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Essay 1: Summary & Response

 

Percentage of Final Grade: 10% or 100 points

 

Learning Objectives:

  • Students will understand academic writing as a conversation about topics of consequence.
  • Students will understand their responsibilities as writers – to accurately cite the work of other writers, to provide their audience with reliable information, and to consider multiple points of view.
  • Students will understand academic writing as governed by the conventions of specific discourse communities.
  • Students will become more critical readers, learning strategies for previewing, annotating, summarizing analyzing, and critiquing texts.
  • Students will improve their ability to write clear and compelling thesis statements.
  • Students will develop the skill of constructive critique, focusing on higher order concerns during peer workshops.
  • Students will understand the distinction between revising and editing.

 

Assignment:

For Essay 1, you will summarize and then respond to oneof the readings fromChapter 18 inThey Say / I Say(TSIS). In your essay, you will summarize the reading and thenrespond to it by discussing how your own experiences and knowledge have led you to either agree, disagree, or both agree and disagree with the author. Carefully read the example essays that I have posted under Course Content, as they will help you to understand the expectations for the assignment.

 

You may use any of the readings in the chapter (even if they were not assigned).Choose the readingthat you best understand, and use the templates from your textbook (pp. 751-766 inTSIS) to situate your argument within the existing conversation.

 

Note:If you do not have the templates, then you have the wrong edition of the textbook!

 

Assigned Readings:

 

  • “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (pp. 424-440)

 

  • “Smarter Than You Think: How Technology Is Changing Our Minds for the Better” (pp. 441-461)

 

  • “Does Texting Affect Writing” (pp. 462-473)

 

  • “No Need to Call” (pp. 505-524)

 

  • “Go Ahead: Waste Time on the Internet” (pp. 500-504)

 

Unassigned Readings:

 

  • “How I Learned to Love Snapchat” (pp. 474-479)

 

  • “Google, Democracy, and the Truth about Internet Search” (pp. 480-499)

 

  • “Does a Protest’s Size Matter?” (pp. 525-529)

 

Requirements:

  1. Length: 1,000-1,200 words

 

  1. Include 3-4 direct quotes from the reading you chose for this assignment.

 

  1. Your thesis should state whether you agree, disagree, or both agree and disagree with the author. You must respond to the author’s argument.

 

  1. Provide an adequate summary for your reader, but do not allow the summary to dominate the essay. The bulk of the essay should present your own ideas.

 

  1. Properly introduce, present, and cite all direct quotes.

 

  1. Include a Works Cited page in which you cite the reading that you chose for this assignment.

 

  1. You must adhere to the formatting guidelines set forth in The MLA Handbook, 8th edition. Be sure that all margins measure 1 inch and that you use Times New Roman 12-point font. You also should follow MLA formatting guidelines regarding the page heading, running header, page numbering, etc.

 

General Guidelines:

  • Present and support your response (argument) with observations, details, and examples.

 

  • Use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Avoid slang, clichés, and second person pronouns. Since this essay requires you to respond to the reading using your own experiences and knowledge, you may use first person pronouns.

 

  • Point out the author’s strengths and weaknesses, but do not misinterpret the author.

 

  • Present your response so that readers can hear your distinctive voice.

 

  • Properly organize the paper. Provide clear transitions.

 

  • Use a variety of sentence structures and sentence beginnings.

 

  • Do not simply restate your thesis and main points in the conclusion! Your conclusion should be a fresh take on that thesis, and you should work to leave your readers with something thought-provoking.

 

Evaluation Criteria:  

  • Is the writer’s purpose/position clear?

 

  • Does the writer position him/herself within an existing debate/conversation?

 

  • Does the writer spend too many, too few, or just enough words discussing the argument expressed in the selected reading?

 

  • Does the writer offer sufficient (quantity) and compelling (quality) support for his/her own position?

 

  • Is the essay effectively organized?

 

  • Are the paragraphs adequately developed?

 

  • Is the tone appropriate to the essay’s purpose?

 

  • Is there evidence of attention to language, of a conscious attempt to employ rhetorical strategies to achieve a certain effect?

 

  • Does the essay contain errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and/or mechanics?

 

  • Does the writer smoothly incorporate source material, using signal phrases and transitions?

 

  • Does the writer accurately cite all sources both in the text of the essay and on the Works Cited page?