6.3: Criterion-Referenced Skills for College Writing (Part 1)
- Page ID
- 7156
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Appendix D
Section I. Common Errors (Editing)
Usage
The student writer demonstrates a thorough knowledge of usage by eliminating:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
“you” from the writing | ||||
“a lot” from the writing | ||||
“would” from the writing | ||||
“started to,” “began to,” “headed out” from the writing | ||||
“needless to say” from the writing | ||||
“obviously” from the writing | ||||
“etc.” from the writing | ||||
clichés from the writing |
The student writer demonstrates a thorough knowledge of usage by correctly using:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
“…” (ellipses) | ||||
“myself” | ||||
“a person who” rather than “a person that | ||||
“every day” or “everyday” | ||||
“he or she” or “they” | ||||
a comma before “and” in a list | ||||
punctuation marks inside the end quotation marks | ||||
quoted material incorporated into the grammar of a sentence | ||||
defined words in quotation marks | ||||
book titles underlined and all other titles in quotation marks | ||||
words and phrases from foreign languages in italics | ||||
a spell-check | ||||
a grammar-check |
Peer Editing
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Did the student use the above checklist? | ||||
Did the student ask a peer to edit his/her paper according to the checklist? | ||||
Did the student make all changes previously requested by the instructor? |
Section II. Essay Structure
A. Argument Essay Assessment
Matrix for Argument Writing Patterns
Choosing an Issue
The student is able to arrive at an issue by answering the following questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What is something that is very important to me personally or professionally? | ||||
Is it really an issue? | ||||
Is it something I know much about already? | ||||
Is it something I really want to talk about? | ||||
Is it within the guidelines or restrictions of the assignment? |
1 Introduction
The student is able to arrive at a claim statement by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What is my issue, stated generally? | ||||
How may I restate the same issue as a very specific statement or series of statements? | ||||
How may I summarize in one statement what I have written so far? | ||||
Why do I think this will work (or why should this be accepted)? | ||||
How are some practical ways to implement my summary statement above? | ||||
What is my purpose for dealing with this issue (as an anecdote)? | ||||
How may I restate my summary statement as a claim? |
2 Review of the Literature (Annotated Bibliography)
The student is able to summarize EACH SOURCE by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What is the title, who is the author, and what is a summative statement about the selection? | ||||
The point to the selection seems to be what? | ||||
This point is best summed up by what quoted from the selection? | ||||
How do I assess or evaluate this selection as a whole? |
3 Evaluation
The student is able to evaluate the claim statement by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Does this issue/claim exist? (Is it really an issue?); | ||||
Who will this claim most affect? | ||||
How could I prove this if I had to? | ||||
Where does this issue seem to come from? (How did it begin, as far as I know?) | ||||
How could I prove this if I had to? | ||||
What is the cause of this issue? | ||||
How could I prove this if I had to? | ||||
What will change (How will the world be different) if my claim is accepted? | ||||
How could I prove this if I had to? | ||||
Why is mine a good claim to deal with? | ||||
Why should it be sought or accepted? | ||||
Why is it better than (some alternative)? |
4 Definition
The student is able to define key terms in the claim statement by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What are the key terms in my claim statement? |
For Specialized Key Terms:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Are there any terms in my claim from a specialized vocabulary? | ||||
How does a resource or an authority in that specialized area define each term? |
For Common/Ambiguous Key Terms:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Are there any common terms in my claim that need clarification? | ||||
What different senses of the term are defined in the dictionary? | ||||
What different senses of the term existed in the past (what is its etymology) from the dictionary? | ||||
What are some antonyms, synonyms, and examples of the way the terms is used from the dictionary? |
Re-define Common/Ambiguous Key Terms:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
How do I re-define each term as a formal definition? |
5 Procedure
The student is able to outline how to implement the claim statement by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
How may I outline each step, in great detail, of my practical statements from my Introduction? | ||||
What has to happen to initiate changes? | ||||
What is the process if this proposal (or claim) is accepted? |
6 Refutation
The student is able to refute counter arguments by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What are some major objections to my claim? | ||||
How do I respond (as copiously as possible) to each objection? | ||||
Why won’t my opponent’s claim work? | ||||
Why is it wrong? |
7 Argument (conclusion)
The student is able to state claim, warrants, and grounds by writing the answers to each of the questions:
yes | no | N/A | note | |
---|---|---|---|---|
What is the central claim? | ||||
What sorts of warrants underlie my claim? | ||||
Which of these underlying assumptions needs some clarification in order for the audience to agree? | ||||
Which of these warrants is the audience most likely to disagree with? How do I explain why my assumptions are different? On what do I rest these assumptions? | ||||
What are some examples of where [my claim] works (or applies, exists, is true, etc.)? | ||||
What is an analogy for my claim? or What is something analogous to my claim? | ||||
What causes this claim to be true? |