BASIS FOR SCORING ESSAY #1
Scoring
Evaluation of material/substance…………….60%
Organization/overall effectiveness…………..30%
Composition, style, usage……………………10%
(Keep in mind that these three criteria are NOT entirely separate or unrelated. In other
words, composition and usage errors affect the overall organization and effectiveness of
your essay. Poor organization coupled with composition errors affects your ability to
articulate your arguments and how well you can communicate your understanding of
important themes, concepts, and ideas.)
Points Awarded
45 – 50
40 – 44
35 – 39
30 – 34
0 – 29
Comments Applying to Most Essays
Excellent in most respects. Essay shows extensive preparation, analysis,
and study of themes, concepts, and ideas. Presents thoughtful, relevant
conclusions. Essay is more analytical than descriptive. Demonstrates
mastery of basic concepts. Essay is written in an interesting, readable style
– a minimal number of grammar, spelling, usage, composition, or
typographical errors may be overlooked. The instructor would appreciate
your permission to use your essay as an example of “How to Write an
Essay” for other students.
Overall, the essay is good, but perhaps flawed by a failure to convey major
thrusts adequately. Usually, this happens when students assume “the
instructor will know what I mean.” Needs further elaboration or
explanation. May reach thoughtful conclusions but offer little support; or
conclusions may lack sharp focus. May be tainted by grammar,
composition, or typographical errors, organization problems, or poor
choice of words.
Adequately done for a essay of this type, but there are significant
shortcomings in style, organization, or emphasis. Conclusions may be
illogical based on supporting arguments. Essay may be too descriptive or
fail to draw conclusions entirely. Too little analysis provided. Assertions
may be made without providing support.
Essays reflects too little preparation, too little organization, or failure to
fulfill basic purposes of the assignment. Too many signs of struggle with
spelling, grammar, and general usage. Instructor may have to reconstruct
sentences simply to determine the idea the student is attempting to convey.
Very difficult to understand. Sentences or paragraphs make little sense.
You should consult with the instructor.
Your essay suffers from a great many problems with only minimal saving
graces. Appears to reflect a complete lack of preparation. Student appears
to have very limited understanding of concepts and themes. Essays written
“at the last minute” frequently score in this range.
Temple College
GOVT 2301
Summer 2002 – 8 week session
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT #1
Consider the following:
In Plato’s GORGIAS, Socrates makes a distinction between an art and a
craft. Examples of the former, says Socrates, are medicine and
gymnastics; examples of the latter include cookery and cosmetics.
Medicine and gymnastics are arts precisely because they are concerned
with “the good of the object” with which they work. In this regard, both
seek to promote the true health of the (human) body. Cookery and
cosmetics, on the other hand, are crafts because they are primarily
concerned with “producing pleasure in the object.” Cookery, for
instance, seeks to make food appetizing without regard to its nutritive
value. Similarly, cosmetics seek only the “appearance of good health.”
In fact, even though these may produce the appearance of good health,
they may actually be detrimental to the true well-being of the (human)
body.
Read the article by Tom Wicker entitled “Whatever Became of Jimmy Carter?” placed on reserve
in the Library. Then write an essay in which you assess the qualities of successful presidential
leadership. Specifically, the following questions are offered to stimulate your thinking about
presidential leadership:
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Should statesmanship be considered an art or a craft according to Plato’s usage?
Should politics be considered an art or a craft according to Plato’s usage?
What is the “object” with which they (politics and statesmanship) are concerned?
Is Socrates’ analogy valid for American politics?
If the analogy is valid, what can we conclude about Americans’ perceptions of their political
leaders? Are Americans being honest with themselves when they claim they want politicians
to make decisions without regard to “politics”?
Do Wicker’s observations about Jimmy Carter suggest he was an artist or a craftsman? What
about Ronald Reagan?
Given the differences in the way that the American public perceived the performances of
Carter and Reagan as president, with what should a president be primarily concerned in order
to be seen as successful?
How would you assess the performances of other modern presidents? [Pick 3 presidents
[other than Carter and Reagan) who have served since the 1930s.]
You should not limit yourself ONLY to these questions; ask (and, of course, answer) your own
questions. In any event, your essay should be THESIS-CONTROLLED. Do not simply list
answers to these questions in a disjointed fashion. You should make an argument and develop a
logical defense. Provide examples to illustrate your points, but do NOT just repeat what you have
read or string together quotes.
Your essay should be well-written, cogent, and thorough yet concise.
You MAY use any source you like [beyond the text and the Wicker article] to expand and support
your arguments. You should cite any sources that you use. Use any citation style you prefer,
but be consistent throughout. If you are uncertain when citations are appropriate, consult the
instructor!! [See plagiarism section below.] The instructor will NOT be looking for evidence that
you have consulted outside sources - that is, YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO CONSULT OUTSIDE
SOURCES.
You will turn your essay in electronically (via e-mail). To do this, type your essay on a PC and
save as an MS-Word file. [The file must be saved in this format. If your home or office PC uses
Word Perfect or some other word processing program, be sure to convert the file to MS-Word.]
Send the file to wfeagin@templejc.edu as an attachment to an e-mail message. The essay is due no
later than Saturday, June 22 at 12:00pm (noon).
Avoid plagiarism! Plagiarism is the act of taking words, sentences, paragraphs or ideas from
another person’s work and passing it off as one’s own. This is a severe violation of academic
integrity and is subject to disciplinary action under the College’s policy. Common forms of
plagiarism include: (1) taking passages from another person’s writings, unchanged, and passing it
off as one’s own work [whether the original author has knowledge of this or not]; (2) taking a
passage from another person’s writings, changing a word here or there, and passing it off as one’s
own work; (3) turning in a paper that consists, partially or wholly, of paraphrases of another
person’s writings or ideas without proper citations. [With citations, you avoid plagiarism, but the
paper would still lack any originality and would, therefore, merit a low score. So generally, avoid
writing a paper that consists mainly of quotes or paraphrases of someone else’s work.] This list is
not exhaustive of the various forms of plagiarism. If you are unsure whether you have written
constitutes plagiarism, please consult me. The main point to remember is this: the purpose of this
essay is to get YOU to thoughtfully consider and discuss the above issue(s). The instructor is
interested in what you think about these issues - NOT whether you can report what others think!
NOTE: Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines a statesman as “one who exercises
political leadership wisely and makes decisions and without regard to political ramifications or
partisanship.”