CMU Department of English Spring 2019 Common Assessment Essay (EN111, EN120, EN305, EN306) Scenario: Extra credit is one of those issues in higher education that never seems to go away. Some students love it because it helps to boost their grade, while other students loathe it because it seems to reward students who didn’t do their work in the first place. Faculty, too, disagree about the role extra credit should play in their courses—see this link for different faculty members discussing their extra credit policies: http://bit.ly/29W2rQ1. Given this divide, imagine that CMU English faculty is considering a blanket extra credit policy for all writing classes. Before creating their policy, they want to hear as many informed arguments as possible about the topic so that they can craft the best possible policy. Essay prompt: Write an essay in which you articulate an extra credit policy for all CMU writing classes and argue why your policy should be adopted. Essay audience: CMU English professors. Details: • • • The essay should be approximately 4-6 word-processed pages in length. Essays should effectively integrate outside research sources. All sources should be correctly cited using either MLA or APA style. 1 CMU Department of English Spring 2019 Common Assessment Essay (EN111, EN120, EN305, EN306) Common Assessment Scoring Rubric 4 Exceeds Expectations Thesis/Purpose Development and Support 3 Meets Expectations 2 Approaches Expectations 1 Fails to Meet Expectations The writer… • Presents a focused and sustained argument; • Proceeds with purpose appropriate for writer situation; • Pursues sophistication and complexity The writer… The writer… • Has a readily • Has an argument, but identifiable argument; one that might not be entirely unified, • Presents a generally sustained, or clear and focused immediately sense of purpose; identifiable, • Makes moves toward • Pursues an ill-defined sophistication and or inappropriate complexity. purpose; • Leans towards the obvious and simplistic The writer… • Lacks a central argument or provides an argument severely incongruent with purpose; • Is obvious and simplistic. The writer… • Provides sufficient, relevant, and specific support; • Explores complexity through full, sensitive discussion of ideas and information; • Is sensitive to the subtleties of audience reactions. The writer… • Provides satisfactory support; • Moves towards complexity with discussion that explores, rather than simply presents, ideas and information; • Accounts for audience reactions. The writer… • Provides little support and/or support that is ill-chosen or vague; • Is overly simplistic and mostly lacks discussion; • Seems indifferent to audience reactions. The writer… • Provides support that may be ill-chosen, insufficient, or vague; • Resists complexity with discussion of ideas and information that is often brief and general; • Takes audience’s reactions into little account. 2 CMU Department of English Spring 2019 Common Assessment Essay (EN111, EN120, EN305, EN306) Organization, structure, and coherence Language The writer… • Introduces and concludes effectively; • Employs logical, consistent, and coherent organizational units; • Arranges and sequences information appropriately for audience, purpose, and situation; • Highlights connections between ideas and builds coherence. The writer… • Introduces and concludes satisfactorily; • Employs organizational units that might occasionally want for logic, coherence, or consistency; • Arranges and sequences information in an orderly, predictable fashion; • Frequently builds coherence and highlights connections between ideas. The writer… • Introduces and concludes perfunctorily; • Employs organizational units that can lack clear evidence of underlying logic, coherence, or consistency; • Arranges and sequences information somewhat haphazardly or simplistically; • Takes few steps to highlight connections between ideas and build coherence. The writer… • Includes severely underthought introduction or conclusion (or no introduction or conclusion); • Employs organizational units that are haphazard (or fails to employ organizational units); • Lacks direction in the arrangement and sequencing of information; • Does not highlight connections between ideas and build coherence. The writer… • Chooses a tone and level of formality appropriate for audience, purpose, and situation; • Uses language and syntax for deliberate effect; • Usually employs sophisticated, engaging language and precise word choice. The writer… • Employs proficient and unobtrusive, if unmodulated, tone and level of formality; • Occasionally uses language and syntax for deliberate effect; • Occasionally uses sophisticated engaging, and precise word choice. The writer… • Employs a tone and level of formality that may be inappropriate for audience, purpose, and situation; • Uses language and syntax that shows little regard for effect; • Uses language that can be imprecise, unclear, or incorrect. The writer… • Employs a tone and level of formality inappropriate for audience, purpose, and situation; • Uses language and syntax haphazardly; • Frequently employs imprecise, unclear, or incorrect language. 3 CMU Department of English Spring 2019 Common Assessment Essay (EN111, EN120, EN305, EN306) Mechanics The writer… • Usually follows appropriate conventions for spelling, grammar, and usage; • Cites sources according to relevant conventions with few, minor formatting errors. The writer… The writer… The writer… • Often follows • Contains several • Contains many errors appropriate errors in spelling, in spelling, grammar, conventions for grammar, and usage; and usage; spelling, grammar, • Cites sources, but • Does not cite sources and usage, with some loosely or casually or cites sources in errors; and with disregard for such a way as to make • Cites sources within relevant conventions. it extremely difficult the basic guidelines of to find original relevant conventions, sources. but with some minor errors. 4
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