reasearch essay

Basic view to let you know how will you do the research essay

GRADING RUBRIC: RESEARCH ESSAY

IDEAS:

• OUTSTANDING: Ideas are clear, insightful, thought-provoking, and focused so that they consistently support the topic, thesis and

audience for the paper. This essay tackles the topic in an innovative way, either presenting a new way of looking at a topic or text or

challenging major ideas within.

• COMPETENT: A clear thesis is presented that provides an interesting and/or thoughtful response to the text or assignment. Ideas are

clear and focused to support the topic and a clearly-stated central idea but are not consistently insightful or thought-provoking.

• ADEQUATE: Ideas are clear but conventional or general, and support the topic, thesis, and audience for the paper.

• DEVELOPING: Ideas are unclear or clichéd and demonstrate a lack of focus in support of the topic or a central idea, which may be

vague or missing. It may have a general or implied thesis; but the idea may be too broad, vague, or obvious.

• INADEQUATE: It may be an attempt to meet the requirements of the assignment, but it may have no apparent thesis or a selfcontradictory one, or the essay's point is so general or obvious as to suggest little thinking-through of the topic.

AUDIENCE AND STYLE:

• OUTSTANDING: Both development and organization anticipate the needs and expectations of the reading audience. The writer

effectively conveys the significance of the subject matter to the reader, and all reasonable concerns and/or objections are addressed.

The paper has an introduction that draws the reader in, and a conclusion that does more than just repeat the introduction or body

paragraphs. Creative elements such as particularly vivid descriptions, figurative language, and/or humor (when appropriate) are

present and are used in ways that add to the piece.

• COMPETENT: Development and organization suggest awareness of the needs and expectations of the reading audience. A

reasonable number of concerns/objections are addressed. The author’s tone is appropriate for the topic, assignment, and target

audience. The application of Beck’s ideas to real-world contexts has clear relevance for readers (i.e. the questions “So what?” and

“Who cares?” are thoughtfully answered).

• ADEQUATE: Development and organization may suggest an awareness of audience but may not show awareness of specific concerns

to the same degree as the “A” or “B” essay. The introduction could be too general and the conclusion too repetitive. Tribalism is

applied to a real-world context purposely and there is some indication that this application has relevance for you and/or your readers.

• DEVELOPING: Development and organization may suggest only occasional or superficial awareness of the needs and expectations of

the reading audience. Style may be incoherent, inconsistent, or inappropriate in tone.

• INADEQUATE: Development and organization suggest little or no awareness of the needs and expectations of the reading audience.

ORGANIZATION:

• OUTSTANDING: Organization is coherent, unified, and effective in support of the paper’s purpose/plan and consistently

demonstrates effective and appropriate rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs. The logical relationships between ideas are

abundantly clear and readers are pulled through the essay with a clear sense of progression.

• COMPETENT: Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s purpose/plan and usually demonstrates

effective and appropriate rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs. Sufficient transitions allow readers to infer logical

connections between ideas.

• ADEQUATE: Organization is coherent and unified overall in support of the essay’s purpose/ plan but is ineffective at times and may

demonstrate abrupt or weak transitions between ideas or paragraphs. Clear, but perhaps generic (next, another reason, etc.) transitions

are used.

• DEVELOPING: Organization is confused and fragmented in support of the essay’s purpose/ plan and demonstrates a lack of structure

or coherence that negatively affects readability.

• INADEQUATE: It may display little or no apparent sense of organization (e.g. the paragraphs lack a sense of progression).

SUPPORT:

• OUTSTANDING: Development is fresh, with abundant details and examples that arouse audience interest and provide relevant,

concrete, specific and insightful evidence in support of sound logic. Nuanced comprehension of all cited sources evident. (This is

perhaps shown through purposeful inclusion of material beyond thorough definitions of Beck’s key terms, such as the potential

causes of or solutions for tribalism, the contributions of media outlets, etc.). Beck’s ideas about tribalism are applied to a real-world

context that is clearly described in abundant detail. A sufficient amount of key terms is applied to the real-world context to allow

readers to fully understand the concept of tribalism and easily connect it to the real-world context.

• COMPETENT: Development is adequate, but may lack depth, with details and examples that arouse audience interest and provide

relevant, concrete, specific evidence in support of sound logic. This essay has a more complex narrative, displaying a thoughtful

analysis of the ways aspects of tribalism can be seen in real-world situations.

• ADEQUATE: Development is sufficient but general, providing adequate but perhaps not interesting details, examples, and evidence

that include no logical fallacies or unsupported claims. Enough key terms are clearly defined to reasonably allow a new reader to

understand the concept of tribalism (as used in Beck’s article).

• DEVELOPING: Development is insufficient, providing scarce or inappropriate details, evidence, and examples that may include

logical fallacies or unsupported claims. The paper may contain a list of examples placed in context with key terms but with little or

no explanation of how these connections relate to the thesis. The examples may be underdeveloped or may not accurately illustrate

key terms.

• INADEQUATE: Evidence may be inappropriate and/or off-topic or may consist of generalizations, faulty assumptions, or errors of

fact. The paper makes little or no mention of how tribalism is present in real-world contexts and/or key aspects of tribalism are

inaccurately applied.

TEXTUAL EVIDENCE:

• OUTSTANDING: Well-chosen textual examples are used to effectively support clearly defined points. Textual examples are

followed by commentary that effectively explains the significance of the cited example in relation to the point (i.e. the author’s voice

is more present than that of the author of the cited text). Citation errors are minimal, and do not impede understanding.

• COMPETENT: Appropriate textual examples are used to support clearly defined points. Textual examples are followed with

sufficient analysis. Errors in mechanics may be more frequent than in the “A” paper, but these do not impede understanding or create

confusion about ownership of ideas.

• ADEQUATE: Textual evidence may be predictable, may not be thoroughly interpreted, or may not be clearly related to the writer's

point. Errors in punctuation and mechanics of source citation at times create clarity errors (e.g. the combination of a signal phrase and

direct quote create a run-on), but do not create confusion about ownership of ideas.

• DEVELOPING: The connection between a point and its supporting textual example may not always be clear, but the essay

demonstrates that the writer understands the purposes and mechanics of source citation. The argument will be unconvincing,

inconsistent, or superficial, e.g., because the author concentrates on one specific passage rather than a text as a whole.

• INADEQUATE: The essay demonstrates little understanding of the purpose of textual evidence and/or the mechanics of source

integration. The paper indicates that further instruction and/or practice is needed. This essay may fail to handle borrowed material

responsibly and/or to document appropriately.

SENTENCE SKILLS:

• OUTSTANDING: The sentence structure is varied and the words are carefully chosen. There is evidence of careful editing since the

essay contains few grammatical and/or mechanical errors. How the writer says things is as excellent as what the writer says. The style

is energetic, confident, and precise.

• COMPETENT: The essay shows strong evidence of editing since there are relatively few grammatical and/or mechanical errors. Style

is readable and rhetorically effective in tone, incorporating varied sentence structure and effective word choice.

• ADEQUATE: Even in the "C" essay, there should be relatively few grammatical or mechanical errors--not enough to interfere with

readability; the writer has done some editing, even though it may be superficial. Style is readable, but unremarkable in tone,

sometimes including a lack of sentence variety and/or effective word choice.

• DEVELOPING: The style may be compromised by repetitive or flawed sentence patterns and/or inappropriate diction and confusing

syntax. Grammatical and mechanical errors may interfere with readability and indicate a less-than-adequate attempt at editing or

unfamiliarity with some aspects of Standard Written English.

• INADEQUATE: The style suggests serious difficulties with fluency which may be revealed in short, simple sentences and ineffective

diction. Grammatical/mechanical errors may interfere with reader comprehension or indicate problems with basic literacy or a lack of

understanding of Standard English usage.

RESEARCH ESSAY ASSIGNMENT SHEET

CONTEXT:

The last few weeks were spent exploring what author Julie Beck and others have to say about the issue of tribalism. Now it is time to – as stated in They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing – “put in your oar.” With this assignment, your perspective will be added to the ongoing conversation about this topic.

 

CORE TEXT:

· “This Article Won’t Change Your Mind” by Julie Beck

______________________________________________________________________________

 

ASSIGNMENT PROMPT:

In “This Article Won’t Change Your Mind,” Julie Beck examines why people resist information that conflicts with their beliefs: "In these charged situations, people often don't engage with information as information but as a marker of identity. Information becomes tribal."

· Analyze Beck’s findings by applying them to a real-world situation. Examine one or more situations where "information becomes tribal." Present all sides of this charged issue, analyzing the tribalistic ideas and attitudes on either side. What are the “tribes” of thought surrounding this issue? What positions does each side hold?  What has been established as verifiable undisputed fact?

· This process also requires you to confront and reflect on your own assumptions about this issue. As you analyze the real-world example, probe your personal viewpoints for any incidences of tribalistic bias.

· Then Respond. Add to the ongoing conversation by stating your position on this issue. What do the responses that you analyze show you about Beck’s conclusions? The results of your analysis will generate new knowledge on the topic of tribalism. The conversation will be carried forward by your thesis, which will reflect your position on how this new knowledge can be applied.  

· Purpose: As your analysis yields new information, ask yourself: So what? Who cares? What can readers do with this information? (e.g. Can we really change minds? If so, how? If not, then what can we do instead? How do we relate to tribalistic people? etc.)  

______________________________________________________________________________

 

AUDIENCE:

In this paper, you will decide which type of reader you want to address. When choosing an intended audience, it is important to think about your purpose: who needs to hear your position on this topic?

My only guideline is that you choose an educated adult audience of readers that are relatively new to this topic. Your audience will not have read Beck’s text and will likely not be familiar with the terms and concepts associated with her argument. This means that it is up to you to clearly, accurately, and respectfully present Beck’s ideas in your paper. This will involve providing clear definitions of the following terms and concepts:

· tribalism

· cognitive dissonance

· motivated reasoning

· selective exposure/selective learning

· particularized trust

 

RESEARCH:

This assignment requires some research:

· To respond to this prompt, you will need to “test out” Beck’s ideas in a real-world context. Do people react to information in the way she describes? If so, is it for the reasons she suggests? To do this, you will need to identify real-world examples of people responding to facts they are presented with and observe their reactions.

· This portion of the assignment requires that you conduct primary research. You can find these examples in texts, audio or video clips, or by conducting personal interviews.

· You also need to know about the topic under discussion. To judge the appropriateness of a response to information, you must know whether the information is valid, trustworthy, unbiased, etc.

· This requires secondary research into the issue surrounding your real-life example. This information can be found in scholarly journals, newspapers, and reputable magazines. 

The final draft must include at least four sources in addition to Beck’s article. Of these four, at least one must be a scholarly, academic-length article from a peer-reviewed journal.

 

CITATION:

Source material will be smoothly integrated and accurately cited. The sources will be listed on a correctly formatted works cited page (following proper MLA format).

 

WEIGHT:

This assignment is worth 30% of the course grade.

 

PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES:

The following Course SLOs will be addressed with this assignment:

· SLO 1: Increase fluency and confidence by developing flexible strategies for inventing ideas, identifying audience and purpose, arranging material, drafting and revising, proofreading and editing; apply these strategies to composing a variety of texts.

· This assignment will take you through each stage of the writing process, allowing you the experience to learn which methods and strategies work best for you when composing a text.

· SLO 2: Develop active and purposeful strategies for critically comprehending college-level texts.

· This SLO has been addressed with the close, critical readings of Julie Beck’s text and will continue with your close examination of scholarly materials found through research.

· SLO 3: Distinguish and develop a voice within the academic discourse community by synthesizing prior knowledge and experience with ideas gleaned from college-level texts.

· Concepts from Beck’s text will be synthesized with a real-world example. In presenting this academic analysis, you are joining an ongoing discourse about a significant topic.

· SLO 4: Apply effective strategies to assess and incorporate feedback from teachers, peers, and tutors in developing ideas and revising drafts.

· In addition to several scheduled peer review sessions, you can take advantage of advice available from the instructor and from UWC and TLC tutors.

· SLO 5: Control surface elements of language such as syntax, grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate as meaningfully as possible; begin examining writing conventions as rhetorical decisions: negotiable and fluid across various genres and contexts.

· The elements of your rhetorical situation will inform the rhetorical choices you make in writing this essay.

 

LENGTH:

For this assignment, I will not prescribe a minimum length. Your draft will be the length it needs to be to present and support your argument. My evaluation will be based on the depth of your argument and the effectiveness of your support, and not on the paper’s length. That being said, a look at the tasks involved in properly responding to this assignment should prepare you for the fact that this will not be a short paper.

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/645/my-effing-first-amendment

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