Steps and grading criteria: 

This assignment uses a hard-scaffolded grading method for 60% of your paper grade and a subdivided assessment of product for 40%. That means that your participation in each step of the process counts significantly toward the calculation of your final paper grade. You can find the percentage of the final grade assigned to each graded step noted below. I’ll use a binary approach (as in: you did it, or you didn’t) to grading these steps, meaning that if you complete the step in good faith, you’ll get full credit for that step. 

If you have to miss class when a step is due, I’ll accept electronic submissions. Please make every effort to participate in the virtual prospectus workshop and the in-class draft workshop. If you have to miss one of these, let’s discuss it and we’ll work out a way to make it up. 

Steps with grade percentages: 

• Investigate a topic related to one of your papers or any of the course materials. You can start by googling your topic and surfing Wikipedia and/or other reference websites. 

• Form a guiding question for your research. Brainstorm five possible research questions and write them down. Bring a hard copy to class _______. 5% 

• Consider some hypothetical answers to your research questions. Do any of those answers make a statement that could function as a thesis statement (meaning that it’s controversial and supportable with evidence)?  

• Begin to identify sources of information and evidence credible to your audience. 

• Complete a prospectus worksheet and upload it to your group’s folder on Dropbox by ______ on ______. 10% 

• Participate in the peer review workshop: read the prospectus worksheets submitted by your fellow group members, complete a peer review worksheet for each, and upload your peer review worksheets to your group’s Dropbox folder by midnight on ______. 5% 

• Complete a working annotated bibliography and bring a hard copy to class __________. 5% 

• Bring four copies of a rough draft of at least 4 pages to class on ____________. 15% 

• Complete peer response memos during class on __________. 5% 

• Revise your draft according to your peers’ and my feedback. 5% 

• Draft a writer’s letter to me explaining your writing process and the ways you incorporated your peers’ and my feedback. Turn your writer’s letter in with your paper. 10% 

• Turn in your final draft (with writer’s letter) on Dropbox by ____________. 40%, graded according to the following tasks: 

1. Posit a thesis statement that takes a position on a controversial issue. Your thesis should be controversial enough to warrant counterarguments that you can raise and rebut. Your thesis should be supportable with sub-arguments, analysis, and evidence. 5% 
2. Articulate at least three sub-arguments that support your thesis and support your sub-arguments with evidence and analysis. 5% 
3. Articulate at least three counter-arguments to your thesis and/or sub-arguments and offer your own answers to those counter-arguments, using evidence and analysis where appropriate. 5% 
4. Incorporate multiple perspectives in your writing by summarizing, interpreting, critiquing, and synthesizing the arguments of others. Use at least 7 sources credible to your audience. 5% 
5. Ethically acknowledge the work of others when used in your own writing, using a citation style appropriate to your audience and purpose. 5%***(Note that plagiarism will result in an F on the paper and the course as well as disciplinary action. This 5% criteria concerns your methods and techniques of attribution, not whether you do it when necessary, the failure of which constitutes plagiarism. Don’t worry; we’ll discuss this at length in class.) 
6. Express your ideas in language suitable for your audience—your instructor and your classmates. Articulate your ideas clearly and keep cluttered syntax and repetition. 5% 
7. Provide adequate context to orient your reader and demonstrate your understanding of the rhetorical situation surrounding your topic and any ongoing debates relevant to the issues you raise. 5% 
8. Use transitional phrases and idea-focused topic sentences to continually ensure your reader remains oriented and can follow your logic throughout the essay. 5%