Description

Workshop Deadlines

As stated in the course schedule, this is a two-part activity. Failure to participate in this workshop will result in a zero for this informal assignment.

Part 1: Post your rough draft by 10:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 23. Your rough draft should be a Word document. If group members or your instructor cannot open the file, you’ll earn a zero in the workshop, and your essay’s grade will be reduced.

Part 2: You will read each group member’s rough draft and respond to the following questions by 10:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 24. In addition to answering these questions directly in your feedback replies, download your group members’ rough drafts and insert any comments, highlight any sections, etc. Then, rename these and attach them to your replies.

Use the grading rubric for writing workshops to help you develop your forum posts. Make sure your feedback to all group members is posted by 10:00 p.m., March 24 (note that these questions are adapted to illustrate the grading criteria posted in the syllabus block.).

Student Guidelines for Peer Review

  • Before you even make your first comment, read the rough draft all the way through.
  • Make sure you leave enough time for you to read through, respond, and for your peer to edit his/her document with your comments before any deadlines.
  • Point out strengths as well as the weaknesses of the document.
  • Offer suggestions, not commands.
  • As a reader, raise questions that cross your mind, points that may have not occurred to your peer author.
  • Try not to overwhelm your peer with too much commentary. Follow the questions/instructions below and the issues you are supposed to address.
  • Be careful to not let your own opinions bias your review (e.g. don’t suggest that your peer completely rewrite the paper just because you don’t agree with his or her point of view).
  • Read your comments before passing them on to your peer. Make sure all your comments make sense and are easy to follow.

Answer these questions, which are adapted from the grading criteria for essays:

Thesis:

Which of the following statements best describes the rough draft’s thesis?

  1. The thesis responds thoughtfully to the assigned topic.
  2. The thesis responds well to the assigned topic, but may be too general or ambitious.
  3. The thesis responds adequately to the assignment, but may be obvious or ill-defined at times.
  4. The thesis fails to maintain logical coherence.
  5. The paper fails to respond to the assigned topic.

Support/ Explain your answer:

Development and Source Use:

  • What analytical tool/principal does the writer apply to the ad(s)?
  • Is this tool clearly defined and properly cited?
  • Is it synthesized with the discussion (In other words, does it use signal phrases? If you do not remember what a signal phrase is, review Chapter 3 and the in-text citations lectures.)?
  • Refer to the reading(s) the writer has cited. Locate the analytical tool. Compare this with what the writer has presented in his/her rough draft.
  • If it is quoted, is it quoted accurately?
  • If it is paraphrased, is it acceptable?
  • Explain your answer directly in the rough draft.
  • What ad/ads does the writer analyze?
  • Are these effectively described and analyzed for the general audience?
  • Mark directly in the rough draft areas that contain effective/compelling analysis/development; as well, mark directly in the rough draft areas that require additional development.
  • Has the writer used any sources outside of the assigned readings/sources? Remember that students are permitted to use ads and commercials of their choosing; however, they are not permitted to use any outside research: They are limited to the Fowles and Bovée et al.
  • Has the writer remembered to include a Reference (APA) or Works Cited page (MLA)? If the writer did not include a Reference or Works Cited page, direct them to the sample reference/Works Cited page in Moodle. They just need to copy and paste (and reformat, if necessary) the entries their instructor has created for them.

Organization

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  1. Organization for the essay is clear throughout, with excellent paragraph-to-paragraph and sentence-to-sentence transitions.
  2. Organization is generally unified, but there is an occasional lapse in coherence.
  3. Organization is appropriate, but more transitions are needed to maintain unity and coherence.
  4. Organization and coherence are problematic at all levels.
  5. The paper lacks organization and coherence at all levels.

Support your answer: Mark these areas directly in the rough draft and provide comments.

Language Skills:

Do you see any problems with language skills (grammar, spelling, syntax, wordiness, redundancies, “filler”). Mark some of these problems directly in the rough draft, and in the margins, explain how they interfere with the readers’ abilities to follow the discussion?

General/ Overall Comments:

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Learning Outcomes:

  • UO:2.1: Collaborate with your classmates by providing them with critical feedback on their rough drafts (CO: 6),
  • UO:2.3: Apply the elements of analysis to the writing of analysis synthesis (CO: 1, 3, 5),
  • UO:2.7: Construct an analysis synthesis essay (CO: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Checkbox: This will be marked complete after workshop posts and comments have been graded.

Rough draft: Post to Argument Synthesis Workshop, by 10:00 p.m., Monday

Final draft: Upload to Submission Tool (located in Week 5 block) by 10:00 p.m., Wednesday

File Name and Type: Your file should be saved as a Word document, and its name should follow this example: LastnameFirstInitional_argument. For example, my file would be named LattinD_argument.

Argument Synthesis:

So far, you have written an explanatory synthesis, which allowed you to examine and discuss a specific issue objectively, and an analysis essay, which provided you with the opportunity to understand and address strategies employed by advertisers to persuade us to purchase their products and/or “values”/”ideals. These assignments prepared you for this essay: You will write an argument essay. The skills you enhanced in the first two essays will benefit you greatly, for you will be able to examine and gain a clear understanding of a controversial issue, to decide which points you will use to support your thesis, to determine how to effectively support your thesis, and to create clear, logical refutations.

You have a wide range of subjects from which to discover a topic: Just scanning the essays’ titles proves this. You can see how rumors have affected businesses, political campaigns, employment, urban legends, group polarization, and interpersonal relationships.

Choose a topic generated from “Chapter 13:Have you Heard This? The Latest on Rumor.” However, in case I overlooked any instances in which “abortion” or “religious arguments” are presented, be aware that these topics are unacceptable for this assignment. Any essay addressing these topics will not be graded.

Format, Source Requirements, and Grading Criteria:

Length:

1000-1300 words. The word count does not include the required Works Cited or Reference page, headers (MLA) or running head (APA), heading (MLA) or title page (APA), and in-text/parenthetical citations. Be aware that the paraphrased and quoted material does count.

Format:

Follow either MLA- or APA-style format requirements.

Source Requirement:

You are more than welcome to use sources from your text, but a minimum of three outside sources is required. Be aware that “Internet sources” are not acceptable for this assignment: Use the skills you gain and improve upon through SearchPath and the Library Workshops. You may use the Internet as a “tool” to retrieve full-text articles from the Library’s periodical Indexes; however, you cannot use Internet sources. Students are expected to make use of their campus and local libraries–not google, yahoo, msn, and so on. Failure to follow instructions will negatively affect your grade. And yes, you can use books and government (.gov) sites as sources (I often get this question, so I’m answering it here.). If you encounter a source that does not meet these requirements–and you still want to use it–you must complete a source override request.

Grading Criteria:

Thesis, Development, Organization, Language Skills, and Documentation & Source Use: Use Criteria for Essays as a guide to help you compose your essay.

Learning Outcomes: