English Class

Module Four Decision Tree Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

In this assignment, you will be guided through decisions in order to create the thesis statement for your project. When you create a thesis statement, you create a structure for the ideas in your project. That structure also helps your reader know what to expect if they keep reading past your thesis.

Directions

Address the following items in chronological order. The answers to these questions will help guide you in forming your thesis statement. Submit the answers and your thesis statement using the template linked in the What to Submit section.

Specifically, you must address the following:

Part One: First Part of the Thesis Statement

Address the following items, which will become the first part of your thesis statement.

1. Identify the topic.
   1. What is your topic?
2. State the claim.
   1. The claim is what is true and/or misunderstood about the topic.
   2. Remember that this is your claim about the effectiveness of the text.
   3. What do you believe is true, or what do you believe people misunderstand, about your topic?
3. Combine the topic and claim to form the first part of the thesis statement.

Part Two: Second Part of the Thesis Statement

Address the following items, which will become the second part of your thesis statement.

1. Explain different reasons why the claim is true.
   1. Provide three reasons why the claim is true.
   2. How/why is it true or not true?
2. Combine the different reasons why the claim is true to form the second part of the thesis statement.

Part Three: Whole Thesis Statement

1. Compose the thesis statement.
   1. The thesis statement should be formed by combining the partial statement from #3 and the partial statement from #5.
   2. The two partial statements should be formed together to make one whole sentence, which is the thesis statement.

What to Submit

Submit your completed Module Four Decision Tree Template for grading. Although you will refer to your selected text in your assignment, you will not refer to any sources from outside this course.

Supporting Materials

The following resources will support your work on this assignment:

Student Exemplar: Module Four Decision Tree Exemplar This is an example of a completed decision tree template for this assignment. You may want to use this as a guide when addressing the rubric criteria for this assignment.

Module Four Decision Tree Rubric

Criteria	Proficient (100%)	Needs Improvement (75%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Topic	Identifies the topic	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include clearly identifying the topic	Does not attempt criterion	10
Claim	States the claim	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include stating what is true and/or misunderstood about the topic	Does not attempt criterion	10
Combine the Topic and Claim	Combines the topic and claim to form the first part of the thesis statement	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include fully combining both the topic and claim	Does not attempt criterion	10
Why the Claim Is True	Explains different reasons why the claim is true	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing reasons why the claim is true, providing different reasons, or adhering to the required number of reasons	Does not attempt criterion	30
Combine the Why Responses	Combines the different reasons why the claim is true to form the second part of the thesis statement	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include fully combining the why responses to form the second part of the thesis statement	Does not attempt criterion	10
Thesis Statement	Composes the thesis statement	Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include accurately and fully combining the first and second parts of the thesis statement to form one full sentence	Does not attempt criterion	20
Clear Communication	Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audience	Shows progress towards proficiency, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understanding	Shows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication	10
Total:	100%