Kate Francis
Short Writing Assignment for Students
2005 Workshop on Improving Student Writing
Center for Writing Excellence
Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching
Kate Francis
Department of English
Short Assignment
INTRODUCTION FOR FACULTY TO THIS SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT
This shorter writing assignment for ENG 111 (College Composition) requires students first to read carefully and actively an essay many of them may find challenging, and then to use their understanding of the argument presented in order to respond to the ideas other readers may have formed from their own readings. Prior to this assignment, students would have worked on critical thinking skills, especially in terms of locating and questioning assumptions. They would also have been considering the ways in which personal histories both help and hinder us as we engage with new ideas.
This is a new assignment, one I took from the second day of the CWE workshop. I experimented with a different type of rubric, one that is less detailed than the one I designed for my long assignment. Although less specific in terms of describing various elements of the writing, the rubric is more specific about the point distribution. As I continue to work with rubrics, my goal is to combine the best qualities of both rubrics from the two assignments I wrote for the workshop, giving students not only specifics but also point distribution.
Short Paper #3: Multiple Voices, Multiple Views (50 pts.)
Due date: Friday, October 8
Length: 2-3 pages
Voice: can be casual or more academic; it should be appropriate to the rhetorical situation
Audience: your peers
Genre possibilities: traditional essay; narrative with dialogue; others of your choosing
Description/Directions:
In “Civilization’s Thin Veneer,” Vaclav Havel makes a number of points concerning globalization. I’d like you to work with this essay by engaging with several of these points. Here’s the scenario: You’re having dinner at Harris when you overhear other ENG 111 students, who’ve also read the article, trying to make sense of this challenging reading. On the next page, you’ll find some of their comments. Select three, and then write a response to each. Your responses can take the form of agreement, disagreement, pointing out flaws in reasoning, or helping expand the speaker’s understanding of the issue. If you choose to agree, you’ll need to go beyond a simple agreement to an explanation of why you do so. If you disagree, explain why. If you choose to point out flaws in reasoning, do so in a way that indicates respect for the speaker. If you want to help deepen the thinking of the speaker, you might use a series of questions to show the speaker where the argument/understanding of the issue might go.
- Vary the nature of each response—don’t offer three “I agree with you” responses or three “here’s where your reasoning is flawed” responses.
- You might want to begin the paper by “setting the scene” with a short narrative, perhaps something similar to the technique Havel uses in his essay.
- If you select an essay genre, you should devote 2-3 well-developed paragraphs to each response.
- For the narrative/dialogue option, feel free to structure it as a conversation—you don’t need to keep each response separate, but can interweave them. Devote around ¾ page to each response.
We’ll be using this writing as a basis for class discussion on Friday, so be prepared to share your work.
Goals:
- To explore various understandings of a topic
- To expand your own understanding of the reading
- To engage in a dialogue
- To use writing as a means of exploration’
- To practice specific style techniques
Grading Criteria:
- Depth/development of response—have you gone beyond merely stating your position to a developed explanation of it?
- Quality of writing—how you carefully proofread and edited? Have you used spell-check? Have you paid particular attention to the style issues we’re concentrating on this semester: transitions, sentence combining, and wordiness?
- See rubric (attached)
Stacey: “Well, what I didn’t get about his essay was the very first part, and I was even more lost after that. Doesn’t he think that technology is a good thing? I mean, we should be grateful to be able to communicate with the entire world whenever we want to.”
Dan: “This whole essay made no sense to me. I couldn’t even figure out one point he was trying to make. Not only that, it was too long and boring. I don’t know why teachers force us to read things we’re not interested in. I mean, who cares?”
Rachel: “I think his idea about how there is a tension going on is a good one. What he says is true: even though we are all connected through technology, and it seems like there is some kind of global civilization, there are still a lot of people who want to keep their own traditions and ideas; there’s a lot of emphasis on staying different rather than becoming more alike, and I think that’s a good thing.”
Katie: “Yeah, but if everyone wants to hang on to what makes them different, then how are we all supposed to get along? That’s what he doesn’t explain.”
Dan: “Even though I hated this essay, I did get one idea, I guess, and that was about trying to have some kind of basic code of existence. I mean, I got that idea but I’m not sure what he means.”
Kyle: “I’m not religious and I didn’t like his emphasis on religion. That really turned me off.”
Sean: “I think this guy is just against technology, like Stacy said. Sure, there’s always a downside, but he just says “it’s bad” and doesn’t admit all the good things about science and everything like that. It’s easy to just blame everything that goes wrong on progress but I don’t see that he suggests that we can do anything about it.”
Ali: “Well, he says something about the politicians and that they should do something. I guess he doesn’t know too much about American politicians, huh? I don’t think they’d be too interested in doing anything like what he describes.”
Ra’shawn: What really pissed me off about this guy was that he was critical of the U.S. If we’re so bad, what’s he even doing here in this country? After I read that part, I just quit reading anymore because obviously he’s a jerk. I don’t think it’s America’s fault about World War II and Stalin. I mean, is he blaming us for everything that goes wrong in the world?”
Rob: “Yeah, I agree with Ra’shawn. I kept reading, though, but kinda tuned out when he got to that whole ‘regional communities’ thing, which I didn’t get. Is he saying we shouldn’t have countries? How would that work out? How would there be any governments? It sounds like a step backwards to me.”
Angie: “I’m a mass com major, and I was interested in his take on the mass media. He likes and doesn’t like TV, but he raises a good point bout how just because someone looks good on TV doesn’t mean they’re actually good politicians. It really makes you think about how TV can make you think certain things that might not be true. And then you have to think about who owns the TV networks. They could use their power to really influence a lot of people to think a certain way.”
Dan: “Who is this guy, anyway?
Kyle: “What does that have to do with anything, Dan?”
ENG 111
Short paper #3
Grading Rubric for short paper #3: Multiple Voices, Multiple Views (50 pts.)
Before you submit your paper, take time to review the rubric. Use it to assess your work.
Depth/development: (20 pts.) Have you fully developed and explained your ideas? Is it evident that you’re familiar with the contents of the essay? Have you gone beyond the simple “I agree” or “I don’t agree”? Have you included a variety of responses?
| Fully developed variety of responses |
Does not go much beyond simple statement |
20 15 10 5 0 |
|
Quality of Writing: (20pts.) Have you revised and edited the writing? Did you work on eliminating or rewriting wordy phrases or sentences? Have you used spell-check?
Organization of ideas:
5 4 3 2 1
Transitions:
5 4 3 2 1
Sentence structure:
5 4 3 2 1
Mechanics:
5 4 3 2 1
Overall impression: (10pts.) Is there a sense that you have spent time with the writing, or does it seem rushed and hastily prepared? Have you gone beyond the bare minimum of work required? Have you “made the project your own” in some way? Have you used the assignment to take chances with your writing?
Writing moves beyond Shows little effort
the minimum in engaging or or investment
creative ways
10 8 6 4 2