SUSAN EICHENBERGER INTRODUCTION TO SEQUENCED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Until attending the CWE workshop on Improving Student Writing in Content Courses, I was reluctant to assign very many writing exercises in my classes for fear that I would not have ample time to grade. I was also less than confident in my skills to adequately grade writing. Over the last few days, I have come to believe that, by creating better assignments and spending more time “up front,” my students and I will all benefit from more writing. I developed the following sequenced writing assignments and rubric in the workshop for my class, Race and Ethnic Minorities in Sociology and Black World Studies. The material in this class is challenging on many levels. Not only does it challenge the more scholarly ideas that students have about race and ethnicity in the U.S., it can also be quite personally challenging. I chose sequenced writing assignments so that students could progress in both their level of competency with complicated theories of race while becoming more comfortable psychologically and emotionally with the material. My hope is that by combining the scholarly works on the subject matter with more informal writings, students will be more comfortable and less apprehensive about the writings. I still feel quite new at this and welcome feedback and suggestions to better improve my assignments!
SEQUENCED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS FOR STUDENTS 25 Points Each
SOC/BWS 348 Race and Ethnic Relations Susan E. Eichenberger
Assignment 1Three part summary, analysis, and lecture outline of chapter one from Erasing Racism by Molefi Asante.
Part A: Summary
Thoroughly summarize chapter one from Asante.
Part B: Analysis
Part C: Lecture Outline
During diversity awareness week at MU, you have been asked to give a talk about race and ethnic relations issues in the U.S. to students in your dorm. You have recently finished reading Asante’s book for your Race class, and you plan to use the book as the basis for your talk in order to impress upon your dorm mates the importance of race relations. Write an outline that you would use for the informal talk. While this assignment is an informal lecture to students, your grade will include the clarity of your writing, taking into consideration organization, punctuation, and grammar.
Assignment 23-4 page argumentative script using concepts and issues from the theory of social construction of race as well as the literature on white privilege.
Process
Two friends from SOC/BWS 348 are having a conversation about class over dinner at the Bell Tower dining hall. One student is drawn to biological explanations of racism and does not buy the theory of the social construction of race and ethnicity. The other student feels that the social construction of race and ethnicity best explains race relations in our country. Write an argumentative dialogue/script between the two students. The script should begin with each person defining what they understand to be the social construction of race and ethnicity.
Criteria
Consider the following questions when writing:
Assignment 33-4 page letter to a family member or friend describing your experience in SOC/BWS 348.
Process
It’s the end of the semester and you are stressed out by finals preparation and paper writing. You decide to clear your head and write a letter to either a family member or friend. Choose someone with whom you would like to have a conversation about race. It could be that you agree with this person, or that you wish you could talk to them about concerns you have about race and ethnic relations in the U.S. Be sure to give a brief biography and description of the person preceding the letter. In addition, be sure to tell them about your experience in your race and ethnic relations class.
Criteria
The following are questions to help you get started:
Rubric for Sequenced Writings
Assignment 1Part A: Summary
The summary should identify and summarize the problem/question at issue (and/or the source’s position).
Scant
Does not identify and summarize the problem, is confused or identifies a different and inappropriate problem. Does not identify or is confused by the issue, or represents the issue inaccurately.
Substantially Developed
Identifies the main problem and subsidiary, embedded, or implicit aspects of the problem, and identifies them clearly, addressing their relationships to each other. Identifies not only the basics of the issue, but recognizes nuances of the issue.
Part B: Analysis
1.) Identifies and presents the STUDENT’S OWN perspective and positions as it is important to the analysis of the issue.
Scant
Addresses a single source or view of the argument and fails to clarify the established or presented position relative to one’s own. Fails to establish other critical distinctions.
Substantially Developed
Identifies appropriately one’s own position on the issue by drawing from support from experience and information not available from the assigned source. Identifies and considers OTHER salient perspectives and positions that are important to the analysis of the issue.
Scant
Deals only with a single perspective and fails to discuss other possible perspectives, especially those salient to the issue.
Substantially Developed
Addresses perspectives noted previously and additional diverse perspectives drawn from outside situations.
Part C: Lecture Outline
In addition to summary and analysis in parts A and B, the following will be added to part C:
Scant
Does not surface the assumptions and ethical issues that underlie the issue, or does so superficially. Substantially Developed
Identifies and questions the validity of the assumptions and addresses the ethical dimensions that underlie the issue. Identifies and considers the influence of the context on the issue. Scant Fails to identify conclusions, implications, and consequences of the issue or the key relationships between the other elements of the problem, such as context, implications, assumptions, or data and evidence. Substantially Developed
Identifies and discusses conclusions, implications, and consequences considering context, assumptions, data, and evidence. Objectively reflects upon their own assertions. Assignments 2 and 3
These assignments will use all of the above criteria for grading. |