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What Matters in America Essay #1
So here we go! Welcome to
our first essay. There is lots of information here, so please read
carefully.
Before beginning,
please be sure you understand general essay structure and the
summary-and-response essay structure presented in the previous module.
From our earlier study,
we’ve learned that an essay should have an inviting introductory paragraph
with a clear thesis sentence at its end, robust supporting paragraphs to
develop the thesis, and an elegant conclusion to tie it all together. In
addition, we’ve learned that a particular type of essay—the
summary-and-response--requires all of these, plus words and ideas from
another author blended with our own.
Essay #1 asks you to apply
the standards of both general essay structure and summary-and-response
essay structure.
Here’s what to do: To be successful, read carefully and
follow exactly the following six steps.
First, please read all of the articles in What
Matters in America (WMA), Chapter 6, What’s the Big Deal About
Immigration, pp. 224-257. Since these articles have to do with an issue
that’s much in the news, I think you’ll find them both interesting and
timely.
Second,
choose one of these
articles to work with in a summary-and-response essay.
Third,
read and watch carefully Working with Words from a Source—MLA Style to
familiarize yourself with
the rules for blending other people’s words and ideas with your own.
Fourth,
write a rough draft of a summary-and-response essay to the WMA article
you’ve chosen, being sure to carefully follow the summary-and-response
essay structure demonstrated in the Essay
#1 Builder--How
to Write a Summary-and-Response Essay.
Fifth, in at least three locations in your essay, use what you learned in Working with Words from a Source—MLA Style to blend words and/or ideas from the
WMA article with your own words. You might return to the sample
student summary-and-response essays written in response to the Robert Heilbroner article
“Don’t Let Stereotypes Warp Your
Judgments” to see again how this is done. Please remember to lead in with
signal phrases (author tags) and keep the quotations as short as possible.
(Follow CAREFULLY the conventions presented in Working
with Words from a Source—MLA Style.)
Sixth,
post your revised draft to your Writing Group, as described in the First Week information below.
First Week
For this first essay,
I
have placed each of you in a Writing Group of four to five people. The
purpose of a writing group is to offer constructive feedback on the drafts
of essays after the drafts have been taken at least through
the second revision. (Translation: please do not submit junk
to your Writing Group.) Feedback from your peers concerning your essay can
then be blended into your subsequent revisions to make your final draft
(the one you submit for a grade) even better.
This version of your essay
(a draft taken at least through a second revision) is due submitted to your
Writing Group by the end of the first week.
(Please see the CANVAS module for specifics.) An on-time submission can
yield up to five points.
Second Week
Each member of the Writing
Group will have the first four days of the second
week to offer constructive comments and suggestions to help the
other group members with their drafts. Of course, as the essay’s author, it
is always your choice whether to incorporate your Writing Group’s advice
into your essay. The due date for these Writing Group comments to others is
also in the CANVAS module.
Full
participation in your Writing Group by offering useful, gentle, but
constructive comments to all members concerning their essays can
earn an additional five points. Please do not begin peer editing your Writing Group’s rough drafts
until you have worked through the peer
editing resources at the beginning of the second week.
When the peer editing
period ends, you will then have until the end of the second week to
complete the final revisions of your essay and submit a final draft to me
for grading. Please note the final version due date given in the CANVAS
module. An essay can earn up to 100 points and will not be accepted late.
Final Copy Requirements—(you’ll submit your
final copy by the end of the second week.)
Please Note: To be
eligible for a score of 70/100 or better, your essay must conform exactly to all of the following requirements:
1.
The essay must be about the length of the "Pitfalls
of Technology" essay or the "Milkshake
Essay" examples (5 to 6 solid paragraphs, including an
introductory paragraph, three to four body paragraphs, and a concluding
paragraph.
2.
Your essay must be a response to one of the
assigned What Matters in
America articles specified for Essay #1.
3.
In at
least three places, your essay must blend in words or ideas from the WMA
article you are writing about.
Please be sure to use signal phrases to introduce these borrowed
words or ideas, as demonstrated in “Working with Words from a Source—MLA style”—the Document.” Each instance of borrowing and blending must
have a signal phrase and a proper citation, conforming exactly to MLA documentation guidelines.
4.
Your essay must have a clear
thesis sentence and well-developed and unified body paragraphs, as
discussed and demonstrated in the examples.
5.
Your essay must be relatively
free of the grammatical problems covered in earlier modules including
Commonly Confused Words, Sentencing (absence of comma spice and run-on
sentence errors), Subject-Verb Agreement, and Pronoun Agreement.
6.
The version you submit
must demonstrate careful and thorough revision. A submission that
appears to have been rushed and carelessly assembled will not be accepted
and a zero will be recorded in the grade book. One revision skill
that I recommend and use is to read each draft ALOUD and tweak any rough or
confusing parts until your physical ears approve.
7.
Your final copy must
be submitted on or before the due date.
According to our syllabus, no
essays will be accepted late, regardless of reason, so please don’t ask.
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