DRAFT 2.2 & WRITING REVIEW 4/26/2012

CLASS TODAY:

Draft 2.2 Assignment Description & Grading Criteria

Draft 2.2 Workshop

Writing Reviews

Small Group Work

Reflection: Free Write

Final Announcements

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I will try to have your participation grades up in Raider Writer in the next week. Possibly even tonight.

DRAFT 2.2 ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Objective: To expand and revise your argument.

Purpose: A few weeks ago, you composed an initial draft of your argument. This assignment enables you to revisit your argument and apply suggestions from your instructors and peers, as well as what you have learned about the language of argument.

Description: To complete this assignment, you will expand and revise the first draft of your argument, draft 1.1. Also, if you need additional sources, you may use the TTU library and its databases to locate 1 – 4 others, as needed.

Your revisions may include any or all of the following:

Strengthening, narrowing, or expanding your claim

Adding additional data to support your claim

Strengthening your explanation of the theoretical framework of your argument.

Using more precise language to help persuade your reader of your argument’s validity

The length of your argument should be 1500-2000 words, not including the Works Cited list. Please use MLA format for in-text citations and your list of works cited.

DRAFT 2.2 GRADING CRITERIA

C1—Issue Identification and Focus Has the student focused his or her argument on a narrow

topic? Is the essay argumentative rather than informative? C2—Context and Assumptions Has the student considered the contexts of the articles

which he or she quotes? Has the student discussed any assumptions which he or she makes about the topic as well as the assumptions which the articles make?

C3—Sources and Evidence Has the student presented sources effectively to support

his or her points? Does the quality of the sources meet the guidelines specified by the instructor? Has the student cited these sources correctly? Is the Works Cited list formatted correctly? Has the student cited all of the sources listed in the Works Cited?

DRAFT 2.2 GRADING CRITERIA CONT’D

C4—Diverse Perspectives

Does the student consider the counterargument fairly and carefully? Do the articles which the student cites in the counterargument support the counterargument and not the argument? Sometimes, students will borrow a summary of the counterargument from a source that they have been using to support their own lines of argument.

C5—Own Perspective

Has the student clearly stated an arguable thesis statement? Do the lines of argument provide adequate support for this thesis statement, and is it clear how they support it?

C6—Conclusion

Does the student summarize the main points that he or she has made? Does the conclusion restate the thesis statement in some form (not necessarily in the same words)? How effective is the conclusion rhetorically?

C7—Communication

Is the essay clearly organized and easy to follow? Can you tell which paragraphs are lines of argument? Is it clear how every paragraph helps to develop the thesis statement? How effective is the student’s writing at the sentence level?

DRAFT 2.2 WORKSHOP

In groups of 2, exchange papers.

Please read your peer’s draft and fill out the handout (I will check for completion, but you will be giving it to your peer) and mark anything in the draft that it asks you to.

You may talk to your peer about any suggestions you have for improvement once these steps have been completed.

WRITING REVIEW ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Objective: To review the work you have completed in the course and to reflect on what you have learned from it.

Purpose: Your final assignment asks that you reflect back on what you have accomplished this semester.

Description: To complete this assignment, first take the post-diagnostic exam. Then, look back on your writing from this semester, as well as any in-class writings and/or notes you’ve taken. Review your scores on the two Grammar Diagnostics you have taken this semester and all work you have completed at Exercise Central. Then, write a 400-600 word reflection describing what you have learned about writing arguments and what you understand about doing so that wasn’t clear to you when you started this class. Be sure to discuss the following in your review:

WRITING REVIEW ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION CONT’D

What was your post-diagnostic score? How does it compare to the pre-diagnostic exam that you took? Discuss any areas where you feel you have grown as a writer? Where do you still need to practice most?

What have you learned in this course about writing in general and writing arguments specifically?

What have you learned about finding, evaluating, and incorporating sources? What kinds of challenges did working with sources pose for you?

How has the writing you’ve done in 1302 transferred to the writing you have been asked to do in other courses this semester?

Remember that you should write your reflection in the first-person, but it should still be structured as a mini-essay, with an introduction, body, and conclusion. You also need to provide specific examples from your own writing. In addition, it should be written in a professional tone.

WRITING REVIEW GRADING CRITERIA

C1—Issue Identification and Focus

Does the student thoroughly explore and reflect on what he or she has learned about academic writing?

C2—Context and Assumptions

Does the student consider his or her writing experiences prior to this course to contextualize the knowledge that has been attained?

C3—Sources and Evidence

Does the student support his or her reflection with evidence from the various assignments? In other words, does the student directly refer to specific parts of his or her assignments (paragraphs and/or sentences). This criterion is particularly important because students tend to use vague and generic language that could apply to any student’s situation.

WRITING REVIEW GRADING CRITERIA CONT’D

C5—Own Perspective

Does the student show authority in relaying his or her perspective about the learning experiences?

C6—Conclusion

Does the student provide an evaluative statement of his or her learning experiences that also encompasses how the attained knowledge might be beneficial in the future?

C7—Communication

Does the student communicate his or her reflection effectively? Is the student's tone professional? Has the student organized his or her reflection effectively? Is the reflection relatively free of grammatical errors?

WHAT A WRITING REVIEW IS NOT:

It isn’t a summary of the semester.

Nor is it a catalogue, assignment by assignment, of what you did.

It’s not a discussion of what you did or didn’t like about the course, the instructors, or the grading.

You will receive an automatic F for flaming; it is unprofessional and has no place in academic writing.

WHAT A WRITING REVIEW IS:

A writing review is a critical analysis of the student’s learning through the semester.

That means that it has a beginning, middle, and end. It discusses where the student begins as a writer when he or she enters the course.

After review your performance over the semester, answer these questions on a separate sheet of paper:

What are the student’s strengths and weaknesses as a writer—whether these are things that the student has determined, or that the student has been told by instructors, tests, diagnostics, or other external agents?

What were the student’s goals when entering the course? Did the student have a plan for achieving those goals, or

did the course, as it unfolded, help the student find a way of achieving those goals?

WHAT A WRITING REVIEW IS CONT’D:

What assignments were most representative of the student’s best work? The worst work? And *why*, in either case? How did the student know this?

Finally, of the goals the student had at the beginning of the course, how many of those were achieved? How many remain a work in progress? And, perhaps most significant to the student’s learning, what new goals surfaced during the semester—goals that aren’t easily met in the course of 16 weeks.

What does the student have to work on in his or her writing over the next few years of college?

To fully consider these questions, students need to look at their entire body of work—the diagnostics, their class notes and activities, every writing assignment, their textbook, their e-handbook, conferences with you, feedback and grades.

After answering the questions, look at your answers and begin to form your thesis statement.

A SUCCESSFUL WRITING REVIEW WILL:

1. Include a brief 2 – 3 sentence discussion of the pre and post-semester diagnostics.

2. Have a guiding thesis statement.

3. Be organized into body paragraphs that are developed around topic sentences.

4. Include examples from your own work that show how you have improved.

5. Analyze each example.

6. Include some discussion of how this course has or will transfer to your other course either this semester, or in future semesters.

7. Range from 400 – 600 words.

SMALL GROUP WORK:

Pull out your prep assignment

Tell your group what you wrote and then how you might approach the Writing Review.

FREE WRITE

Take 10 minutes to free write about what you have learned or figured out in this class.

Consider the skills you learned this semester

What are you capable of now, as a write, that you were not capable of at the beginning of the semester?

Think about the classes you are enrolled in for next semester.

How will you use these new skills in those classes?

FOR THE REST OF THE SEMESTER

Your Draft 2.2s are due on Tuesday, May 1st by 11:59:59pm! Don’t forget about this!

Your Writing Reviews are due on Thursday, May 10th by 11:59:59pm!! I will send out an e-mail reminding you all about this assignment when it gets closer to the due date.

E-mail me if you have any questions. I will be happy to help.

Next week, I will have office hours on Monday, and I’m thinking of having hours on Tuesday instead of Thursday. What do you all want?

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

It’s been a pleasure teaching y’all this semester!