Spring 2027

Argumentation and Debate

Argumentation and Debate course focusing on constructing and evaluating arguments in democratic societies, discussing differences, and examining advocate/audience roles.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Mary McCoy3.9/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Karma Chavez

The course required four 500-word papers and regular reading, with one student noting it was not too hard if you kept up.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Explain the contexts and significance of public argument in democratic societies

  • Identify the components and qualities of arguments and processes of argumentation

  • Construct cogent arguments on political and public issues

  • Evaluate the arguments of others on political and public issues

  • Employ critical reading, logical thinking, and evidence in your arguments

  • Argue and communicate with fluency in writing and speaking conventions

  • Use library resources in productive ways

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Satisfied Communications A

  • Satisfied Communications A
COMARTS 262 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Satisfied Communications A

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.10/5 from 20 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.83 GPA, 95.0% A/AB (n=100 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

JENELL MARIE JOHNSON is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KARMA CHAVEZ is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARY MCCOY is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1080
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 180

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Karma Chavez

Past students described lectures as well-crafted and engaging, noting that the class involves significant writing but offers substantial value.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.46 GPA, 72.9% A/AB (n=85 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.80 GPA, 92.4% A/AB (n=105 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.83 GPA, 95.0% A/AB (n=100 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Karma Chavez

The course required four 500-word papers and regular reading, with one student noting it was not too hard if you kept up.

Past student reviews · Karma Chavez

One student reported that papers were graded stringently by TAs and that attending lectures was crucial for finding specific examples needed for tests.

Topics

  • Contexts and significance of argument in democratic societies
  • Components and qualities of arguments
  • Roles of advocates and audience members
  • Discussing differences in a diverse society

Skills

  • Developing argument skills for engagement in a diverse society
  • Critically examining roles of advocates and audience members
  • Constructing cogent ethical arguments and evaluating others' arguments
  • Employing critical reading, logical thinking, and evidence

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.21 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
COMARTS 262 · Spring 2027

Argumentation and Debate

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:250:003786",
    "course_id": "COMARTS 262",
    "course_uid": "course_53cf09c7f22202ee06d3d57a",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "003786",
    "source_subject_id": "250",
    "title": "Argumentation and Debate",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "6899d71bbdd72a50f86a3d4b6fa18bfbac819cd9ae63afa790766556b690568e",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}