DUE May 28, 2024 (11:59pm, EST)
100 Points (10% 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 One Directions:
Write an essay in which you describe your writing process, including your writing strengths and weaknesses. This essay should be 500-1500 words (2-4 pages) long.¹ Respond to each of the the below, as fully as possible, in a well structured essay (an introductory paragraph, thesis statement, several body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph):
- Describe the activities you perform to achieve completion of a writing assignment. You might even write these activities in terms of “steps” that you take toward completing a writing assignment. (There is no “right” or “wrong” way to write, though there are some approaches that are better than others.)
- Describe the types of errors you must be careful to avoid or be prepared to fix (such as when you are proofreading your paper).
- Answer some or all of these questions: When you write, do you write in spurts (write a little, stop, do something else, write a little more,…), or do you write all at once (you
write and write until you’re done, even if it is for hours and hours)? How are you most comfortable thinking (thinking to write)? Do you think better by talking with yourself or others or by seeing and writing/gesturing/signing? Or are you more of a tactile learner? Or is it a combination of these methods? (There is no such thing as a learning style; however, you might think that you are more comfortable learning one way over another, and that affects how you think about your writing process.) - Let’s dig a little deeper: take the Jung Typology Test.² After taking the test, find and learn more information about your results in Sixteen Psychological Types² and then learn just a little bit more about Your Writing Personality Type.² Write a brief (short paragraph) reflection of the results, particularly in terms of your writing process.
NOTE: You may use “I” in this assignment. (In fact, I do not see how you could not!)
Additional Notes:
¹ One page is roughly 315 words (Times Roman, 12pt. font, 1 inch margins).
² Do not worry about citing these documents for your Essay One assignment.
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. Feedback will always be provided.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
