Throughout this semester, you will keep a writing journal. This writing journal

Throughout this semester, you will keep a writing journal. This writing journal is a place for you to practice your written communication. You will see weekly prompts on your Dashboard (Pre-Class Work) asking you to write something specific, practising the LOs we are learning in class. You will turn in the writing journal FOUR TIMES during the semester.** These are the instructions for Submission 3.**
You should write the individual entries in a Microsoft Word document and save it to your computer. When all four are complete, put them together in ONE PDF file and submit that on the due date.
The submission of this journal is not something you can cram for. You can only succeed if you keep a practice of having regular intervals where you spend dedicated, focused time working on your writing.
We suggest that for each entry in your writing journal, you specify the date and the amount of time you intend to write.
(example)
Date: Friday, August 26.
Time: 30 minutes.
[Your response to Journal Entry # prompt].
Word Count: [ ] words
Entry 6
(Prompt posted in Session 16 Pre-Class Work): Prepare an annotated bibliography on** three** of the five sources you will use for your Thesis-Driven Essay.
Citation of Source: Make sure it is in APA format and formatted with a hanging indent, no bold, and no underlining.
Annotation:Summary: Describe the source type (book, article, database, video clips, etc)., then summarize the entire article or excerpt you used in your own words. What are the main ideas, themes, and conclusions? (This should be done in 3-5 sentences.)
Analysis/Assessment: Analyze and explain why this source is credible. Comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the source. Include a CRAAP criteria analysis in this section.
Explain how the information in this source will be used in your paper. (This should be done in 3-5 sentences.)
Attach URL links or DOI links for each of the sources. Your teacher may also ask you to provide the PDF document of the source, so make sure you have saved these on your personal computer.
Here’s a helpful guide to creating an annotated bibliography: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/annotated_bibliographies/index.html Here is the library Guide from the workshop: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19aEprtPtJcCHpLgZ8e-kSQWWm2wVPAei/view?usp=share_linkThe following information will need to be included in the annotation for each source:
Entry 7
(Prompt posted in Session 17 POST class work and Session 18 Pre-Class Work): Draft an outline for your Thesis-Driven Essay and bring it to class. Your outline should contain:
The Thesis Statement.
A topic sentence for each body paragraph (Remember to use linking words to indicate how it links to the previous paragraph.)
The evidence you will use in each paragraph (with quotations and source citations)
Examples from your life or experience.
A reference list (APA) including a minimum of 5 sources
If you need more guidance on creating an outline, please refer to this guide with examples: https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-outline/
DO NOT:
Copy from sources without using quotations and citations.
Use ChatGPT
Start at the last minute.
Learning Outcomes Added
Composition: Communicate with a clear and precise style.
Thesis: Write a clear declarative sentence that takes a firm position on the topic under consideration and serves to organize the rest of the work.
Organization: Effectively organize communications.
EvidenceBased: Identify and appropriately structure the information needed to support an argument effectively.
SourceQuality: Distinguish between categories and types of information to determine source quality.
Professionalism: Ensure that your communication follows established guidelines and use a careful editing process.
#Composition
Communicate with a clear and precise style.Effective communication requires a clear and precise style that reflects the voice of the communicator and that is appropriate for the intended audience. Communicators should use the fewest words necessary (they should respect the principle of “parsimony”) and should select words carefully to be as clear as possible and to facilitate transitions from one idea to the next. Avoid passive voice, stilted diction, elaborate structure, and imprecision; write and speak simply, directly, and sincerely. Understand when to use paraphrase, quotation, or summary to incorporate necessary information smoothly into your communication.
Example
You are visiting your aunt at her new house. She leaves a 5-minute long, convoluted voicemail about how to find her property, in which she tells you to drive on one road for “a while,” then turn “toward the property that just got sold by Kristin, who just had a child and is moving to New York” and take a right at the Millers’ farm. You have no way to know which property was recently sold or where the Millers live, and have no interest in knowing why Kristin sold her property. She then retracts some directions and suggests a detour around “the road with the Starbucks” to avoid construction. You realize en route that your cell phone’s battery is dead and you can no longer communicate with her, not knowing which of the five Starbucks in your proximity she meant. You try to follow her instructions, but quickly get lost. You wish her communications had been clear, precise, parsimonious and relevant.
Rubric
0Did not submit the assigned item, or submitted something that does not meet the minimum standard.
1
Does not attempt to communicate with clarity and precision when prompted or does so mostly or entirely ineffectively.
2
Communicates with clarity and precision only somewhat effectively; communication does not fully transmit the intended message; (when applicable) evaluates the clarity and precision of a communication ineffectively.
3
Communicates with a level of clarity and precision that transmits the intended message; (when applicable) effectively evaluates the clarity and precision of a communication.
4
Communicates with a clear and precise style that utilizes nuances of language to transmit messages in a particularly parsimonious or subtle manner; (when applicable) effectively explains or justifies an evaluation of the clarity and precision of a communication.
#Thesis
Write a clear declarative sentence that takes a firm position on the topic under consideration and serves to organize the rest of the work.
Written and spoken communications that are intended to convey a message should present a clear, well-defined central claim. Thesis statements should be substantial, precise, arguable, relevant, and concise. This overarching message should serve as the organizing principle of the communication.
Example
You are outraged by the number of homeless people you see in the streets of San Francisco, and decide to write an article in an undergraduate journal. You realize that you need to do more than simply express your outrage: You need to present a clear and specific claim about a feasible intervention. As such, you end the introduction of your article with a clear, arguable, and precise thesis: Investing in homeless shelters is merely a temporary relief to homelessness in SF, whereas educating homeless citizens has long-lasting effects on their employability and thus should be the preferred approach.
Rubric
0
Did not submit the assigned item, or submitted something that does not meet the minimum standard.
1
Does not recall or apply knowledge of thesis statements when prompted, or does so mostly or entirely inaccurately or ineffectively.
2
Composes a thesis that is unclear, vague, or irrelevant to the context; composes a thesis that is lacking in implication or rationale; (if applicable) does not accurately critique a thesis statement.
3
Accurately recognizes or effectively composes a thesis that is relevant to the context; (if applicable) accurately critiques a thesis statement.
4
Composes a thesis that is detailed, specific, defensible, and relevant to the context; explains why the thesis is of interest; (when applicable) provides a detailed justification for a critique of a thesis or suggests a non-trivial improvement.
#Organization
Effectively organize communications.A written, spoken, or visual communication should be organized in a way that will be easy for the intended audience to understand and remember. The organization should reflect the purpose of the document or presentation, and accentuate what is most important.
Example
You are writing an article about changes in the world of football and the pitfalls of the rise of compensating individual success over team performance. You emphasize the increase in pay and how personal success became more important than the success of a team with evidence from various teams in the appropriate locations. You organize the information so that it’s clear why you are writing the article, how each section connects to the next one, why football fans should care, and end with a clear “call to action” — namely, to elevate amateur teams by rewarding the entire team for their collective success.
Rubric
0Did not submit the assigned item, or submitted something that does not meet the minimum standard.
1
Does not recall or apply strategies for organizing a written, spoken, or visual communication when prompted, or does so mostly or entirely inaccurately or ineffectively.
2
Recalls or applies organizational strategies only somewhat accurately or uses organizational strategies that are only somewhat effective for the type of communication.
3
Effectively organizes a written, spoken, or visual communication; (when applicable) effectively critiques organization in the communications of others.
4
Organizes a written, spoken, or visual communication using a sophisticated organizational structure to deliver a message in a highly effective way; (when applicable) effectively critiques organization in the communications of others and provides a detailed justification of the critique or suggests a non-trivial improvement.
#EvidenceBased
Identify and appropriately structure the information needed to support an argument effectively.A written or spoken communication that is intended to make a specific point should clearly present relevant and persuasive evidence. Doing this well is a two-step process. First, one must identify the evidence relevant to supporting the conclusion. The argument must be formulated to be consistent with the supporting evidence and should address apparent contradictions. Second, one must arrange evidence effectively. This means anticipating where one’s audience will notice a need for evidence, determining how much evidence will be needed given the strength of the conclusion, and deciding on how best to present the evidence (e.g., as a set of claims, a figure, a quote, or a paraphrase). In all cases, written and spoken, evidence should support underlying assumptions and show that implications of the argument are consistent with established facts and principles.
Example
You have a proposal for how to help your elementary school students learn math, and need to convince your academic supervisor that it is worth implementing. While preparing your presentation, you organize evidence to support two main lines of reasoning: interventional studies that showed the efficiency of the method and results of similar programs in other cities that were able to learn more complex materials with a curriculum involving this method. You select the best original figures and results, interpret them and add overarching conclusions from the individual examples and the evidence as a whole. You evaluate the studies you present, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence you use and explaining why it is generalizable to your school. Finally, you mention potential counterarguments to the method such as the associated capital and labor costs, but explain why the advantages that the implementation offers outweigh the disadvantages.
Rubric
0Did not submit the assigned item, or submitted something that does not meet the minimum standard.
1
Does not identify or use evidence to support an argument when prompted, or does so mostly or entirely ineffectively.
2
Identifies or uses evidence to support an argument only somewhat accurately or presents evidence in a confusing manner; (when applicable) ineffectively evaluates the appropriateness or effectiveness of evidence presented by others.
3
Identifies or uses appropriate evidence to support an argument; presents evidence in a clear and accessible manner; (when applicable) effectively evaluates the appropriateness or effectiveness of evidence presented by others.
4
Explains or justifies the appropriate identification and use of evidence to support an argument; (when applicable) effectively evaluates the presentation of evidence for a given purpose by others and provides justification for the evaluation.
#SourceQuality
Distinguish between categories and types of information to determine source quality.
Sources can be categorized and ordered in terms of their relevance, currency, accuracy, authority, and purpose. One should be able to check how information is vetted and verified, and whether there is a means to correct errors. Based on these criteria, one should be able to assign different types of information to hierarchies of source quality for the purposes of one’s work.
Example
You get into a discussion with friends about the origins of daylight savings time. One friend says that it exists because farmers gain more time to work the fields; his evidence is that he was told this in school by a friend. Another claims it’s to prevent car crashes due to low light, given that people still leave work at the same time; he cites a Wikipedia article on the subject. A third friend says that it was first used by the Germans to conserve fuel during WWI; he tells you where to find a peer-reviewed journal article written by a German officer, supported by multiple side notes on the subjects in history books from Yale and Princeton. Because you are a skeptical investigator, you try to find all three sources: you are able to find the Wikipedia article and the German officer’s journal, but not the source supporting the “farmers” claim. By considering the sources, their purpose, origin, and appropriateness for the context of discussion (historical), you decide to reject the first two claims and are inclined to accept the third one. More precisely, you decide that you can trust the Wikipedia article because it was used–and will be trusted by you–within the context of a casual conversation and not an academic context (in which it would be untrustworthy); and the peer-reviewed article can be quite reliably used because of its established quality.
Rubric
0
Did not submit the assigned item, or submitted something that does not meet the minimum standard.
1
Does not distinguish the quality of sources when prompted or does so mostly or entirely inaccurately.
2
Distinguishes between sources of varying quality only somewhat accurately, or in a way that is inappropriate to the context.
3
Accurately identifies the quality of the source; uses or identifies sources of appropriate quality for the context.
4
Uses or identifies the most appropriate, highest quality sources from among potential sources appropriate to the context; (if applicable) provides an explanation or evaluation of the relative quality of sources.
#Professionalism
Ensure that your communication follows established guidelines and use a careful editing process.
Part of effective communication involves presenting yourself and your work in an appropriate and professional manner. To communicate effectively, consider the norms for presenting yourself to others, including tone, forms of address, and the use of slang or informal speech. Always proofread written work for errors, properly attribute quotations, ideas, data and other sources, and follow conventional practices regarding attribution and formatting for the type of communication you are crafting. Different academic disciplines have different formatting conventions, and it is important to use the expected standards. More broadly, ensure that your approach to communication, whether verbal or written, meets or surpasses the expectations relevant to the context.
Example
Your new marketing firm has submitted a proposal to a chain of grocery stores that is seeking a fresh approach to its branding. Before you submitted your proposal, you asked several people to proofread it, verified design and font choices were kept consistent throughout, ensured figures and images were readable, formatted all titles and subtitles uniformly, and took great care that every aspect of it was presented according to the highest professional standards for your field. You made sure to properly attribute any information about behavioral economics research to the authors of the respective articles, using proper APA-style in-text citations and adding a bibliography. The grocery chain’s CEO later remarked that he was very impressed by the professionalism of your proposal, noting that it reflected well on your attention to detail, honesty, and interest in the project.
Rubric
0
Did not submit the assigned item, or submitted something that does not meet the minimum standard.
1
Does not communicate or present work products professionally, by using inappropriate tone, forms of address, or informal speech, failing to attribute quotations and ideas, using improper formatting, not following guidelines, or failing to proofread to correct obvious grammatical or spelling errors in the text.
2
Communicates or presents work products only somewhat professionally by using some inappropriate forms of speech, failing to attribute some quotations and ideas, using some improper formatting, not following some guidelines, or failing to proofread to correct some obvious grammatical or spelling errors in the text.
3
Communicates or presents work products professionally by using appropriate forms of speech given the context, attributing quotations and ideas, using proper formatting, following guidelines, and proofreading to correct grammatical or spelling errors in the text.
4
Demonstrates a deep grasp of how to communicate appropriately or present work products in a professional manner by following nuanced conventions for the audience, context, or discipline.