Springfield College
School of Professional and Continuing Studies
St. Johnsbury Campus
Communication Skills I, HUSB 119 (3Credits)
Sept-Dec 2015
Instructor: Liz Williams M.A.
Address: Springfield College
347 Emerson Falls Road, Suite 2
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
College e-mail address: ewilliams2@springfieldcollege.edu
Class Schedule
Dates: Saturdays: 9/12, 10/3, 10/31, 11/21
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
Moodle: Additional work through Moodle is a required part of this course.
Location: St. Johnsbury Campus
REQUIRED TEXT:
Bullock, R.,& Goggin, M.D.(Eds.) (2013). Norton field guide to writing with
readings. New York: NY: W.W. Norton.
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. [ISBN: 14338-0562-6]
ISBN: 978-0-393-91957-8 the costs for all textbooks can be found at
http://bookstore.mbsdirect.net/vb_buy.php?ACTION=top&FVGRPNO=24”
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The pre-class assignments will use the readings provided by the
instructor. Please go to Pride Online, and look in the folder “Pre-class
Assignment” to open and view. YOU WILL BE USING this folder FOR YOUR
WORK DUE IN HARDCOPY FOR OUR FIRST CLASS MEETING.
This link is an online resource tied to our textbook, and is full of helpful resources:
http://wwnorton.com/college/english/write/fieldguide/3e/field_guide_links.asp
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
www.apa.org
http://spfldcol.libguides.com/St-Johnsbury
COURSE DESCRIPTION: HUSB 119 Communication Skills I
This course will not only help the students improve their writing skills, but allow them to
feel more comfortable with writing, so it becomes a regular part of critical analysis, of
self-expression, and communication as a whole in their professional development. This
course will focus on the relationship between writing and the nurturing of perspective. It
will concentrate on organizational structures, grammar, clarity of points of view, and the
fundamentals of good writing -- and in doing so will focus on the natural progression
from reflective to issue-oriented writing.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
1. Create, develop, and organize ideas through prewriting, drafting, and revising.
2. Proofread for clarity, coherence, and correctness.
3. Write in a variety of genres (narrative, description, and argumentation).
4. Analyze and evaluate the effective use of language.
5. Write in voices that are appropriate to audience and purpose.
COURSE FORMAT:
We will be reading essays from the textbook this semester and writing various kinds of
assignments in response to those concepts and ideas. Each class session revolves
around assigned readings, and will include mini-lectures, extensive class discussions,
video clips, and a wide variety of exercises and activities. We will make regular use of
student writings as discussion generators and points of departure by which to more
closely analyze the material being considered –so please write content that you are
willing to share with the whole class. Students will also be leading activities or
discussions, and we should have several hand-on exercises.
In addition, between sessions there will be required work and reading, as well as
assignments and discussions posted through Moodle. It is imperative that you post
assignments in Moodle in a timely fashion—not only for the sake of your grade, but also
for the valuable feedback from your peers. I’m hoping that class time AND the
opportunity to share via moodle will help to create a community of critical thinkers who
are practicing the writing craft.
Each
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month for homework, you’ll probably be given:
assigned texts to read and analyze;
Resources to download, consult, or evaluate on moodle and textbook readings
Writing assignments that will help you apply the material to your own perspective
(or apply your own perspective to the material).
Note: All courses are to include Moodle web-enhanced components, including required
discussion topic links for Sessions II, III, and IV. These links keep students connected to
the curriculum between and after class sessions as they foster the sharing of ideas and
experiences vital to the accomplishment of class outcomes.
Each moodle assignment will ask you to read and respond to the posted texts by
constructing Analytical Responses (AR) and Reading Responses (RR).
Analytical Response (AR): asks that you respond to HOW it was written or
constructed. USING terms, concepts or ideas from the textbook (chapters assigned) or
our class work, analyze HOW the writer accomplishes her/his purpose. For these moodle
responses, please focus on answering the following in full sentences. You do not need to
answer every question, but need to respond to each category, and not simply as yes/no
(from Ch.41, p.399):
1. Purpose: what is the writer’s purpose? To entertain? Inform? Persuade? Also, in your
own words, summarize the author’s thesis.
2. Audience: who is the intended audience? What makes you say so? Are you a member
of that group?
3. Genre: What is the genre? (report, argument, analysis, something else?) How does the
structure suit the purpose?
4. Stance: what is the writer’s stance? (critical, curious, opinionated, objective,
passionate, etc) and how does that effect your reading?
5. What “key features” are present in the text
6. What type of support (outside sources, examples, descriptions, etc) is used and how
helpful were they in your comprehension of the author’s main ideas?
Reading Response (RR): asks that you response to WHAT is in the CONTENT by
providing a personal connection/reaction to WHAT is discussed/presented. For these
moodle responses, please focus on one passage of the text that you found to be
intriguing, the heart of the text, or controversial. Your response needs to be at least 250
words (about a page, double spaced) NOT including the quote.
1. In the first paragraph, present a selected and quoted passage from the text. Choose
and quote (copy) a brief (a paragraph at most), revealing passage from the text. To do
so, please use APA format as following (you do NOT need to include a bibliographical
citation /Reference page)
Write, as an example, using the format of author (year) past tense verb (feel free to look
through the book for other formats) :
Last name of author (year published= 2013) found that, “ blah blah direct quote blah”
(p.###).
If more than 40 words are quoted, use this format
Last name of author (2013) found:
Indent 5 space or 1 tab Blah blah------------------------------------------------------Blah blah blahblah-----------------------------------------------------------------------Blah blah blah ----------------------------------------------------------------.(p. ###)
Also in that intro paragraph – Explain how the passage reveals an important aspect of
the entire essay, as well as why this quote reveals the central theme of your response
(so—you need a central theme or thesis for YOUR whole response)
2. Body paragraphs—explain (tell us in words) the connection of the quote to your
response to these ideas & provide descriptive examples (shows us with concretes) from
your own life
COURSE OVERVIEW:
Here is an overview of what I expect we will cover in each session of the course this
term. The detailed Pre-class assignment, due when you arrive at the first class, is given
below. Detailed homework instructions for the rest of the sessions will be discussed in
class and posted in our Moodle virtual classroom.
PRE-CLASS ASSIGNMENT DUE FOR SESSION I
The following is the pre-class homework assignment due when we meet for our
first session.
I. MOODLE WELCOME First off, please go to our moodle site, and under the link
for “Welcome” please create a new thread and post a short greeting to the class:
where you are from, interests in studying at Springfield, your love/hate relationship with
writing, and anything else you’d like to share. Open up the site often, and please respond
(by clicking on the title of the post, and then when the email-like box appears, clicking
“reply”) to as many classmates as you can. I want to make sure that everyone knows
how to use the various links on moodle as we’ll be using it a lot.
2. READING and response All readings for the course are in our textbook; but
the first one is also on our moodle site, in the folder marked “Pre-class
Assignment”. Read “Black Friday: Consumerism minus Civilization.” Write a Reading
Response (RR), which are responses to the CONTENT of the text—personal connection
and reaction to WHAT is discussed in the article. In 250 words (not including the
quotation), please:
1. Intro paragraph –introduce topic, article, author and YOUR thesis
2. Quote a line or passage—that reveals the central theme of your response
3. Body—explains (tells us in words) the connection of the quote to your response to these
ideas & provides described examples (shows us with concretes) from your own life
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3.
Post your one page Reading Response onto moodle before our First Session (latest by
Sept 1)—respond to 3 classmates.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT
BRING IN HARDCOPIES TO OUR 1ST SESSION
Please write a two-page essay (let’s call it “Reading and Writing Essay”) that touches on
at least three of the following topics: when did you first learn to read? Who taught you
(or did you simply teach yourself)? What are some of the first books you remember
reading? What book did you most enjoy as a child in elementary school? As a high
school student? What writing did you most enjoy doing while you were growing up
(keeping a diary, doing book reports, writing letters, writing poems . . . )? Who is your
favorite author? Which one of your friends do you think of as being a good writer, and
what is it about her or his writing that makes it special? What is important for you to
write that future generations of your family would find critically relevant? What was the
most important thing you ever read? Why?
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(.doc or .docx format please) Do make your commentary as rich and lively as you
possibly can and be personal and direct.
You will need to bring an un-marked hardcopy of the essay to our first session. THERE
WILL BE A LINK TO UPLOAD THIS ESSAY ON MOODLE—SO YOU CAN PRINT AT THE
SITE.
4. ARC ACTIVITIES Will modify once I have the links
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Also, send the “Reading and Writing” essay through Grammarly (via our moodle site),
and print out the feedback-marked essay. Bring this to our first class. The link to
Grammarly should be on the top left of our moodle site; you will have to create an
account using your Springfield email. Grammarly is a free service.
5. OTHER ACTIVITIES
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Please bring a good supply of paper, pens, and pencils to every class session—we’ll be
spending considerable time engaged in writing of all sorts. If you are one who prefers to write
on a laptop or electronic tablet, do feel free to bring that (or those) as well (though some
exercises will definitely work better with the pencil-and-paper types of media).
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Please bring a short piece of writing to class that you would enjoy sharing
with everyone in our group by reading it aloud. This could be a poem, lyrics to a song, a
segment of a favorite novel, a snippet of travel writing, a news report, a segment of an
autobiography, a sample of political analysis, a blog post—the central criterion is simply that it
be something in which you took great pleasure reading. I’m assuming this passage will be
authored by someone else, but of course if you have a piece of your own writing other than
what you have written for this month’s assignments that you would enjoy sharing, that would
be even better.
Session I—ELEMENTS OF CRITICAL READING AND WRITING
In this session we set the context for the course. We will draw on material from
reading and writing; identify key ideas, themes and theories in relation to reading
and writing.
What is due:
2-page “Reading and Writing” essay ( 1 sent through grammarly and 1 ready to share)
A brief piece of writing—a sample of writing you enjoy—to be read out loud
“Black Friday”—personal, reading response (copy of or access to moodle posting)
In-class topics:
In this as in all subsequent class meetings, we will focus on three primary areas: we will
work with the readings and your viewpoints about them, we will work with your essays,
and we will work with the next topic of exploration. All of your written work will be
shared, and as a group we will play and practice with reading and writing and thinking
techniques.
Reading and Writing strategies: the WHAT and HOW of writing
1. Samples of writing that they brought in
2. Introduce our 3 types of writing assignments: thesis-driven essays/RR/AR
Essay work: “Reading and Writing” our 3 level skill work:
1. CLARITY; EXPANSION/DEVELOPMENT; REVISION
2. Grammarly—what comments are on it?
Reading and Writing techniques: work with “Black Friday” RR
1. work through your RR
2. thesis-driven handout— Go through thesis-driven handout in small groups, working
through the examples
3. REVISION: select 1 paragraph to revise – work on it for 10 minutes---share with the
group
Next session’s theme: Gender and Class issues
1. starting pre-writing====generating ideas (topics inside the subject)
2. Content prep: (watch video clip(s); scan 2 assigned essays; compare/contrast
structure; chapters in textbook
3. Additional writing practice: Select a potential topic===go through packet
HIGHLIGHTS/ steps to “skeleton essay”
Assignments in preparation for Session II: including reading, writing assignments, and
on-line moodle postings.
1. 3 Moodle writing of 2 readings. See them on moodle for details. The due dates listed
there reflect a one-a-week format of posting and responding to your classmates.
A1 Reading Response “Women Don’t Ask” Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever p. 699
A2 Reading Response “Guys vs Men” Dave Barry p. 915
A3 Analysis writing technique (compare & contrast) combined for both readings
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Please respond in brief paragraphs to at least three of the essays your classmates
have posted.
2. 2-page thesis driven (compare/contrast topic in gender and/or class)
Please edit these papers carefully, using the spell check and grammar check functions in
your word processing software, and format them cleanly using the skills you have
acquired to craft documents in crisp APA format. I encourage you to read the rough draft
aloud, and if possible, have a friend, relative, or colleague read it and provide feedback,
as well.
3. Please read Chs. 41(Reading Strategies) and 35 (Compare and Contrast). Please just
take notes for yourself for our discussion.
4. There might also be possibly helpful short links discussing elements of writing to help
crack these open. Please look on the moodle section to see if there is anything to review.
Session II—CLASS AND GENDER ISSUES THEME
In-class topics:
1. Reading and writing—2 essays RR and AR.
2. Compare and or contrast 2-page essays
3. Preparation for new theme: technology cause and effect
Assignments in preparation for Session III:
including reading, writing assignments, and on-line moodle postings.
1. 4 Moodle writing of 2 readings. See them on moodle for details. The due dates listed
there reflect a one-a-week format of posting and responding to your classmates.
B 1 Reading response “Just one more game” Sam Anderson p. 64
B2 analysis of B1
B3 Reading response “Is Google making us stupid?” Nicholas Carr p. 731
B4 analysis of B3: cause and effect
 Please respond in brief paragraphs to at least three of the essays your classmates
have posted.
2. 2-page thesis driven (cause and effect topic in gender and/or class)
3. Please read Chs. 32(Analyzing Cause and Effect) and 31 (Guiding your Reader) and 30
(Beginning and Ending). Please just take notes for yourself for our discussion.
4. There might also be possibly helpful short links discussing elements of writing to help
crack these open. Please look on the moodle section to see if there is anything to review.
Session III—TECHNOLOGY (CAUSE AND EFFECT)
In-class topics:
1. Reading and writing—2 essays’ RR and AR.
2. Technology theme: Cause and effect 2-page essays
3. Preparation for new theme: Human behavior: argument
Assignments in preparation for Session IV:
including reading, writing assignments, and on-line moodle postings.
1. 4 Moodle writing of 2 readings. See them on moodle for details. The due dates listed
there reflect a one-a-week format of posting and responding to your classmates.
C1 Reading response “First, eat all the lawyers” Torie Bosch p. 651
C2 Analysis of C1
C3 Reading response “Rural>City>Cyberspace: the biggest migration in human history” Nicholas
Carr p. 94
C4 Analysis of C3
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Please respond in brief paragraphs to at least three of the essays your classmates
have posted.
2. 2-page thesis driven (argument about human behavior)
3. Please read Chs. 10(Arguing a Position) and 33 (Arguing). Please just take notes for
yourself for our discussion.
4. Write a synthesizing passage (two pages at minimum) that summarizes your learning
this term and that captures the highlights of your experience in this course: what is the
same and what is different between personal and public writing? Do you use different
techniques? What do you need to do to get what’s in your head onto the page? what
were major epiphanies? Principal challenges? Primary accomplishments? What did you
learn in this course that you plan to use in the future? If you were to explain to your
best friend how this course will help you in your academic and professional arenas, what
would you say?
5. Based on your synthesizing passage, please be ready to “present” ONE writing tip or
trick that you have found to be useful in writing throughout this semester. This is not a
formal presentation—but more of a friendly “bag of tricks” that we can all walk out with,
so handouts or web links (something tangible) to pass out to all students is required.
Session IV—HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Our final class meeting will be an opportunity for review and reflection. Extensive
discussion of ways in which the skill sets developed and refined during the four
months we have been working together will serve to summarize this useful and
demanding learning community.
The first portion of our work together in this capstone class will focus on the
intricacies and complexities of our theme of human behavior.
The second part of the class will focus on sharing and presenting our journey
through the skills, ideas, techniques, and personal observations of personal and
public writing.
B. Presentation of the project
You are also asked to make a presentation of your story (synthesis essay + and
writing tip) to the class. Let’s make this fun—and have something to either pass
out or share a link with the class.
Time allotted for these presentations will depend on the size of the class—but
typically run 5-10 minutes.
We’ll be talking more about this assignment during the semester.
YOU MUST BE PRESENT FOR THE LAST CLASS TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THE
PRESENTATION PORTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT.
COURSE PARTICIPATION:
It should be noted that not all engagement in class discussions constitutes substantive
class participation. Class participation in both on the ground and an online environment
is characterized by the following:
Definition of In-Class Participation: In-class participation that contributes to a
positive grade is characterized by the following:
 All assignments completed on time
 Attending all class sessions
 Arriving on time for the beginning of class session and when returning from class
breaks; remaining in the class until the end of the session.
 Students are expected to come to class well prepared and to be able to engage
fully and thoughtfully in discussion on issues relevant to that particular session, in
full-group or small group contexts.
 Provides constructive feedback when peer revising in workshops
 Shows evidence of having completed, understood, and applied the readings for the
course;
 Communicates productively in class by: avoiding repeating a point that someone
else has presented; relates personal experience briefly to the concept being
studied with a point that is stated clearly (Note: This is optional. Keep in mind that
confidentiality cannot be guaranteed)
 Points out specific issues or concerns based on the discussion and offers
suggestions
 Incorporates points made into a more complete understanding of the concept
 Taking responsibility for understanding and for requesting clarification as needed.
Definition of Online Class Participation (Moodle Web-enhanced Discussion Link)
The success of your learning experience in online discussion is dependent on the active
participation of all students. Therefore it is imperative that you enter each discussion link
prepared to participate in the class discussions, which requires that you not only post
your responses to the questions in a timely manner allowing time for others to respond,
but you must also respond/react/provide substantive feedback to other’s postings.
Online Class participation that contributes to a positive grade is characterized by
the following:
 Posts a response to forum assignment by the due date;
 Posts reflect all that the assignment requires;
 Provides a thoughtful response to other’s postings for each forum;
 Shows evidence of having completed, understood, and applied the reading
for the course;
 Incorporates shared ideas to create an understanding of the concept under
discussion;
 Poses real-life questions or challenges that spring from the discussion and
attempts to shape an informed conclusion.
ATTENDANCE & GRADING
As you know, we have only four sessions together; we must cover a lot of material this
term; and you can never fully recover what you miss when absent. Please plan to attend
all four sessions of this course.
Only medical or other documentable emergencies are considered valid reasons for
missing a class. If you are absent you will need to complete a make-up assignment
(see details below), and will lose AT LEAST all possible points for in-class work (at
least 10%). Any time missed from class will also affect the possible points earned
for the assignments (see attendance policy below)
As stated in the Student Handbook:
An absence is defined as cumulatively missing one-tenth of a class session (e.g.
approximately 45 minutes of a seven hour class at any time during the class).
Students cannot be absent for more than 25% of the number of class sessions within a
course (e.g. one absence in a course that meets four times). All absences must involve
legitimate reasons, such as health problems, family emergencies, or unexpected
employment-related duties. Exceeding the number of absences during a course results in
an “F” for the course, if the student has not submitted a written request for a course
withdrawal or a leave of absence for the term. Eligibility for a course withdrawal or a
leave of absence is possible only within the time limitations established by the School’s
Leave of Absence Policy and Withdrawal Policy. Requests for withdrawals or leaves of
absence beyond the time limitations must be submitted in writing to the Dean of the
School.
The student should inform the instructor in advance of an anticipated absence. In the
event that this is not possible, it is the student’s responsibility to communicate with the
course instructor no later than three days after the absence has occurred.
Because of the accelerated schedule of all courses within the School of Professional and
Continuing Studies of Springfield College, it is important that classes begin and end on
time making full use of all available class time. Therefore, students are required to arrive
prior to the time class begins and remain in the classroom until class time is over. Failure
to fulfill any of these attendance requirements will affect the student’s grade for the
course.
Note: The above policy relates exclusively to all courses taken on ground within any of
the ten campuses of SPCS. Attendance Policy for online courses is consistent in principle
with the above policy but differs in application to an asynchronous learning environment.
Please check the School of Professional and Continuing Studies Guidebook for Online
Students for further information.
The Make-up Policy:
In order to make-up for the absence, the instructor is to assign the student a
substantial course related make-up assignment, normally a research paper. The
make-up assignment for the missed class and other assignments for the class
must be fulfilled within the time frame determined by the instructor. If the student
does not contact the instructor within the time designated and/or neglects to
complete the additional assignment, the final grade for the course will be lowered
as defined in the course syllabus.
Missing a class: If unforeseen circumstances prevents you from attending a class you
will be required to submit a make-up assignment (see moodle for the write up of the
additional essay). Please note that you will not be granted that Session’s participation
credit in your final evaluation.
Late assignments: All written essays and other classroom work is DUE for each
session. As we are working on them during class, not having them significantly reduces
your ability to participate, but more importantly, to LEARN new writing techniques and
strategies.
If you miss a submission deadline for any moodle assignment, please follow this protocol:
1. There will automatically be a 20% reduction in total possible credit.
2. You need to contact me via email immediately to address the situation by providing a
new deadline (no more than 1 week from due date) in which you must follow.
3. If there is no contact from you within 4 days of the original due date, you will earn a
zero for the assignment.
GRADING CRITERIA:
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
3 Between-session moodle assignments
3 theme-based Session projects: (25% each)
25%
Including class discussion & participation,
2-page essay prepared and
Written responses & activities
Total
75%
100%
GRADING:
Undergraduate courses are graded on a letter basis on the following scale:
A
4.0 quality points
100-93 percent
A3.7
92-90
B+
3.3
89-87
B
3.0
86-83
B2.7
82-80
C+
2.3
79-77
C
2.0
76-73
C1.7
72-70
D+
1.3
69-67
D
1.0
66-63
D0.7
62-60
F
0.0
less than 60
U
Unsatisfactory (No pass)
W
Withdrew
NR
Grade not reported by instructor
I
Incomplete
IP
Course in Progress
X
Audit
ACADEMIC HONESTY AND INTEGRITY:
Please carefully read the following statements from the Student Handbook:
ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP
“A student’s name on any ‘exercise”. . . [or] assignment related to a course… is regarded
as assurance that the exercise is the result of the student’s own thoughts and study,
stated in his/her own words, and produced without assistance, except as quotation
marks, references and footnotes acknowledge the use of printed sources or other outside
help.”
This statement means that if you hand in work with your name on it, you have done it—
no one else has done it for you. If you do not do your own homework, you cannot
practice the skills or demonstrate mastery of the content taught in the course.
PLAGIARISM
“Plagiarism is defined as the appropriation, and use as one’s own, of the writings and
ideas of another. Intent to deceive does not have to be present for plagiarism to occur.
Students should be cautious when ‘borrowing’ material for other sources. Reworking
(paraphrasing) of an author’s ideas does not absolve the student from giving credit and
making the appropriate citation. Students who plagiarize are subject to dismissal from
the SPCS Academic Degree Program.”
One of the most common acts of plagiarism these days is highlighting text on a website,
copying it, and pasting it into an essay without attributing it correctly. Even when you do
attribute it, remember this: an essay is not a “collage.” You can’t simply “cut” and
“paste” other people’s stuff onto a page and call it “original ideas.” Instead, you should
use others’ ideas to support your own. We’ll cover this in class!
SPECIAL SERVICES: Springfield College and the School of Professional and Continuing
Studies are committed to providing an equal educational opportunity for all students.
Any student who requires a reasonable accommodation to meet the requirements of this
course is encouraged to notify the instructor as soon as possible. Reasonable services
and accommodations are provided for students with physical, psychological, and learning
disabilities based on need. The disability must be documented with appropriate
evaluations administered by qualified professionals. This documentation must be on file
with Darlene Young, 802-748-5402 ext. 22, campus designee for the SPCS Office of
Student Support Services.
NOTE: Each student in the course is responsible for all SPCS academic policies and college
policies as found in the School of Professional and Continuing Studies Student Handbook.
The syllabus is a binding agreement between the faculty member and the students in the
course. After distribution of the syllabus, any changes to the syllabus must be (1)
agreed to by all parties without coercion, (2) distributed in writing, and (3) distributed to
all parties.
FORMATTING GUIDELINES:
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Papers are to be typed, including a cover sheet, double-spaced, using APA format,
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.).Washington DC.
Also Link to Purdue Online Writing Lab:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01.
Papers may be submitted via Moodle for the course.
Class attendance is a requirement of the School and should not be a part of the
evaluation system. However, the policy on attendance is listed below.
Assignments are to be submitted on time. A one letter grade will be deducted for
each late assignment. The assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of
each class.
Assignments are connected to the course objectives.
Springfield is based on the participative learning process; therefore, participation is
a part of the final grade.
The assignments are tools to encourage critical thoughts and writing skills on
important issues.
Please—whenever writing an academic paper:
 Use Times New Roman font, size 12;
 Leave one-inch margins (at the top and bottom, and on each side);
 Indent each new paragraph using the "TAB" key (do not create extra space
between paragraphs, as you do when writing a business letter).
These formatting guidelines are standard for academic writing. They allow the instructor
to read the paper easily, leave adequate room for comments, and help ensure that every
page of writing consists of approximately 250 words.
In addition, create a cover page for your essay that contains the following information:
 the title of your paper (e.g. "A Story of Hope: The Smith Family in America”),
 the name of the assignment (e.g. "Personal Reflection: Session II),
 your name,
 the date the work is due,
 the class name and number (HUSB 222: Exploring Women’s Issues through
Literature),
 my name (Liz Williams).
This information helps both of us keep your work organized (especially if one of us drops
a stack of papers) and keep track of what you’ve handed in.
Rubric for Assessing Formal Writing Assignments
The rubric below is designed to help students and instructors define what quality writing
is and the criteria by which SPCS evaluates all students.
1. Clarity of Expression: The writer expresses ideas in a natural voice that permits a
smooth reading and clear communication of ideas. The ideas are written so they can
be understood easily, and the reader does not have to struggle to understand what
the writer is saying.
2. Logical Organization of Ideas: Most college papers require an introductory
paragraph (or two) that grabs the reader’s attention, makes the reader want to
continue reading, and gives the reader some idea of what the paper is about. The
main idea of the paper does not have to be stated in the opening sentence or even in
the opening paragraph, but it should be clear before the end of the essay. What’s
important is that the reader has a sense of the writer’s direction throughout the essay
and that each paragraph should flow logically into the next.
3. Elaboration and Detail: The writer needs to develop the ideas of the essay fully and
provide adequate supporting detail. Details can include examples, allusions, statistics,
quotations, paraphrases, summaries, and more. Has the writer answered questions
such as “what,” “what if,” “why not,” “how,” “how come”?
4. Critical Thinking: The writer needs to demonstrate the ability to analyze a subject
from different perspectives, identify what’s at stake in each of these perspectives, and
connect his or her conclusions to the central theme of the paper. It is not enough to
present supportive examples without making clear the significance of these examples
and how they advance the point the writer is trying to make.
5. Effective Use of Research Techniques Where Appropriate: The writer needs to
select appropriate material from references to support ideas, use a variety of
references, integrate the source material smoothly into the flow of the paper, and
demonstrate consistent and correct use of the APA documentation style.
6. Effective Use of Language And Diction: The writer should use a vocabulary that is
suitable to the subject and the audience. Are the words used accurately and
effectively?
7. Mechanics and Usage: Mechanics include the standard conventions of spelling,
capitalization, punctuation, and correct paragraph indentation. Usage involves issues
of verb tenses, apostrophes, subject-verb agreement, noun-pronoun agreement, runon sentences, sentence fragments, and misplaced as well as dangling modifiers.
Occasional errors that do not interfere with the reading of a text may be considered
acceptable.