20% (200 Points)
DUE: April 7, 2025 (11:59pm, EST)
GENERAL ESSAY DIRECTIONS:
- You must write and submit your paper as a KSU Google Document via KSU Google Drive; however, be sure to save a copy of it on your home computer.
- You must label the document with your last name and the assignment, for example: Smith’s Essay One.
- You must send me email notification when the paper is ready for me to evaluate:
- click on the SHARE button and share the document with me (clrobins@kent.edu)
- make sure that I have permission to EDIT
- make sure that the NOTIFY PEOPLE box is checked, or if that’s not available, send me an email with a link to the document.
- This essay is to be typed in 12 point font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and with citations, references, and other formatting all done in a standard style—such as APA Style.
- This essay is to be roughly 6-8 pages long (roughly 2000 words) long.* This means that it must be at least six complete pages of written text, not counting the References Page!
ESSAY THREE DIRECTIONS:
Note that this essay is worth twice as much as either Essay One or Essay Two! In addition to the above requirements, this essay must make use (quote or paraphrase) of the following:
- At least four sources from the Readily Available Materials of any Case Study or Supplemental Materials.
- At least four sources from Find it in KSU Libraries of any Case Study or Supplemental Materials.
- At least two sources that you find on your own, using KSU Libraries. In other words, these sources must be limited in access to KSU Libraries.
- Terry Ryan’s The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
- Derf Backderf’s Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio
Consider the portrait that both The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less and Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio give of Ohio, particularly northern Ohio. What do these two books “say” about northern Ohioans of the 1950s and 1960s? If you wish to make a comparison to Ohio today, you can—but you don’t have to do that. Choose only one or two of the many possible angles of view. Suggestions:
- Government Values
- Education Values
- Social Values
- Poverty
- Violence
- Human Rights
- Living in a Small Town: Then and Now
- Living in Ohio: Then and Now
- Defiance, Ohio vs. Kent, Ohio (comparison/contrast)
NOTE: You may use additional quality sources, but if they are not available on either the Case Studies or Supplemental Materials, you must email me for approval (at least 72 hours prior to the due date for this assignment).
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: Watch both the documentary film, Fire In the Heartland: Kent State, May 4, and Student Protest in America and the movie, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. Incorporate these viewings into your essay—in at least one full paragraph. 20 points possible extra credit: if you already used one or both of these films, you may still do the extra credit, but you may not copy-and-paste from an earlier essay!
*A page of 12 point font text, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins is roughly 325 words.
Grading Rubric
A paper may fall between the below described levels of quality—it may, for example, have a clearly stated central claim (thesis) but lack sufficient support, or it may be tightly organized and well supported, but full of grammatical and/or mechanical errors. In such instances, the paper will be evaluated in terms of its strongest qualities as set against its weakest qualities.
A Level Work
The essay demonstrates a full understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. If the assignment has an “open-topic” element, the essay follows the requirements for its content. The essay is properly formatted and was obviously composed using KSU Google Docs. The essay’s thesis (main point) is clearly stated. The essay is tightly organized, well developed, and coherent. The essay is well supported by reasoning and by at least the minimum required number of documented sources—including cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases (see requirements above). The essay has a professional tone, avoiding second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) sparingly. The essay is virtually free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
B Level Work
The essay demonstrates a full understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. If the assignment has an “open-topic” element, the essay follows the requirements for its content. The essay is mostly properly formatted and was obviously composed using KSU Google Docs. The essay’s thesis (main point) is clearly stated. The essay is mostly organized, well developed, and mostly coherent. The essay is supported by reasoning and by at least the minimum required number of documented sources—including cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases (see requirements above). The essay has a professional tone, avoiding second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) sparingly. The essay is mostly free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
C Level Work
The essay demonstrates an understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. If the assignment has an “open-topic” element, the essay follows the requirements for its content. The essay is mostly properly formatted and was obviously composed using KSU Google Docs. The essay’s thesis (main point) is stated, but is a little vague. The essay has some sense of organization, development, and coherence. The essay is supported by reasoning and by at least the minimum required number of documented sources—including cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases—but perhaps not supported enough (see requirements above). The essay has a mostly professional tone, avoiding second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) sparingly. The essay is mostly free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
D Level Work
The essay does not demonstrate a full understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. If the assignment has an “open-topic” element, the essay does not fully follow the requirements for its content. The essay is not really properly formatted and/or was obviously not composed using KSU Google Docs. The essay’s thesis (main point) is stated, but is a little vague. The essay has some sense of organization, development, and coherence. The essay is supported by reasoning and by at least the minimum required number of documented sources—including cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases—but not supported enough (see requirements above). The essay has a mostly professional tone, avoiding second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) sparingly. The essay has a lot of grammatical and mechanical errors.
F Level Work
The essay does not demonstrate a full understanding or respect for the directions, and/or the paper fails to stay on the chosen topic and/or to closely follow the requirements of an “open topic” assignment. The essay does not demonstrate an attempt to be properly formatted (APA Style) and was obviously not composed using KSU Google Docs. The essay’s thesis (main point) may or may not be stated, but if it is stated, it has not been done so very clearly. The essay is unorganized, under- developed, and/or incoherent. The essay is weakly supported by reasoning and documented sources (cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases), if supported at all. The essay has an unprofessional tone, significantly failing to avoid second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) too much. The essay is cluttered by grammatical and mechanical errors.
Sample Point Deductions:
Submitted late: 3% grade point subtraction
Vague or missing thesis statement: 5% grade point subtraction
Unprofessional tone: 5% grade point subtraction
Improperly formatted: 5% grade point subtraction
Unprofessional use and citation of references: 5% grade point subtraction
Sentence coherence: 5-10% grade point subtraction
Weak essay organization and/or essay unity: 10% grade point subtraction
Not composed using KSU Google Docs: 10% grade point subtraction
1% of a 50 point essay = 0.5 point
1% of a 100 point essay = 1 point
1% of a 200 point essay = 2 points
