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ENG 123 Summative Assessment Guidelines and Rubric Overview Put the argument into a concrete shape, into an image, some hard phrase, round and solid as a ball, which they can see and handle and carry home with them, and the cause is half won. —Ralph Waldo Emerson Persuasion is a constant in each of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read, what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going to encounter some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of how we should feel about events. We are put into positions where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion. Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of writing—it has the ability to influence one’s thoughts, and also the ability to change one’s mind about a particular issue. The persuasive essay is an ideal tool for supporting an opinion on an issue using researched facts and information. It also gives you the chance to recognize an opposing viewpoint and refute it, noting that those who hold the opposing viewpoint are the intended audience of the piece. In this assignment, you will write a persuasive essay that makes an argument about a change or a current issue in your major, a major you are interested in pursuing, or your field of work. The project has one milestone, which will be submitted earlier in the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. This milestone will be submitted in Module Five. The final submission is due in Module Seven. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: Develop stylistically appropriate writing that incorporates strategies for writing to a given audience, subject, and purpose Incorporate feedback from peer review for improving the quality and effectiveness of one’s own writing Write informative introductions; coherent theses; well-developed, organized, and supported body paragraphs; and conclusions that are persuasive and supported by effective research Utilize appropriate research for developing a well-informed position through written composition Prompt For this essay, you will identify an issue in your current major, a major you are interested in pursuing, or your field of work. You will then establish an argument and support that argument with research and relevant evidence. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction: This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of the points that you planned out, while also stating your claim. A. Provides an overview of the issue you have selected, briefly describing main points and your argument. B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the argument that you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give direction to your essay and should be well thought out. II. Body: The body is your opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a way that is easy for readers to follow and understand. A. Be sure that you write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from one to the other, building the thesis argument as the essay progresses. B. Your body paragraphs should support your argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such thing as a right or wrong argument; the key is how it is supported and the quality of the evidence used. C. Address and refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This is your chance to discredit any opposing views, thus strengthening your own. III. Conclusion: Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and remind readers of your supporting evidence. Think of this as your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you. A. Review your argument. This section should consist of a review of your main points employed to support your argument. Think of this as your last chance to prove your point or your closing arguments. B. Your conclusion should articulate insights about your argument established through your essay. This should follow logically from your essay, referring to key points or quotes used to support your argument. Summative Assessment Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Your persuasive essay must be 5–7 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in MLA or APA format. Save your work in a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Then, check your writing for errors. Once you have proofread your document, submit it via the Summative Assessment: Persuasive Essay link in Brightspace. Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value Introduction: Overview Provides an overview of the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument (100%) Provides an overview of the issue being analyzed and briefly describes main points of argument, but there are issues regarding accuracy (55%) Does not provide an overview of issue being analyzed (0%) 7.5 Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value Introduction: Thesis Meets “Proficient” criteria, and thesis is exceptionally clear and concise (100%) Composes a thesis that states the argument that will be supported and proven throughout the essay (85%) Composes a thesis, but there are issues related to clarity or relevancy (55%) Does not compose a thesis (0%) 7.5 Body: Intent Writes multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and build the thesis argument (100%) Writes multiple paragraphs, but writing does not build the thesis argument (55%) Does not write multiple paragraphs (0%) 7.5 Body: Body Paragraphs Meets “Proficient” criteria and supports argument with a masterfully constructed combination of thoughts and evidence (100%) Communicates argument through body paragraphs by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence (85%) Communicates argument through body paragraphs but does not combine thoughts and ideas with evidence (55%) Does not communicate argument through body paragraphs (0%) 45 Body: Opposing Viewpoints Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates keen insight into both sides of argument (100%) Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints in a way that strengthens the argument (85%) Addresses and refutes opposing viewpoints but not in a way that strengthens the argument (55%) Does not address or refute opposing viewpoints (0%) 7.5 Conclusion: Review Meets “Proficient” criteria, and response is clear and contextualized (100%) Reviews claim and summarizes key supporting points of essay (85%) Reviews claim and summarizes key supporting points, but there are issues regarding alignment to the intent of the thesis (55%) Does not review claim (0%) 7.5 Conclusion: Insights Meets “Proficient” criteria and offers nuanced insight into the relationship between the evidence and the claim (100%) Articulates insights about argument established through the analysis, following argument logically and referring to key points or quotes used to support argument (85%) Articulates insights about argument established through the essay, but does not follow argument logically or does not refer to key points or quotes used to support claim (55%) Does not articulate insights about argument (0%) 7.5 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format (100%) Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization (85%) Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas (55%) Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas (0%) 10 Total 100%