This assignment does not count toward the final grade.

Submit Essay 2

  • Due Oct 21, 2018 by 11:59pm
  • Points 0
  • Submitting a file upload
  • File Types doc, docx, and pdf

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Essay 2

Goal:

Students will compose a largely error-free argumentative essay on The Other Wes Moore.

Outcomes:

Upon completion of this essay, students will be able to:

  • Thoughtfully discuss critical ideas in the novel and organize a well-structured, sustained argument which supports a clear thesis
  • Critically analyze textual evidence from the novel and at least one unit 2 reading
  • Analyze a student sample essay to help outline and draft argumentative essay
  • Complete discussions and peer review which aim to polish analytical skills before submitting a final draft
  • Consistently and accurately use MLA citations 

Instructions:

For this paper, answer the following question in 4-6 pages (double-spaced, MLA):

What do you think the most significant factor was in both boys going in separate paths in life? In other words, why do you think the other Wes ended up in prison while the author ended up a Rhodes Scholar?

Answer your chosen question in a succinct thesis (which will go in your intro) and support your thesis with clearly organized paragraphs which include examples from the novel. Additionally, use AT LEAST 1 OF OUR UNIT READINGS (Powell, Dweck, Dobbs, Duckworth, Alexander, HONY: Inmates website) to supplement your interpretation and analysis of the novel in your chosen question. The in-class reading will help you to provide evidence for specific claims you make in your body paragraphs about the novel.

  • 4-6 pages. 

  • MLA format. 12-point font, Times New Roman. Works Cited Page included

  • A creative title that hints at the subject matter. 

  • Concrete evidence properly cited and integrated.
  • Indicate a clear focus in a well-written thesis statement and stay focused throughout the essay.
  • Organizing Principle. 

  • Introduction, body, and conclusion. 

  • Fully developed analysis of how the evidence supports each topic sentence and overall thesis statement.
  • Successfully includes discussion from our in-class reading in an insightful and thoughtful way
  • Implements proper stylistic conventions to include: sentence variation, college-level vocabulary, target audience, complex sentence structure.
  • Use an effective structure that carefully guides the reader from one idea to the next, and be thoroughly edited so that sentences are readable and appropriate for an academic audience.
  • Write the paper as if addressing a scholarly audience.

Submission and Grading:

This assignment will be submitted via a file attachment. Be sure to attach a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Once you've attached your essay file, click Submit! The essay will be graded using the rubric below. Please review the rubric prior to submitting your final draft.

You must score an 80 or above in order for the Assignment to be counted as "Complete." You will need to revise any score under 80.

Remember, for Essays, you must pass all 4 regardless of your Grade Goal.

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1540191540 10/21/2018 11:59pm

Rubric

Essay 2 Rubric (2)
Essay 2 Rubric (2)
Criteria Ratings
Thesis
Edit criterion description
Strong Thesis is an opinionated statement which states the reason for the two boys going in separate life journeys. The thesis is clear and can be easily identified. The paper stays true to the thesis throughout the paper.
Meeting Expectations The thesis is not clearly laid out in the introduction. The thesis may not be a clear, argumentative thesis that clearly and directly answers the prompt. It may be an announcement instead of a solid, clear, opinionated statement. It may be vague and more of an observation rather than an opinionated statement about the novel.
Not Yet The thesis cannot be identified or is missing. The paper lacks a clear focus because the thesis is unclear and there is no statement regarding the student's specific opinion about the novel.
Grammar
Edit criterion description
Strong 1-2 Proofreading errors (misspelling, missing commas)
Meeting Expectations Grammar errors are distracting but do not interfere with comprehending the essay.
Not Yet The grammar makes the language hard to understand and therefore impacts the content comprehension.
MLA
Edit criterion description
Strong 0 errors in MLA but perhaps citation formatting is inconsistent
Meeting Expectations 1-2 errors in MLA
Not Yet 3 or more errors in MLA
Organization
Edit criterion description
Strong The essay's body paragraphs follow logically. Each paragraph discusses one specific reason to support the thesis and stays on topic and connects to the topic sentences. There are transitions to guide the reader from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph.
Meeting Expectations The essay's body paragraphs follow logically; however, 1-2 paragraphs may have an unclear focus or topic sentence. At times, the student may try to discuss more than 1 unrelated idea in the same paragraph or the main idea may not be explicitly identified. There are some transitions to guide the reader from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph, but there may be a couple places where there are missing transitions.
Not Yet The essay does not move smoothly through the body paragraphs. Ideas may be repeated in different paragraphs, and paragraphs may not have clear topic sentences which do not identify the reason to support the thesis. Transitions are missing. It's hard to see how ideas are logically connected.
Use of evidence
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Strong The student chooses specific quotes from the novel and the in-class article that directly illustrate the main idea stated in the topic sentences for each body paragraph. The student demonstrates an understanding of how to locate effective evidence and incorporate it smoothly into the paragraph. The evidence is contextualized and introduced before the quote is used.
Meeting Expectations Most of the chosen quotes accurately illustrate the main idea from the topic sentence, but there are 1-2 paragraphs that have evidence which is not clearly related to the rest of the paragraph or that may inaccurately illustrate the main idea in the topic sentence. 1-2 quotes may not match the main idea in the topic sentence. Also, some evidence may not be contextualized and may be dropped into the paragraph abruptly.
Not Yet The evidence used is hard to connect logically in the paragraphs because it is unclear how the quote illustrates the main idea from the topic sentence. There are other pieces of evidence that would have more accurately illustrated the main ideas throughout the paper. It may be that the majority of the quotes are not contextualized and therefore, it is hard to see the relevance of the evidence used.
Style and Mechanics
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Strong No use of second person pronouns, student uses formal, academic voice.
Meeting Expectations Either student uses second person OR student uses informal tone.
Not Yet Use of second person AND informal tone
Analysis
Edit criterion description
Strong Throughout the paper, the student thoroughly discusses: 1) how the quote illustrates the main idea from the topic sentence 2) how the quote and body paragraph then support the overall thesis statement of the student's essay
Meeting Expectations In the paper, the student consistently discusses 1 of the following (or adequately discusses both but not thoroughly): 1) how the quote illustrates the main idea from the topic sentence 2) how the quote and body paragraph then support the overall thesis statement of the student's essay
Not Yet In the paper, the student makes an attempt at analysis but only covers 1 or fewer of the following consistently (or varies discussion of 1 of the following throughout): 1) how the quote illustrates the main idea from the topic sentence 2) how the quote and body paragraph then support the overall thesis statement of the student's essay