English 6/10

The Assignment:  Your objective is to produce the first draft of your Cause and Effect essay. The first draft will be a complete essay of 750 to 1000 words describing the causes of a problem in your field and supporting your ideas with research from web resources (minimum two sources total). You may not use first person (I, we, us) or second person (you) in this essay. Make sure that you write about a single problem and three causes of that problem, not three problems.

Resources:

· Download a PDF copy of the Module 3 Cause/Effect First Draft Assignment.

· Download a PDF copy of the Student Cause and Effect Example.

· At least two credible sources from the Internet

Acceptable Length:

The first draft should:

· be at least five paragraphs long and contain an introduction, body, and conclusion.

· describe a single problem and three causes of that problem, not three problems.

· contain references from at least two credible sources from the internet, properly cited in MLA format.

· contain 750 to 1000 words.

Formatting Requirements:

· Use MLA formatting in a Google Document.

Grading Criteria:

· To get full credit, the Module 3 first draft should be:

· at least 750 words on the assigned topic. The assigned topic is to identify a single problem in your field of study and to describe three causes of that problem. The topic is not to write about three problems.

· a minimum of five paragraphs.

· in MLA Format

· your original work. The purpose of using outside sources is to support your ideas, not to provide the actual content of your paper.

· original to this session of this class. Do not submit work that you have previously submitted for any other class, including other sections of this one.

· original to this essay. Do not copy any work from your previous essays to use in this paper.

· Students should reference and cite at least two credible internet sources for this assignment. All sources should be cited properly in MLA Style both in the text of the document and with full Works Cited citations.

· I will use the ENG 111 Cause and Effect Final Draft Rubric to grade the final draft of this assignment.

Specific Guidelines for the First Draft:

· For a good paper, follow these guidelines to the best of your ability.

Section 1: Background and Statement of the Problem

1. What is the overall purpose of your field? What is it that people in your field do? (1-2 sentences).

2. Give background on the problem, including when and where it exists. (2-3 sentences).

3. Identify in a single complete sentence that the problem can be traced back to a few causes.

1. This sentence is the thesis; it identifies the main idea of the piece in one sentence.

2. The thesis statement should be your idea and should not be cited from source material.

3. The thesis should identify a single problem and three causes of that problem, not three problems.

4. If possible, list the causes in the sentence, but don’t force it. The sentence should be easy to read.

5. Thesis example: “The student dropout rate in online courses is a serious problem in education caused by personal, environmental, and technical issues.”

Section 2: Cause #1

1. In the first sentence, state the first cause and relate it back to the main idea in the thesis statement.

1. This sentence is the topic sentence; it identifies the main idea of this section.

2. The topic sentence should be your idea and should not be cited from source material. Use source material only to provide detail and credibility in support of your idea.

3. Example: “Students often drop out of online courses due to personal issues.”

1. Explain the cause and describe how the cause relates directly to the problem. (5-12 sentences)

1. Use citations where appropriate.

2. Refer to pgs. 122-128 in Little Seagull for models of in-text citations.

3. Example of a few supporting sentences:

Some students experience feelings of isolation which add to the stress of learning new material alone (Bolliger and Inan). Angelino, Williams, and Natvig write about how personal responsibilities can cause otherwise motivated students to get distracted.

Section 3: Cause #2

1. In the first sentence, state the first cause and relate it back to the main idea in the thesis statement.

1. The topic sentence should be your idea and should not be cited from source material. Use source material only to provide detail and credibility in support of your idea.

2. Example: “A poor academic environment also contributes to the high dropout rate of students in online classes.”

1. Explain the cause and describe how the cause relates directly to the problem. (5-12 sentences)

1. Use citations where appropriate.

2. Refer to pgs. 122-128 in Little Seagull for models of in-text citations.

3. Example of a few supporting sentences:

                

Carnevale notes that instructors are often unable to design effective online courses because they are not experienced in distance education and have not received proper training. Both students and faculty report widespread problems with access to student services (Shea).

Section 4: Cause #3: Follow the pattern from Sections 2 & 3

Section 5: Potential solutions

1. Do not begin the paragraph with “In conclusion…”

2. Rephrase the thesis statement; do not use the same words.

1. Example: Online student dropout is a difficult problem with a number of causes.

1. State any potential solutions from sources.

1. Example of a few concluding sentences:

                

Fortunately, there are some possible solutions to the problem as well. Perry and Pilati encouraged schools to provide better access to student services by reaching out to students instead of waiting for them to reach out. Faculty also need support and training as they transition from traditional to online classrooms (McClary).

                

Section 6: Works Cited (example of Works Cited page follows)

1. Scroll down to the next blank page in the same document.

2. Type Works Cited, centered, on the first line. Hit Enter.

3. Create Hanging Indent (makes first line on left, all others indented)

1. On the ruler at top of the document, slide the rectangle until it is on top of the triangle.

2. Slide triangle to .5” (halfway between left and 1”). Rectangle follows automatically.

3. Slide rectangle only back to left. Triangle stays to the right.

4. First lines now will justify to the left; all others will indent.

1. Create citations for all sources you cited.

1. Refer to pgs.134-143 in Little Seagull for models of citations for online sources.

2. Refer to a minimum of two credible online sources in this first draft assignment.

1. Only include citations for sources that you actually referenced in the first draft.

1. Scroll down to find an example below.

1. Look back at my in-text citations above; notice how easy it is to tell exactly where I used each source.

2. Look at my Works Cited citations below; notice how the format required that I give enough information for any reader to find the exact source that I used.

1. You will probably use the Documentation Map for an Article in an Online Magazine from pg. 138 in Little Seagull to create your citations (I’ve copied the model below):

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Website, Date on web, Pages (if any), URL. Date of Access (example 26 May 2017).

1. I mainly used Model 8 “Article in a Journal” from pg. 136 in Little Seagull to create my citations (I’ve copied the model below):

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume, Issue, Date, Pages.

Works Cited

Angelino, Lorraine M., Frankie Keels Williams, and Deborah Natvig. “Strategies to Engage Online Students and Reduce Attrition Rates.” The Journal of Educators Online 4.2 (2007): 1–14. Web. 26 July 2013.

Bolliger, Doris U., and Fethi A. Inan. “Development and Validation of the Online Student Connectedness Survey (OSCS).” The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 13.3 (2012): 41–65. Web. 26 July 2013.

Carnevale, Dan. “Learning Online to Teach Online.” Chronicle of Higher Education Oct. 2003: 31–32. Web. 19 June 2013.

McClary, Joseph. “Factors in High-Quality Distance Learning Courses.” Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration 16.2 (2013): n. pag. Web. 20 June 2013.

Perry, Edward H., and Michelle L. Pilati. “Online Learning.” New Directions for Teaching & Learning 2011.128 (2011): 95–104. Web. 20 June 2013.