Assignment (6)

Week 6 Reflection Final Draft Revision Guidelines:

Still as Easy as A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, Baby, You and Me!

These guidelines are meant to help you improve your rough draft from Week 4 into your final draft.

Start by Reviewing the Undergraduate Writing Template File found in the Week 4 or Week 6 Learning Resources.

Make sure to read through the instructions and writing advice in the template.

Next, use the template to properly format what you’ve already written.

Make sure to Save As with the file and name it according to our usual naming convention:

WK6Assgn2+last name+first initial

Are there any additional comments or examples you want to add from Weeks 5 and 6? How about the journal entry or the final picture of all your Smarter Measure self-assessments? Consider the Week 5 discussion and assignments.

Lastly, consider the overall course themes and ideas: being human in our virtual world while living and learning in a technological world which relates to finding your identity in a virtual space, tool using animals, balancing life and your time, learning styles and strategies, perspectives on reality, important vs. essential technology, connecting and disconnecting online, and social change.

Write up any additional sentences directly into your paper in the appropriate sections or create new paragraphs to include these.

Now that you’ve gotten all your ideas on paper and properly formatted, it is time to dive into the revision and proofreading stages.

Let’s start with Drafting and Revising. This can be compared to the “meat and potatoes” of the revision process because it serves as the main part of the meal in which everything else is based. It is the most important step because this is when you take a deeper look at the organization and coherence of your paper. In the drafting process, you look at the effectiveness of the ideas, organization and coherence of the paper, and the supportive analysis of ideas. This is an active process. You might move a word or two, change a sentence, or even rearrange an entire paragraph. You might even move a paragraph to another place in the body of the paper. You want to ensure your paper is readable, makes sense, and meets all the requirements of the assignment and scholarly writing expectations.

For More Info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/revising

As you are revising your paper for the writing elements, you also want to ensure you’ve met the assignment requirements:

· Your revision should include topic sentences, strong body paragraphs, a thesis statement, an introduction, and a conclusion. Use the questions below to help you explore each of these more.

· You’ve clearly addressed and analyzed what you have completed in the course and how it impacts your success.

· You’ve used evidence to support your ideas. You got specific, detailed, dug deeper and provided clear examples for evidence. For example, if you are talking about your score on a self-assessment, why not tell us exactly which one and include the actual score?

· You’ve included AT LEAST two specific examples from the course.

· You’ve met the length and formatting requirements using AWE.

Here are some specific questions to Ask Yourself as you are revising your draft, along with a quick review of some writing basics.

1. A thesis is your stance on the topic—a one or two sentence statement of opinion, or something that you will explore, prove, expand upon, develop and provide a thorough discussion of in your essay. Remember, a thesis must be arguable.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

Is your thesis statement clear and specific? Does it indicate the direction your paper is taking? Is it consistent with your body paragraphs? Is it limited enough to be manageable? Do you provide a preview of the points you will use to support your thesis at the end of the introductory paragraph?

For more info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/thesisstatements

2. A strong body paragraph should directly support the thesis, have 1 central point, have evidence to support that point, and explain how the evidence supports the point, and in turn, how it supports the thesis statement. Each paragraph should have a:

Point- A topic sentence has two functions:

-It states the point of the individual paragraph.

-It states how the point develops the thesis statement (for an essay).

Evidence + Information – Provide outside information to support your topic sentence.

Analysis- The explanation illustrates to the reader why the information is relevant to the topic sentence.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

What are the points supporting the thesis in each paragraph? Do you need to change any that stray away from the thesis?

What is each body paragraph’s central idea? Is it expressed in a topic sentence? Where is the sentence located? Can it be moved to the beginning of the paragraph to be more effective? Is the topic sentence merely a fact, or is it a claim that can be supported? Where in the paragraph does support seem irrelevant, vague, insufficient, inaccurate, disorganized? Where would additional sensory details, examples, facts, statistics, expert authority, and personal observation be appropriate? What information should be removed or modified to better support the topic sentence and thesis statement? How could paragraph coherence be strengthened? Which signal devises are used to connect ideas within the paragraphs and between the paragraphs? Are these transitions clear or do they need to be strengthened?

How are the body paragraphs organized? Would it be more effective if they were moved into a different order to best support the thesis? Would this make the essay more interesting?

For more info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/undergraduate/paragraphs

3. An introductory paragraph should accomplish two tasks:

· They should get the reader’s interest so that he or she will want to read more.

· They should let the reader know what the writing is going to be about (thesis statement).

Questions to Ask Yourself:

How could the introduction be more effective? Which striking anecdote, fact, or statistic elsewhere in the essay might be moved to the introduction? How does the introduction establish the essays purpose, audience, tone, and point of view? What introduction techniques might make the paragraph more striking? Is there a clear thesis and preview, are they strategically placed at the end of the introduction paragraph?

For more info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/undergraduate/paragraphs/introduction

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/introductions

1. Conclusion Paragraph: The conclusion is a separate section of the essay, a kind of counterpart to the introduction. It has the same purpose as the introduction—to assist the reader in understanding your information and thinking. It is, however, a look back instead of a look ahead. That is, you ask the reader to “step back” from the body part of the essay and reflect on its significance by restating the main points and central thesis.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

How could the conclusion be strengthened? Which striking anecdote, fact, or statistic elsewhere in the essay might be moved to the conclusion? Would echoing something from the introduction help round off the essay more effectively? Are there any new ideas in the conclusion that should be removed? What conclusion techniques might summarize the thesis and points more creatively?

For more info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/undergraduate/paragraphs/conclusion

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/conclusions

The editing and proofreading can be compared to the “salad on the plate”, essential to balance the meal, but not as heavy as the meat and potatoes of drafting and revising.

In the editing and proofreading process, you will examine the style, sentence structure, and the mechanics of the paper. This is the last step, after the paper has a solid and well-supported argument.

For More Info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/proofreading

Final Considerations: These are things you’ve hopefully considered a bit as you went along, but it’s never a bad idea to check one more time.

•Sentences:

Questions to Ask Yourself:

Are your sentences effective? Interesting? Varied in length and structure? Should any sentences be deleted, combined, shortened, and/or moved? Are there any sentences that are awkward, confusing, or weak?

•Mechanics:

Questions to Ask Yourself:

Do you have errors that may impede the understanding of the reader? Are there run-on and/or comma splices in your paper? Are all the punctuation marks used correctly and skillfully?

For more info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/multilingual/grammar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqSw-HUr3U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-UJJNVLAoE&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLM7NbPzilFBcbmW9VettBnal4DazPzcDU

Getting Ready to Submit

Make sure to proofread your paper one last time before submitting.

For more info: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/proofreading

You also want to address Part 4 of the directions by adding a visual representation.

Part 4: Visual Representation

After you have completed your Reflection, find or create a visual artifact that shows your aspiration and hang it above your desk. Think of something that will motivate you and keep you engaged and focused as you complete each Discussion and Assignment as you move through your coursework toward graduation. Be sure to include a picture or copy of this visual representation with your reflection paper by copying and pasting it into your paper or attaching it as a separate file.

Make sure to also include your Rough Draft either at the end of your paper or as a separate file uploaded on the Submission page.

Congratulations on completing your first major paper and writing exercise at Walden!