- Arrange a meeting with the professor to discuss the dates of your presentation along with the topic that you will be dealing with in your presentation.
- Students will be required to find, read and analyze at least three (if not more) articles on your chosen topic. Each pair should turn in all three articles and the analyses at the end of the presentation.
- Each student pair will be required to give the professor a copy of the article that will be assigned for the class at least 4 days prior to their class presentation along with a list of required readings from the primary texts to be distributed to the class.
- For every class period with student presenters, the entire class will be required to read the article and the associated readings.
- Each student pair will have 2 full class days to go over the articles and associated readings. Students can make assignments, change the chair arrangement, make a Jeopardy game or anything else they deem appropriate for the teaching and understanding of the article.
- Each student pair will be graded jointly on their presentation. Criteria for grading will be as follows:
- Clarity of presentation
- Ability to get student participation and interaction with texts
- Relevance and quality of article and dialogue excerpts
- Written comprehensive article analysis
reminders about writing papers:
Spellcheck everything and proofread it. A spellcheck will not pick up your bad grammar.
Use the correct form of there/their/they’re, to/too/two, our/are and right/write.
Do not cite definitions from the dictionary.
Do not use contractions in formal essays. Ever.
Never end a sentence with a preposition.
If you quote something that is more than three lines long, it must be indented one inch on both sides, it should be single spaced and there should be NO quotation marks used. The fact that it is indented and single spaced indicates that it is a quote.
Use a consistent system of citing your references. “This is an important fact” (Worth, 7).
End quote, parenthesis, authors last name, comma, page number, end parenthesis, period. You may use other citation systems, but make sure they are right and make sure they are consistent through your paper.
Do not cite the Internet. Use the old fashioned sources.
Careful with singular and plural everything. Do not say “when one is portrayed negatively through stereotypes they are destined to suffer.”
Use gender neutral language, and make it sound natural.
Do not start a sentence with And or But or any other inappropriate first words.
Do not start a sentence with “I believe that.” It can always be cut out and a more powerful statement will be left.
Paragraphs should be about 60-200 words. Each paragraph should have a main idea, and the bulk of the paragraph should be used to support that idea.
Quotes should have introductions. Do not just start a quote without telling me what good it is. Quotes should also not end a paragraph without an explanation as to why you are using it. If you end a paragraph with a quote, you are letting the quote do the work of your own arguments, which is no good.
Do not use passive voice.
Criteria for Evaluating Writing Assignments
A The principle characteristic of the A paper is its rich content. The information delivered is such that the reader believes that he or she has been given significantly informed information by the author, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph. The A paper is also marked by stylistic finesse; the title and opening are engaging; the transitions are smooth; the phrasing is tight and specific; the sentence structure is varied; the tone enhances the purpose of the paper. The A paper, because of its careful organization and development, imparts a feeling of wholeness and clarity. The reader is satisfied and eager to reread it. The A paper is free of grammatical mistakes.
B The B paper is significantly more than competent. Apart from being almost free of mechanical errors, the B paper delivers substantial information--in both quantity and interest value. Its specific points are logically ordered, well-developed, and unified around a clear organizing principle that is apparent early in the paper. The opening paragraph captures the reader’s attention; the closing paragraph is both conclusive and reasonably smooth, the sentence structure is varied. The diction is more concise and precise than that of the C paper. In general a B paper offers substantial information with few distractions.
C The C paper is generally competent but lacks imagination and/or intellectual rigor; it addresses the assignment, has few mechanical errors, and is reasonably well-organized and developed. The information it delivers, however, is thin and commonplace. One reason for these shortcomings is that the ideas are typically cast in the form of vague generalities--generalities that prompt the confused reader to ask questions about specifics. Stylistically, the C paper also has one or more than one other deficiencies; such as a weak opening paragraph, a perfunctory conclusion, strained transitions, choppy and monotonous sentence patterns, and diction marred by repetition and imprecision.
D The D paper’s treatment of the subject is rudimentary. While its organization may be recognizable, it is neither sufficiently clear nor effective. Sentences are frequently awkward, ambiguous, and marred by serious mechanical errors. Evidence of careful proofreading is scanty or nonexistent. The whole piece gives the impression of having been conceived and written in haste.
F The F paper treats its subject superficially. Its theme lacks discernible organization, and its prose is garbled or stylistically primitive. Mechanical errors are frequent, and its ideas, organization and style fall far below the standard for acceptable college writing.