9-Dec-10
Writing Assessment for General Education course Energy and Society (ENST 310)
Quarter: Fall 2010
Instructor: Dr. Clay Arango
Enrollment: 27 with a cap of 30
During this course, students received 4 assignments. The first was one page whereas the last three were 2 pages each for a total of 7 pages throughout the quarter. During discussion of writing exercises, I emphasized minimizing the use of passive voice, editing with peers to improve flow and meaning, and use of proper punctuation to enhance sentence structure and improve readability. The final two page assignment was chosen for the course assessment, and the assignment the students received is attached. Results of the full assessment are attached.
The overall scores represent the averages of all criteria in a given element.
Element
Content
Reasoning
Criterion
Topic appropriate
Clear sense of purpose
Evidence is relevant
Overall
Claims significant
Claims supported
Assumptions recognized
Analysis thorough
Overall
Organization Fits purpose
Appropriate signposting
Parts are connected
Visual elements integrated
Overall
Rhetoric of
Discipline
Conventions Proofreading evident
Citations accurate
Format Effective
Overall
Pass Fail
Not assessed
25/93%
22/81%
87%
26/96%
2/7%
5/19%
13%
1/4%
14/52%
27/100%
24/89%
84%
24/89%
19/70%
21/78%
13/48%
0/0%
3/11%
16%
3/11%
11/30%
6/22%
Not assessed
79% 21%
No criteria assessed in Gen Ed
16/59%
22/81%
22/81%
74%
11/41%
5/19%
5/19%
26%

9-Dec-10
ENST 310 Assignment 4
Due in hardcopy Wed 1-Dec-2010
Limit your answer to:

2 pages of double-spaced text

12-pt Times New Roman font
 1” margins on all sides
 name, date and assignment number in the header
Climate change is a scientifically complex, hot-button political issue. Searching the internet, you could find contradictory viewpoints on the exact same topic, making it difficult to understand who, if anyone, is right. Christopher Monckton was a science policy advisor to Margaret
Thatcher during her time as Prime Minister of England, and he is a noted skeptic of climate science. He often gives talks that downplay the scientific understanding of climate change, and you can see a written example of his thoughts on climate change here:
( http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/HRG/050510climateScience/monckton.pdf
).
Unfortunately, Christopher Monckton has a view of climate change that is not based on factual evidence, and one scientist in particular has responded to one of his talks with a presentation posted online here: http://www.stthomas.edu/engineering/jpabraham/ . For those who were in class on Tuesday, start on slide 18…the first one titled “Polar Bears.”
Watch the scientific response to Christopher Monckton and answer the following questions:

What was your personal view of climate change PRIOR to seeing this presentation?

Did your view change as a result of seeing this presentation? Why or why not?

In general, who should you believe when you hear conflicting viewpoints on climate change: a practicing scientist (such as John Abraham), or someone who has never performed or published research on climate science (such as Christopher Monckton)?
Support your answers with appropriate citations, which are part of the 2 page limit.
I will use the CWU rubric to grade this assignment, and you can find the rubric in the assignments folder of the course Blackboard page.