identify the thesis, summarize the text, recognize rhetorical devices such as parallelism, and comprehend metaphorical language.
describe, evaluate, and question the purpose, audience, organization, and style of assigned readings, as well as determine a writer’s background, historical period, and cultural niche for discussion of bias, diversity or shifting perspectives.
carry out a research plan which entails identification of research questions, location and evaluation of sources, selection of quotes, and avoidance of plagiarism.
demonstrate control of college-level writing skills by crafting and revising cogent, lucid arguments. The student’s writing will exhibit logical, clear thinking, control of meaning, maturity of style, and appropriate tone.
employ thesis statements, topic sentences, supporting data, introductions, and conclusions. They will effectively incorporate source material located during research.
demonstrate appropriate skill in common writing conventions, including standard written American English, and correct MLA documentation and formatting.
Week 7 Introduction & Tasks
Introduction
It won't be long before a draft of your project is due. That means it's time to make a plan. A plan enhances cohesion and helps to prevent problems such as meandering and unintentional repetition. A plan helps to guide development of the essay in a cohesive, logical manner. A plan saves time.
You've already gathered quite a few resources and had time to think about your subject and the possible position you will take on the issue. Use all of those ideas to help you with development of the thesis statement and the outline.
There are several different ways of organizing essays, and it's up to the author to choose the one that will most effectively deliver the intended message. The article Patterns of Organization describes several and even provides limited outline examples that follow each of the organizational strategies.
There are numerous strategies for organizing ideas that will need to be presented in an essay. We will be using an outline.
Prompt: After reading the articles and watching the guest lecture, discuss the different ways in which an essay might be organized. Which do you think would be most effective or appropriate for your project? Why. Which would not work so well? Why? Discuss outlining with others in the class.
You will need to make at least 3 well developed posts in the 7a discussion thread.
It's time to prepare a roadmap for your argument. This will involve writing a strong thesis and preparing an outline for the project. You have been doing preliminary research, so you should have a fairly good idea of the position you are planning to take. Please review the final project requirements before continuing with this task. You may use any of the information or strategies already studied to help you craft a thesis and outline. In addition, there are some readings and the guest lecture below that will help you with this task.
Copy and paste a copy of your 7b task in the 7b discussion thread.
Post a copy of your 7b task as an attachment in the 7b assignment drop.
Week 7 Assessment Rubric
These are the assessment rubrics I will use to evaluate the discussions this week. Note: You must make at least 3 posts in the 7a discussion, but you only need to make 1 post in the 7b discussion. You must also post 7b to the assignment drop in the Week 7 folder.
7a Graded Discussion Assessment Rubric
Max
Earned
Timing
First post no later than Thursday
1
1
Frequency
At least 3 well-developed posts in the discussion.
3
3
Quality
* 5-7 pts per high-quality post
* 3-4 pts per medium-quality post
* 0-2 pts per low-quality post
21
21
Total Earned
25
Comments:
For grading quality I choose the 3 best posts made in a discussion; the more posts you make, the more likely you will be able to earn maximum credit.
Quality post characteristics
*High quality (5-7 pts.) = Purposeful development; clear evidence of understanding reading assignments; extends the boundaries of the discussion but remains focused on topic; may demonstrate synthesis of ideas from multiple sources; there are few or no grammar, word use, punctuation or other errors.
*Medium quality (3-4 pts.) = Moderate development; shows evidence of reading assignments; may lack depth or show some lack of comprehension; there may be grammar, word use, punctuation or other errors, but they do not interfere with the meaning in the post.
*Low quality (0-2 pts.) = Limited in scope, development, and correctness; may simply agree or disagree with another in the class; little if any evidence of having read the assignments; may be numerous grammar, word use, punctuation or other errors.
Special note: If less than 22 points is earned on the 7b task, it can be revised for an improved score. Revision should be done as soon as possible, and the revised version should be submitted as an attachment in the Week 18 Revisions Drop.
7b Thesis & Outline Assessment Rubric
Max
Earned
Timing: Posted by due date in both the 6b discussion thread AND the 6b assignment drop.
1
1
Quality Expectations for this writing task:
Assignment is prepared in MLA format (4 pts)
Header at upper left includes
name,
class & task ID, and
date of submission
Thesis statement (10 pts)
Clearly identifies issue
Makes a claim that takes a position
Provides multiple reasons for position
Alpha numeric, full sentence outline (10 pts)
Must include intro section
Must include section for each main point in thesis
Must include conclusion section
Sources used MUST be properly cited in-text and in a list of works cited. (-10 pts)
If sources are used, they must be cited
If errors are made, points will be deducted from total points already earned.
If sources are not cited, it is possible to end up with a NEGATIVE score!
