then presented as your own violates academic integrity expectations in this course and may be classified as a Level 3 violation. All academic integrity expectations that apply to in-person assignments, quizzes, and exams also apply online.

Students found in violation of the policy are subject to grade sanctions determined by the course instructor and non-grade sanctions determined by the School or College where the course is offered. Students may not drop or withdraw from courses in which they face a suspected violation. Any established violation in this course may result in course failure regardless of violation level.

All generative-AI tools are prohibited in this course because their use inhibits achievement of the course learning objectives. This policy applies to all stages of project and writing processes including researching, brainstorming, outlining, organizing, and polishing. Do not use Generative-AI tools to create any content (i.e., images and video, audio, text, code, etc.). If you have any questions about a feature and whether it is considered Generative-AI, ask your instructor.

Disability Services – Syracuse University values diversity and inclusion; we are committed to a climate of mutual respect and full participation.  There may be aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion and full participation in this course.  I invite any student to contact me to discuss strategies and/or accommodations (academic adjustments) that may be essential to your success and to collaborate with the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) in this process. If you would like to discuss disability-accommodations or register with CDR, please visit Center for Disability Resources. Please call (315) 443-4498 or email disabilityresources@syr.edu for more detailed information.  The CDR is responsible for coordinating disability-related academic accommodations and will work with the student to develop an access plan. Since academic accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact CDR as soon as possible to begin this process

Religious Observances – SU’s religious observance policy recognizes the diversity of faiths represented among the campus community and protects the rights of students, faculty, and staff to observe religious holy days according to their tradition.  Under the policy, students are provided an opportunity to make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed due to a religious observance provided they notify their instructors before the second week of classes.  For fall and spring semesters, an online notification process is available via My Slice at Student Services/Enrollment/My Religious Observances and is available from the first day of class until the end of the second week of class.