The final draft of your popular science report is due. Make sure it is presented as a Word document in proper CSE format as illustrated in your textbooks and your course resources. The requirements are included above in this module.
In your final draft, make sure to use qualifiers when discussing topics that are likely, probable, unlikely, and so on. Don’t be certain about topics natural scientists are still researching (which is most everything, by the way).
BEFORE YOU SUBMIT:
1. Ask yourself, “Did I include at least three credible sources cited in the body of the essay and on a reference list?” If the answer is no, you will fail this assignment.
2. Again, if you do not include the required number of sources, I will return your essay ungraded. It will earn an automatic zero.
3. If you do not meet the word count requirement, I will return your essay ungraded. It will earn an automatic zero.
4. If you do not cite the required number of sources using BOTH in-text citations and corresponding reference list citations, I will return your essay ungraded. It will earn an automatic zero.
Final draft (150 points)
Grading Rubric
Score
Basic Requirements (30 points)
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10
All three sources should be effectively summarized. Summarizes main ideas and significant examples, and presents them accurately. Uses appropriate summarization strategies, including leaving out personal opinion in the summary. Provides appropriate background to summary (author, title, text’s focus). Signal phrases are used correctly and effectively. Signal phrases should be used to introduce information gathered from an outside source, whether you quote, summarize, or paraphrase the source. Effective use of quotations and source information requires that you include quotations and source information in your paper in a way that allows the reader to understand the relevance of the quoted or summarized material to your own argument. You should never drop a quotation or source information into your paper unannounced and apparently unrelated to the ideas around it. The quotation or source information must always be embedded into one of your own sentences. A common way to do this is to use a ‘signal phrase’ that incorporates the quotation or source information smoothly into your writing and, just as importantly, provides context for the material. Very often a signal phrase will also name the author or title of the material, thus serving at once to include the quotation or source information smoothly and to attribute the idea to its source.
The final paper should be about 800-1,000 words.
The submission should be turned in by the due date.
Sources (60 points)
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15
20
The topic should have a specific focus based on the natural sciences. As required by the instructions, the submission should include a clear disability and relates to a branch of the natural sciences.
At least three scholarly sources should be present.
Each of the scholarly sources related to the specific focus of your topic should be effectively integrated into the body of the submission.
Focus and Organization (30 points)
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The essay should have unity, focused through a thesis statement appropriate in scope to an argument.
The essay and paragraphs should be coherent and logically organized. Each paragraph should have a main idea, evidence, and analysis. The writer should give detailed and thorough support, evidence, and reasons for claims and generalizations. Each subdivision from the thesis statement should be described and explained in the body of the essay.Effective paragraphing is a central skill in academic writing, and grasping the general form of a paragraph provides a good foundation for strong writing. One way to envision a body paragraph is as a “complete MEAL,” with the components being the paragraph’s Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, and Link back to the larger claim.
Language, Grammar, and Conventions (30 points)
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The appropriate format should be followed, including correctly formatted CSE in-text citations and CSE reference citations. CSE format should be followed. The following links were provided in Module 2: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocCSE.html http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocCSE_NameYear.html https://www.bu.edu/library/guide/csestyle/ http://library.austincc.edu/help/CSE/CSE-ny.php Part Two: Section 8 (209-260) of Miller-Cochran covers CSE format and citations.
A CSE reference page should be in place, citing each source that appears in the body of the submission.
The following should be true after reading this submission: The language is clear and fluent. Sentence structure is appropriate and varied. Errors are infrequent and do not interfere with comprehension. Conventions of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, format, syntax, and titles are excellent. Formatting is consistent. The submission appears to have been proofread with care multiple times. Spell-check software appears to be utilized.
A Grade: Outstanding performance. Represents work of exceptional quality. Content, organization, expression, and style all of a high standard. Comprehension of the subject and use of existing course resources has been abundantly demonstrated. Uses sound critical thinking, has innovative ideas on the subject, argues the topic convincingly and presents sound evidence/examples to back up claims. Shows personal engagement with the topic. Meets all of the above criteria, reads fluently to an adult reader, is cohesive (all ideas come together logically), is unified (each paragraph focuses on one idea), and persuasively presents textural references that support your case.
B Grade: Good performance. Represents work of above-average quality with no major weaknesses in argumentation or expression. Writing is clear and explicit and topic coverage and comprehension are more than adequate, although occasional lapses in reasoning or style may be present. Shows some degree of independent critical thinking and personal involvement in the work. Good use of existing knowledge on the subject. Meets all of the above criteria successfully, but may contain limited adult literacy errors that impede the clarity of the content for the reader. It may lack cohesiveness in some parts of the essay, paragraphs may lack unity, has some flawed logical elements, and does not present as persuasive an argument as an A paper.
C Grade: Satisfactory performance. Represents work of competent quality. Shows some comprehension of the subject, but has more frequent weaknesses and/or problems in content, style, argumentation, expression, or organization. Minimal critical awareness or personal involvement in the work has been demonstrated. Only adequate use of the literature and/or addressing of the topic. Does not meet one of these criteria: the essays do not include an accurate works cited list, lack unified paragraphs, include inaccurate in-text citations, lack logical connections between ideas, or provides limited persuasive arguments that support your case.
D Grade: Marginal performance. Represents work of barely adequate quality. Serious flaws in content, organization, and/or style. Grammatical errors tend to be frequent and often reflect a lack of basic linguistic competency. Argument is mostly off-topic and/or evidence is contradictory or poorly marshaled. Poor comprehension of the subject and engagement with existing research and literature. Minimal critical/personal involvement in the paper. Does not demonstrate these assessment criteria: in addition to the flaws in a C paper, a paper that receives a grade of D contains significant adult literacy errors that detract from the reader’s understanding of the content, lack a works cited list, lack in-text citations, lack development to the minimum required word counts, do not provide persuasive arguments that support your case.
F Grade: Failing performance. Represents work of substandard quality. Either clearly does not respond to the assigned topic or contains errors in grammar, organization, and expression that do not meet the minimum acceptable academic standards. Work that has been plagiarized should automatically receive a failing grade. Lacks development, accuracy, logic, and readability. In addition, any plagiarism that appears in an essay will result in a grade of F on the
