DUE July 14, 2024 (11:59pm, EST)
200 Points (20% Total Course Grade)
General Directions:
- All essays MUST be typed into a KSU Google Docs document. (KSU Google
Drive is located in Flashline.) You may not write the essay offline (such as with MS Word) and upload it. I want to see how the essay develops, to help me analyze your writing process. This means that I will be checking the essay document’s version history. You can do this, too:
- Click on File
- Select Version history
- Select See version history
- The essay must be formatted in APA documentation style. (See Thinking to Write Lesson W1: Formatting & Documentation.)
- Be sure to put your last name and the assignment in the document label (upper left corner), for example: Smith’s Essay One, or Jones’ Essay Two (See Thinking to Write Lesson W1: Formatting & Documentation and Using KSU Google Drive Docs.)
- You are also encouraged to save a copy of the paper (download it) to your personal computer or a thumbdrive.
- Be sure to share the essay with me (clrobins@kent.edu), allowing me permission to edit it. (See Using KSU Google Drive Docs.)
- If you want confirmation that I have access to the essay, make sure that I receive email notification (and thus a link to the essay) when you share it. (See Using KSU Google Drive Docs.)
Essay Four Directions:
This essay is slightly open topic. Compose a complete essay that is 1000-2000 words (3-7 pages) long¹ on anything that has to do with Margot Lee Shetterly’s book, Hidden
Figures. You must cite (quote and/or paraphrase) the book, Hidden Figures, and at least six other works that you have selected from Lessons R4-R10.² To be clear, you do not have to draw from each Reading to Think lesson! You must, however, make significant use of Hidden Figures and of the additional six other sources that you select to use. If you need help developing a topic, I am here: feel free to email me or to sign up for an online chat via KSU Google Chat. Be sure to emphasize what YOU think in this essay, as well as how/why you agree or disagree with the works that you cite. Limit use of “I” and do not use “we” or “you” (and their variants) at all.
NOTES:
¹ One page is roughly 315 words (Times Roman, 12pt. font, 1 inch margins).
² You may use additional materials, but if a work is found outside the lesson pages, you must seek my permission to use it. Send me an email with complete bibliographic information at least 72 hours in advance of the essay’s due date.
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 paper demonstrates a full understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. The paper is properly formatted (APA Style) and was obviously composed using KSU Google Docs. The paper’s thesis (main point) is clearly stated. The paper is tightly organized, well developed, and coherent. The paper is well supported by reasoning and documented sources (cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases). The paper has a professional tone, avoiding second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) sparingly. The paper is virtually free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
B Level Work
The paper demonstrates a full understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. The paper is properly formatted (APA Style) and was obviously composed using KSU Google Docs. The paper’s thesis (main point) is clearly stated. The paper is mostly organized, sufficiently developed, and mostly coherent. The paper is sufficiently supported by reasoning and documented sources (cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases). The paper has a mostly professional tone, avoiding second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) minimally. The paper is mostly free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
C Level Work
The paper demonstrates some understanding and respect for the directions and stays on the chosen topic. The paper demonstrates an attempt to be properly formatted (APA Style) and was obviously composed using KSU Google Docs. The paper’s thesis (main point) is stated, but not very clearly. The paper is somewhat organized, loosely developed, and vaguely coherent. The paper is marginally supported by reasoning and documented sources (cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases). The paper has a barely professional tone, failing to avoid second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) too much. The paper is mostly free of grammatical and mechanical errors.
D Level Work
The paper does not demonstrate a full understanding or respect for the directions, and/or the paper fails to stay on the chosen topic. The paper does not demonstrate an attempt to be properly formatted (APA Style), and it is not clear that it was composed using KSU Google Docs. The paper’s thesis (main point) may or may not be stated, but if it is stated, it has not been done so very clearly. The paper is barely organized, under- developed, and/or barely coherent. The paper is weakly supported by reasoning and documented sources (cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases). The paper has an unprofessional tone, significantly failing to avoid second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) too much. The paper contains several grammatical and mechanical errors.
F Level Work
The paper does not demonstrate a full understanding or respect for the directions, and/or the paper fails to stay on the chosen topic. The paper does not demonstrate an attempt to be properly formatted (APA Style) and was obviously not composed using KSU Google Docs. The paper’s thesis (main point) may or may not be stated, but if it is stated, it has not been done so very clearly. The paper is unorganized, under- developed, and/or incoherent. The paper is weakly supported by reasoning and documented sources (cited quotes, facts, and/or paraphrases), if supported at all. The paper has an unprofessional tone, significantly failing to avoid second person (“you” or “we”) completely and using first person singular (“I”) too much. The paper is cluttered by grammatical and mechanical errors.
Sample Point Deductions:
Submitted late: 3% grade point subtraction for each day late
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 100 point essay = 1 point
1% of a 200 point essay = 2 points
Sample Point Additions:
Excellent thesis statement (clear and well written): 3% grade point addition
Professional tone: 5% grade point addition
Professionally cited references: 5% grade point addition
Well stated and supported points: 5-10% grade point addition
Very strong essay organization and/or essay unity: 10% grade point addition
Example
An essay worth 100 points that is: not be properly formatted (-5 points), submitted three days late (-9 points), has a very weak thesis (-5 points), has numerous incoherent sentences (-10 points), but has very strong organization and/or unity (+10 points) would likely earn a grade of 81 points (B-).
Rule
No grade for submitted work ever goes above an A; likewise, no graded work ever goes below an F; however, if an assignment is never submitted, or if it is submitted too late to be graded, it will receive ZERO points.
