Goldberg: Discovery Core A07: Comp Assignment 10

Discovery Core I/CUSP 101 & 107 (Composition and Individual and Society)
The Human Place in Nature/Autumn 2007

Composition Assignment 10 (Nov. 29)

Composition Assignment 10: Revision of Argumentative Essay

This week's assignment is the culmination of the argumentative writing process—the revision of your full argumentative essay. By this time, you should have received feedback from your peers and from me, which along with your own carefully considered reappraisal will form the basis of your revision. Depending on how successful your Composition 8 essay was, your revisions may require rethinking your thesis and making substantial changes, or it may require that you fine tune your organization and clarify your writing. You will begin to consider the larger issues that your readers have raised, starting with your thesis and organizational structure. You may be deleting and adding paragraphs, and adding evidence and analysis as needed. You will also want to revise your introduction and conclusion at this time. Then, you will move on to revising within paragraphs, including topic sentences and transitions, and then editing sentences for clarity and effectiveness, and finally proofreading. If you are substantially revising your essay, you may have less time for the final steps. To aid you in this process, you will be meeting with a Writing Consultant at the Writing Center. Before you start the process, you might want to re-read Ch. 5 in NMHH to refamiliarize yourself with the complete revision process (skip 5g on visuals). This assignment represents you last chance to demonstrate your command of the argumentative essay and the outcomes associated with it. It carries a great deal of weight when I assess the portfolio, and should be seen as something of a "final exam."

Learning Outcome	Criteria: Weak	Strong	NMHH
1. Understand and effectively respond to assignments as given and seek clarification for questions about assignments when necessary.	Writing leaves out most of the required parts of the essay, including content, structure, and tone. Student does not communicate with instructor about most to any concerns or questions s/he has about the assignment, or communicates and doesn't follow up when confusion still exists.	Writing contains all of the required parts of the essay and demonstrates a deep understanding of its intent. Student gets clarification from instructor on all questions or concerns, and follows up as necessary.	2a,b,c
2. Shape well-developed paragraphs with effective transitions leading to an integrated text.	Paragraphs have multiple ideas and little internal consistency; sentences do not follow each other logically; ideas are not supported by logic and evidence. Reader cannot determine the logical connection between paragraphs.	Paragraphs contain a single idea that is developed to its natural conclusion given the scope of the topic sentence and with the proper support for assertions made. Reader follows the argument or narrative within and between paragraphs with ease.	4 b,c, d; 5f
3. Adopt appropriate and genuine voice, tone, and level of formality.	Choice of voice, tone, and level of formality creates dissonance with the reader because they do not correspond to the needs of the assignment (using humor inappropriately, using academic language in a personal essay, etc.); consistency of choice is maintained throughout.	Choice of voice, tone, and level of formality draw the reader in and enhance interest rather than distract it.	2c,d.e.f
4. Make thoughtful choices about diction (word choice) and syntax (word order); distinguish correct from captivating.	Use of wrong, inappropriate or nonexistent words creates confusion or suggests a different meaning for the reader.	Diction and syntax choices enhance interest and help clarify meaning for the reader.	5h, i; Parts 8, 9
5. Edit with care so that choices regarding grammar, punctuation, style, spelling and mechanics enhance rather than detract from the writing's meaning and effect.	Reader has trouble understanding the majority of sentences because of these errors. Inconsistencies in usage, tense, etc. cause reader to be distracted.	Reader reads through the piece without stopping to ponder meaning. Errors are minimal and non-invasive, and grammar, punctuation, etc. improves the experience of the reader.	5h, i; Parts 7, 10. 11
6. Write with precision--employ adequate details, definition, and context.	Piece communicates only surface or imprecise ideas and descriptions. Writing is abstract and non-specific with few or no details or imprecise or confusing definitions and with little or no integration to the context of the piece's argument or framework so that reader is confused about the writer's true intent.	Piece communicates the essence of the writer's intended meaning with clarity and specificity, offering details and definitions as needed within the argument or framework of the piece.
7. Develop a focused thesis that allows for appropriate depth and complexity.	Piece does not contain a thesis. Piece contains a very broad thesis with no specificity, a thesis that is unarguable, or a thesis with too many parts to be developed adequately within the space constraints of the assignment.	Thesis lays out the complexities of the argument to be developed, conveys the importance of the assertion, and restricts its scope to the space constraints of the assignment.	3b; 5d
8. Utilize clear organizational strategies to develop lines of inquiry.	Piece contains no obvious organizational strategy, bounces from point to point without making connections, and provides little or no sense of the overall direction of the argument.	Organizational strategy leads the reader through the complexities of the argument laid out by the thesis, and leads logically to a compelling conclusion.	3c; 5e
9. Value and practice genuine intellectual exploration and risk-taking.	Piece includes few if any original ideas or conclusions that are not obvious and unchallengeable; writer's work never develops intellectually over the life of the course.	Piece demonstrates willingness to push beyond the obvious and assert ideas and conclusions that compel the reader's attention; writer's work demonstrates intellectual growth over the length of the course.	1a; 2a; 3a
10. Examine personal position on a topic or a text; perform comparison of new and prior knowledge.	Piece reveals little or surface reflection of your own position; piece contains little or no attention to the implications of an observation. Reader learns little or nothing from the discussion.	Piece contains evidence of deep reflection going beyond obvious observations; reader comes away with worthwhile insight based on writer's self-reflections.	1a
11. Follow all formatting and submission guidelines.
13. Use active reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communication--learn how to read more precisely and evocatively, to make sense of difficult texts, both linguistic and visual.	Piece reveals little to no understanding of both the basic and underlying meaning of the source, or only a surface understanding of both; piece demonstrates little to no ability to contextualize points or facts within larger argument or framework of source.	Piece communicates the essence of both the basic and underlying meaning of a source in a complex way that does justice to its context within the argument or framework of the source.	7
17. Question the meaning of texts, and assess text based on a variety of criteria.	Analysis of text does not assess the logic, evidence, authorial perspective or methodology fairly or at all, or provides little or no details; analysis of text misreads the obvious intended meaning of the source's author.	Analysis of text fairly assesses the logic, evidence, authorial perspective and methodology with sufficient detail while clearly conveying the intended meaning.	7a, b. c; 10a, b
18. Argue from the effective use of appropriate evidence supported by the rules of logic to support the thesis.
19. Provide an effective introduction that grabs the readers attention and frames the thesis.
20. Provide an effective conclusion that summarizes the argument, answers the "so what" question, and leaves the reader with a clear ending point.
21. Appreciate legal or ethical standards for appropriate and responsible information use; apply citation formats such as MLA, Chicago, or APA; cite sources appropriately.	Writer does cite sources of information either within or at the end of the piece. Writer does not use an identifiable citation format.	Writer cites information within and at the end of the piece using an identifiable citation format.	20; Part 4

Steps to take for Composition Assignment:

Review NMHH 5 as needed.
Make an appointment with the Writing Center and meet with a Writing Consultant. Note the name of the Consultant and the time you met at the end of your essay.
Re-read the assignment carefully. If you still have any questions, please email me immediately. Remember that if you use UMail, you must type in your name or else I will not know who sent it.
Review my assessment of your past writing assignments, focusing especially on Composition Assignment 8. Check with me about any concerns you have or clarifications you need.
Download and then fill out electronically the Writing Improvement Form.
Follow the steps laid out above.
Cut-and-paste your completed Writing Improvement Form into the essay.
Submit the essay and form to Blackboard's Assignments (Composition 10) section using the Submission guidelines. The essay is due Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 5pm. (Note change from usual time.)

Online Activity and Research Activity
We will begin work on the Group Posters. A full description of a poster project and the steps to take, along with some samples, may be found at http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/speaking/poster/ . Your posters will be relatively simple. They will consist of your individual reports, and a title, introduction and conclusion for the entire poster. Each report should have at least one graphics connected with it, and the individual reports should use headings that set off each section. Each individual report should also have a title. The posters will be divided into three sections: Research Problem, Historical Background, Research Findings, and Conclusion. Each group should purchase a poster from the Campus Bookstore and bring it to class Tuesday, Dec. 4, along with scissors, glue sticks, markersand tape, and any other necessary items. Read Chapter 4d in NMHH to get ideas about how to use visuals. Both Word and PowerPoint can be used to combine drawing, graphics, text, and images, and Excel and PowerPoint can be used to generate graphs. At the poster session on Thursday, Dec. 6 , each group member will give a short presentation about his or her report, and group members should be assigned to present the introduction and conclusion. Starting with today's class, group members will begin discussing the graphic elements of the poster as well as the contents of the introduction and conclusion. Group members should continue that discussion, and share drafts of the introduction and conclusion as it is written, on their Group Page in Blackboard.

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