THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
School of Information
Introduction to Information Resources and Services
Slam the Boards! Reflective Essay
5=excellent; 4=very good; 3=good; 2=weak; 1=poor; 0=no credit
HIGH MIDDLE LOW TOTAL
5
4 3
2
1 0
A. Content About the Slam the Boards
1. Provide the text of the question(s) in an appendix? , , , , . ______ _______
2. Provide the text of his/her responses in an appendix? . . . . . ______ _______
3. Provide sources for the answer(s) he/she provided
in an appendix? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ______ _______
4. Comment about other answers to the question (if
applicable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ______ _______
B. Reflection
1. Does the student discuss how he/she prepared for
Slam the Boards? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ______ _______
2. Does the student refer to any related course content that
may have assisted him/her in participating in Slam the
Boards? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ______ _______
3. Does the student refer to any gaps in his/her
preparation that might assist in class refinement? . . . . . . . . ______ _______
4. Does the student reflect on what he/she learned about
reference through participating in Slam the Boards? . . . . . ______ _______
5. Does the student reflect on how he/she might prepare
for future reference service? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ______ _______
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C. Quality of Presentation:
1. Originality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
2. Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____ ______
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D. Writing Style
1. Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
2. Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
3. Grammar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
4. Word choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
5. Word usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
6. Clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
7. Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
8. Does one idea logically follow another ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
9. Sentence variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
10. Are contractions spelled out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
11. Does the student avoid “etc."? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
12. Does the student avoid weak connectives like “however”? _____
13. Cliches (not desirable) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
14. Length (1000-1250 words) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
15. Neatness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
16. Are pages numbered, starting with page 1 of the essay? . . _____
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17. Are section headings used?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
18. Does the student avoid using “which” when “that” is more
appropriate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
19. Is the text left justified only? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
20. Is the print dark enough to read? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
21. Is the text double spaced? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _____
22. Does the question and answer appear in the appendix? . . . _____
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OTHER COMMENTS THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED IN THE CALCULATION OF
YOUR GRADE: