Jim Roth’s Website
What Matters in America Essay
#2 Assignment
The second Summary-and-Response Essay (Canvas)
DIRECTIONS:
Please select one of the articles from Chapter 3, pp. 100-146, of What Matters in America and write a
summary-and-response essay to it. Occasionally blend the essay's
author's words with your own when appropriate and be sure to credit the words
you borrow. Welcome to our second essay. Before you begin,
please remember what we have already learned about introductory
paragraphs, clear thesis sentences, robust supporting paragraphs to develop
the thesis, and elegant conclusions to tie it all together. First, because this essay will incorporate other people's
property (their words and ideas), be sure you have read and
understood Working with Words from a Source--7th and
8th Edition Information or watched and understood the Working
with Words from a Source Video--7th Edition Information as
well as the information in Assignment Explanation and Annotated Example Video and related information. IMPORTANT: To be eligible for a score of 70 or higher,
your essay must demonstrate that you know how to use author tags/signal
phrases to blend other people’s words and ideas with your own. You can review
this skill by again studying the Working with Words from a Source--7th and
8th Edition Information. Also, you
will need to understand how to cite a What Matters in America article
in your essay. Writing Groups You may find yourself in a different writing group for our
second essay, so please find your name and group before posting your rough
draft. Please keep in mind that the purpose of a writing group is to
offer constructive feedback on the drafts of essays after the drafts have
been taken at least through the second revision. Feedback
from your peers concerning your essay can then be blended into your
subsequent revisions to make your final draft (the one you submit for a
grade) even better. You might read again the Peer Editing Advice. Though the advice
is written for students taking a "Writing for Government"
course, it would be difficult to find a better description of the peer editing
process. Pay particular attention to the recommended approach suggested
in the article. As a basis for your thoughts and comments, you might
use the Essay Grading Sheet. The version of
your summary-and-response essay, taken at least through the second
revision, is due submitted to your Writing Group by the due date
given on the calendar. An on-time submission can yield up to five
points. Please use the Essay #2 Check Sheet before submitting
your rough draft to your Writing Group. Each member of the
Writing Group will then have the next few days to offer
constructive comments and suggestions regarding the other members’
drafts. Of course, it is always your choice whether to incorporate your
Writing Group’s advice into your essay. In addition, full
participation in your Writing Group by offering useful, constructive comments
to all members concerning their essays can earn an additional five points if
completed by the due date on the calendar. You will then
have the next few days to complete the third and fourth revisions of
your essay, and submit the final draft to me for grading. Please note the due date for your final
version on the calendar. An essay
can earn up to 100 points. More Specifics Your second essay must
follow the summary-and-response model and be about the same length as the
student examples you studied earlier. Please keep in mind that
a substantial part of your grade on this essay will be determined
by how well you have mastered blending others' words with your own,
so you will likely need to refer to Working
with Words from a Source--7th and 8th Edition quite
often. |