Assignment (Kim Woods) only

Select a journal article about an issue in your field of study from the Library. Do not select an article which simply summarizes job duties, but instead look for an article which addresses a change, important topic, new idea, current trend, etc.

(She also said that we can use a site off of google something for articles. Also my degree is BA in Liberal Studies)

Post: Summarize and analyze

To prepare for success on the Unit 2 Assignment, address the following points in at least 2 well-developed paragraphs:

· Identify the author and title of the article you chose to read, along with the URL link to the article.

· Briefly summarize the article.

· Identify the main point of the article and what makes it effective.

· Share what you learned about effective writing from reading this article.

· Include an open-ended question about any issue your initial post raises which your classmates can help you with.

SAMPLE DB POSTS

RESPONSE TO INITIA POST

Hi, everyone, I read an article called Forensic Science: A Time of Transformation, written by Jim Dawson.

You can find the article here: https://www.nij.gov/journals/277/pages/forensics.aspx

I think that the author is writing to a general audience and that he wants to tell us about how the field of Forensic Science is undergoing a lot of changes lately. He also indicates that the field itself needs to make some changes to get rid of biases that occur and how they can hurt situations where forensics experts testify in court cases. It was a well written article because it is organized around how the field has changed lately and how it still needs to be transformed to be considered a “real” science.

One thing I learned about writing from reading the article is that if you’re not clear and don’t develop your ideas fully, the audience won’t understand your point. I sometimes forget when I write that I am writing to an audience and that I have to be clear for them. The writer uses language and words that I don’t understand sometimes, so that may be a weakness in the article.

My question is about the audience of the article. I always used to think that the audience is just the reader. This unit’s reading says that is wrong, that writers target specific groups of people. Is that true and am I right about the audience here in this article?

Thanks, Marsha

RESPONSE TO INITIAL POST

Hi Marsha,

I read the article you linked and you are right that the author is explaining why this field still needs to make changes. I am not sure about the audience you refer to though. If this article is published in a Journal called the National Institute of Justice, would the audience here be experts in that field? That may also be why the vocabulary in the article is hard to understand sometimes. If the author is writing to experts, he would want to use the lingo that experts use. I’m not an expert in the field, so I had to look up some of the vocabulary. This unit’s reading on comprehension skills suggests that we have to look words up if we don’t understand them, and I’ve started doing that to help me with understanding these articles we are reading better. What do you think about my ideas about audience?

Keith

Unit 2 Assignment Instructions

Prepare: Select a journal article about an issue in your field of study from the Library. For help with finding an article to reading and analyze, review the Assignment guidelines.

Read the article and apply what you have learned about effective reading and writing to complete this Assignment.

Please review the following guide for help with picking an article to analyze and for help with the writing process.

Unit 2 Assignment Guide

Write: Analyze the article you have read, addressing the following requirements in 3 well-developed paragraphs:

· In paragraph 1: Identify the author, title, and publication information for your article. Identify the article’s audience and purpose. Summarize the main points in the article in your own words.

· In paragraph 2: Discuss what the author does to develop or support these main points. For example, personal experience, statistics, interviews, facts, and emotions are just a few of many different strategies authors use to support main ideas.

· In paragraph 3: Analyze the effectiveness of the article. Identify one to two specific qualities of the article you read that you find to be effective. For example, an author may use statistics to effectively appeal to a professional audience. Or, an author may use a conversational tone to appeal to a novice audience.

Your submission should:

· Be at least 3 well-developed paragraphs

· Be approximately 1–2.5 pages, double spaced, in length

Discussion Rubric

Main Post: · Student responds to all required points in Discussion prompt including asking a question. · The post is on topic, original and contributes to the quality of the discussion. · The post makes informed connections to the Unit readings · The post is at least two-well developed paragraphs. Deductions: (minus 4 points per area) · Student does not respond to all required points in the Discussion prompt. · The post may only be partly on topic or many not make a significant contribution to the quality of the discussion · The post does not make informed connections to the Unit readings. · The post does not meet length requirements · The post may be largely unoriginal No Credit: · No main post. · Plagiarized posts will result in automatic “0” for the Discussion grade.	20
Contributions to Discussion (engagement): · Responses to classmates’ posts are thoughtful and on topic, advancing the discussion. · Student shows active engagement in the discussion (e.g. asking and responding to questions, posting early in the week, posts on multiple days. · Student exceeds the required number of responses to classmates’ initial posts Deductions: (minus 8 points) • Student makes only one participation response. Deductions: (Minus 3 points per area) · Responses do not significantly advance the discussion a substantive manner. · Student does not show an active engagement in the discussion by exceeding the two participation response minimum. · Responses may be off-topic or may not reference unit concepts. No Credit: · No participation responses are made · No responses to classmates or instructor. · Responses that are abusive or inappropriate will result in an automatic “0” for the unit’s Discussion grade.	17
Grammar/Mechanics/Style/Citation: · Responses are clearly written in Standard English (SE), and student uses a style appropriate for classroom discourse. · Responses are mainly free of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure errors. · If sources are used, student includes signal phrases or APA citations. Deductions: (minus 1 point per area) • Responses may have errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.	3

· Responses may have errors in sentence structure which impact meaning. · The style many not be appropriate for classroom discourse (not SE, slang, text abbreviations, etc.) or Responses do not credit sources using signal phrases or APA citations when required in the instructions.
Plagiarism is a violation of the University Academic Integrity Policy. Discussion posts which are plagiarized will receive a “0”
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