Paper 3, Draft 0 Rubric
Good
Passing
Not
Acceptable
Good
• Demonstrates clear understanding of prompt
• Includes ideas that are relevant to the topic
*There is enough material to work with and organize in the next draft.
Passing
• Demonstrates some understanding of prompt
• Includes ideas but some may be irrelevant or off-topic
*There is some material to work with and organize in the next draft.
Not Acceptable
• Demonstrates minimal understanding of prompt
• Includes ideas which are mostly irrelevant or off-topic
*There is not enough material to work with and organize in the next draft.
Although a student may demonstrate understanding of prompt, a lack of ideas
can result in a low grade.
*Minimum 1.5 pages
Paper 3, Draft 1 Rubric
Excellent
90-100%
Very
Good
8089%
Passing
73-79%
Needs
Improvement
60-72%
Not
Acceptable
0-59%
Content and Organization
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Includes adequate introductory information about the topic but which may
need to be revised or replaced in a subsequent draft*
Includes a clear thesis that responds to the prompt appropriately but which
may need to be revised or replaced in a subsequent draft*
Organizes and develops the topic/argument logically and thoughtfully
Demonstrates understanding of the class text, connecting it to the topic
Makes sufficient use of the class text for support
Reflects original ideas and critical thinking
Includes a conclusion that engages the readers but which may need to be
revised or replaced in a subsequent draft to better support argument and
previous text*
Presentation and Language
•
•
•
•
•
Uses most tenses correctly
Uses specific verbs such as claims, argues, suggests as well as academic
vocabulary
Varies sentence structure effectively and uses cohesive devices such as
pronoun reference, transitions, and parallelism appropriately
Is well edited for grammar: few basic errors with nouns, verbs, pronouns, and
prepositions
Follows punctuation and MLA conventions, including correct use of quotation
marks and integrating quotes as evidence
Paper 3, Draft 2 Rubric
Excellent
90-100%
Very
Good
8089%
Passing
73-79%
Needs
Improvement
60-72%
Not
Acceptable
0-59%
Content and Organization
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Includes adequate introductory information about the topic but which may
need to be revised or replaced in a subsequent draft*
Includes a clear thesis that responds to the prompt appropriately but which
may need to be revised or replaced in a subsequent draft*
Organizes and develops the topic/argument logically and thoughtfully
Demonstrates understanding of the class text, connecting it to the topic
Makes sufficient use of the class text for support
Reflects original ideas and critical thinking
Includes a conclusion that engages the readers but which may need to be
revised or replaced in a subsequent draft to better support argument and
previous text*
Demonstrates progress from the previous draft
Presentation and Language
•
•
•
•
•
•
Uses tenses correctly
Uses specific verbs such as claims, argues, suggests as well as appropriate
vocabulary
Varies sentence structure effectively and uses cohesive devices such as
pronoun reference, transitions, and parallelism appropriately
Is well edited for grammar: few basic errors with nouns, verbs, pronouns, and
prepositions
Follows punctuation and MLA conventions, including correct use of quotation
marks and integrating quotes as evidence
Shows improvement in grammar and punctuation from the previous draft
Paper 3, Final Draft Rubric
Excellent
90-100%
Very
Good
8089%
Passing
73-79%
Needs
Improvement
60-72%
Not
Acceptable
0-59%
Content and Organization
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Includes adequate introductory information about the topic
Includes a clear thesis that responds to the prompt appropriately
Organizes and develops the topic/argument logically and thoughtfully
Demonstrates understanding of the class text, connecting it to the topic
Makes sufficient use of the class text for support
Reflects original ideas and critical thinking
Includes a conclusion that engages the readers
Demonstrates progress through the drafting process
Presentation and Language
•
•
•
•
•
•
Uses tenses correctly
Uses specific verbs such as claims, argues, suggests as well as appropriate
vocabulary
Varies sentence structure effectively and uses cohesive devices such as
pronoun reference, transitions, and parallelism appropriately
Is well edited for grammar: few basic errors with nouns, verbs, pronouns, and
prepositions
Follows punctuation and MLA conventions, including correct use of quotation
marks, and integrating quotes as evidence
Shows improvement in grammar and punctuation during the drafting process
PAPER 3 – DISCUSSION AND BRAINSTORM
Prompt: Why does diversity matter?
Consider the following contexts below. Discuss these contexts in pairs or groups and
determine the advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of diversity in those
contexts. The first one has been filled out for you. Use this as an example. Then,
come up with other backgrounds in which that can matter.
Context
Marriage/ Dating
Pros and Cons of Diversity
Pros: My partner comes from a different ethnicity.
It’s so interesting to learn about his culture and
heritage, and to try all the authentic dishes in his
culture.
Cons: Since he doesn’t understand my language,
he can’t watch some of my favorite television
shows with me or laugh about the same jokes.
Personal opinion: I still think that as long as we
love each other, being different in some ways is
okay. After all, no two people are exactly alike
and learning about each other’s different
viewpoints and learning to appreciate them can
help us to reflect on ourselves and become more
mature individuals. Besides, the differences
sometimes make life so much more fun!
Friendships
Pros:
Cons:
Personal opinion:
Movies/Music/Entertainment
World
Pros:
Cons:
Personal opinion:
Standard of Beauty
Pros:
Cons:
Personal opinion:
Educational
Institutes/Students/Instructors
Politics/Government
When I Learned the Value of Diversity for Innovation
By Stephanie Hill
1 - I was a young African-American woman in 1996, determined to do my best at
Lockheed Martin, one of the world's foremost technology companies, when I was
named to lead an integrated-product team for a mission-critical U.S. Navy program.
I was confident in my abilities as a software engineer, and I had been intimately
involved in writing the program requirements. But the scope of the program was
much broader than software development. We were tasked with creating an
advanced launch control unit peripheral for a navy vertical-launch system.
2 - Our challenge was to take a legacy system, based on a 16-bit computer with a
rudimentary keypad input and tape cartridge device, and design a new unit that
incorporated off-the-shelf technology—a 166-megahertz PowerPC VME processor
and a touch-screen graphical user interface. This was before the iPad, when touch
screens were a big deal. It was one of the navy's first ventures into forwardcompatible, off-the-shelf technology. The system also had to be ruggedized to
withstand a near-miss explosion. And we had to deliver it quickly and affordably.
3 - Given the complexity, deadline and the amount of innovation required for the
program, we needed every ounce of original thinking from people of many different
backgrounds, both professional and personal. Our team of about 30 individuals had
several people of color and several women, which was significant for my industry at
the time, and a healthy mix of experience and youth. I had to establish an
atmosphere of inclusion across race, gender and age diversity.
4 - It was the diversity of professional expertise on the team that proved to me that an
inclusive, sharing environment is imperative to success. We had systems, software,
and electrical and human factors engineers. We had experts in shock attenuation,
electromagnetic pulses and testing simulation systems. And we needed to engage
all of them in a give-and-take dialogue in which ideas were stood up, picked apart
and modified to become stronger with each iteration.
5 - It was the kind of environment that not only benefits from diversity, it demands it.
And because we were successful in establishing and managing it, we were also
successful in delivering the capability that the customer required.
6 - As a leader, I had to set the tone for people to express their ideas, even if they
differed from those of their colleagues. I would not allow someone's ideas to be
dismissed without consideration. I also established an environment where people
felt safe in asking questions that often go unasked because everybody is afraid of
being the only one who doesn't already know the answer. Asking those questions
early in a discussion gets us past them (because, in truth, many other people have
them, too) and allows us to use our time more efficiently.
7 - Among my biggest concerns as a leader is that I will allow the best idea in the
room to go unexpressed because someone did not feel comfortable enough to
express it.
8 - Once I found myself sitting next to a young engineer in a roomful of more
experienced colleagues. I noticed he had something he wanted to say, but he was
always a split second late in gaining the floor. After this had gone on for a while, I
stopped the discussion, turned to him and asked for his opinion. He proceeded to
make a suggestion that nobody else had considered. It was risky, and the group was
skeptical. Eventually we adopted his idea, and it resulted in completely winning
over a customer.
9 - Perhaps the most important outcome of my experience as team leader was that it
helped me evolve my understanding of diversity into a broader concept of
inclusion. Diversity of age, gender, skin color, ethnicity, and more—the attributes of
a diverse workplace that are the first to come to mind—is often visible and easy to
identify and requires focus to engage and develop. The presence of diversity that
you can see is often an indicator of an inclusive environment that embraces diversity
of thought. A team dynamic that opens the door to inclusion will elicit ideas that
spring from varied professional, educational and social experiences.
10 - It's a truism that the best teams are greater than the sum of their parts. I believe
that is only true when those parts are diverse. When everyone looks the same, acts
the same and thinks the same, is it any wonder that they often fail to embrace—or
even produce—innovative and unconventional ideas?
11 - I am fortunate to work for an organization that not only understands that concept
but makes a conscious choice to live by it. To choose otherwise would be to resign
ourselves to comfortable mediocrity—and that will never be a viable option in the
pursuit of excellence.
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-i-learned-the-value-ofdiversity-for-innovation/
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What is the author’s occupation and what happened to her in year 1996?
2. What challenges did the author and her team face?
3. Describe the team that the author led. How many people were on the team? What
types of people were on the team?
4. As a team leader, what were the author’s responsibilities?
5. What does the author say is the most important outcome of her experience as a
team leader?
6. Explain the truism “the best teams are greater than the sum of their parts” and
the author’s perspective about this truism. (Paragraph 10)
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
1. What important background information does the author give in paragraph 1?
2. Why is the information in paragraph 2 important for the reader’s understanding
of paragraph 3?
3. How are paragraphs 7 and 8 related?
4. Why do you think the author asks a question at the end of paragraph 10?
5. In the first sentence in paragraph 11, what is “that concept” referring to?
6. How does the author emphasize and summarize her main point in paragraphs 10
and 11?
Houston’s Diversity is America’s Future
By Francie Diep
1 - Influxes of African, Asian, and Latino Americans helped Houston's metro area
avoid economic stagnation. Could an expected demographic shift on the national
level end up reviving other troubled cities?
2 - Houston is a window into the future of America. In 1970, the city was an oil town
that was about one-quarter black and three-quarters white, with just a smattering of
folks of other origins. Since the oil-price bust of 1982, however, growth in the city
and metropolitan area has come almost entirely from influxes of African, Asian, and
especially Latino Americans. These new Houstonians came to work in construction
and service, and as professionals in the expanding Texas Medical Center. During
the same period, the white population, much of which had originally come to the
region for oil jobs, hardly grew at all.
3 - The result? What was once a "biracial Southern city," as Rice University
sociologist Stephen Klineberg put it, is now one of America’s most diverse
metropolitan areas. In fact, by one measure of diversity—how evenly distributed the
population is between blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians—it beats out New York
and Los Angeles. By 2060, the Census Bureau predicts the country will follow,
roughly, in Houston's footsteps, with no single race claiming a majority of the
population.
4 - What have these demographic shifts meant for Houston, and what will they do to
the country? As the city's demographic make-up shifted, so did its attitudes.
Houstonians became slightly more likely to be Democrats, and slightly less likely to
be Republicans. With every passing year, their support for immigrants, including
the undocumented, grows.
5 - There were tensions initially because some longtime residents worried that the
new immigrants wouldn't assimilate, says Klineberg, who has lived in the city for 45
years and surveyed its residents regularly since 1982. But as a generation of United
States-born children grew up, he saw those worries fade.
6 - "It's very hard to summon up fears of perfect-English-speaking people," he says.
"We are falling in love with each other, marrying, making multiracial babies, in a
way that transforms the whole experience."
7 - It helped that Houston had plenty of land to develop, so many residents didn't see
the racial composition of their neighborhoods change drastically: Some research has
shown that these types of shifts can make people less willing to pay taxes for public
goods, such as infrastructure and schools.
8 - Klineberg thinks the city's newest residents helped it survive in the wake of the
oil bust, during which more than 225,000 people lost their jobs and hundreds of
Texas banks failed. Although some research indicates that diversity can reduce
community trust and engagement, some economists think that ethnic diversity in
cities helps make them more productive, perhaps because workers of different
backgrounds have disparate ideas and skills. At least in classrooms, diversity has
been shown to promote more innovative thinking. Other studies show cities with
significant numbers of foreign-born residents tend to grow faster than cities without
them, and to support higher average wages for native-born residents (although
some people may take a pay cut). There's even evidence that, in some cases,
immigrants can help revive cities on the decline.
9 - "If Houston had not become a magnet for the new urban growth of the last 30
years, Houston would have lost population, would have had the same fate as other
major American cities that are losing their statuses as major cities because they've
basically stopped growing for 35 years: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St.
Louis, Detroit," Klineberg says. "No city has benefited from immigration more than
Houston, Texas."
Source: https://psmag.com/magazine/houstons-diversity-is-americas-future
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What does the author mean by “Houston is a window into the future of America”?
(paragraph 2)
2. Why type of city was Houston in 1970, and what brought about change? How did
the city change afterward?
3. How does sociologist Stephen Klineberg describe Houston?
4. What effect did demographic shifts have on the city of Houston?
5. Why were there some tensions in Houston in the early stages of its demographic
shifts?
6. According to Stephen Klineberg, what would have been the consequences if
Houston had not become such an attractive place for immigrants over the last 30
years?
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
1. How is the question posed in paragraph 1 (2nd sentence) related to the author’s
main argument?
2. Why is Houston compared to New York and Los Angeles in paragraph 3? Why do
you think the author specifically chose to reference New York and Los Angeles?
3. In paragraph 7, the author references research. What do you think is the author’s
purpose for doing this?
4. Identify the claim the author is making in paragraph 8 and all of the different
types of evidence that is given in support of the claim.
The Answer To Implicit Racism Might Be In Children's Literature
By Noah Berlatsky
1 - Could diverse protagonists reduce racial anxiety?
2 - Children's literature is a vast sea of white.
3 - Children’s literature is not a diverse space. Of 3,200 children's books published
in 2013, only 67 were written by African-American writers, and only 93 centered on
black characters. That's actually the lowest tally recorded since 1994, when the
Cooperative Children's Book Centre began collecting data. Children's books didn't
do much better with American Indian, Asian, or Latino kids. For children of color,
children's books offer few role models and few heroes who look like them.
4 - The bulk of the discussion around diversity focuses on the need, as YA writer
Amy McCulloch says, "to make sure children see themselves represented in
literature." But there's another side to this lack of diversity. White kids, and, for that
matter, white adults, might need diverse literature as much as people of color do.
5 - Why do white people need diverse media? One answer, according Ebony
Elizabeth Thomas, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s
Graduate School of Education, is that a lack of diversity can have detrimental effects
on white as well as black self-images. She points to teen shows on the CW Television
Network where, even in comparison to the 1990s, "Almost all the women are size 0,"
and there's a narrow range of acceptable beauty standards. "I think it's really
important for white people to have diverse literature, media, and a diverse culture,"
she says, "because it takes some of the pressure off whiteness," and a unitary image
of what perfect bodies, or perfect heroes, look like or can be.
6 - A new paper from the Perception Institute offers another reason to support this
idea. The report, "Addressing Implicit Bias, Racial Anxiety, and Stereotype Threat in
Education and Health Care," doesn't discuss kid's literature or media directly. But
it does provide a framework for seeing racism as a problem lodged in perceptions—
often, and especially, in white perceptions. "[M]ost Americans," the report points
out, "espouse values of racial fairness." And yet, despite that, racial disparities are
both brutal and entrenched. The We Charge Genocide project, for example, reports
that between 2009 and 2013, blacks made up 75 percent of police shooting victims in
Chicago, even though black people represent only 33 percent of the city's
population. And, in another register, at a recent National Book Awards ceremony,
host Daniel Handler made a series of racist remarks about black award winner
Jacqueline Woodson. Handler apologized, and pledged matching donations to the
"We Need Diverse Books" Indiegogo campaign—but even his contrition emphasized
the dynamic at play.
7 - Americans largely believe in equality, but from policing to the publishing, there
is a clear pattern of discrimination against black people. How does that happen?
8 - The Perception Institute argues that part of the answer, at least, is that people's
perceptions don't always square with their ideals: While the ideals may be
egalitarian, the perceptions are often racist, or can lead to racist outcomes. People
may have implicit bias, involving unconscious stereotypes and reactions—biases
which, research shows, can increase the speed (and likelihood) with which a white
person may shoot a black person, or may affect who is and is not called back in for
job interviews.
9 - Implicit bias is a relatively common concept. But the report also discusses other
kinds of racial dynamics which can cause discriminatory outcomes. For example,
both blacks and whites can experience racial anxiety—that is, they may be
uncomfortable in situations involving interracial interactions. People of color may be
worried that they will be targeted for discrimination (for good reason), and whites
may be anxious that they will be seen as racist.
10 - White anxieties here may seem trivial. Black people are being shot and
imprisoned and targeted for violence, and we should spend time worrying about
whether white people feel good about themselves? But the report explains that white
anxieties are important, precisely because they contribute to these systemic racist
outcomes. White teachers who are anxious about appearing racist may be afraid to
give students of color critical feedback, setting them up for failure. Doctors who are
anxious about racial interactions may cut visits with black patients or patients of
color short, which can (and does) result in lower quality health care. In addition,
racial anxieties tend to compound further racial anxieties. "A negative experience
with someone of another race or ethnicity can trigger a negative feedback loop
where the experience of racial anxiety predicts fewer and lower-quality interactions
with other racial and ethnic groups in the future."
11 - The report points out that more, and more positive, interracial interactions are
important for reducing this anxiety. But there are other ways to reduce bias and
anxiety as well. The report says that researchers have had some success with
counter-stereotyping—presenting people with non-stereotypical examples of
minorities. For example, showing the film The Joy Luck Club seemed to reduce
implicit bias toward Asian-Americans. In addition, contact across racial groups
reduces racial anxiety. In fact, even knowing that someone you know knows
someone of a different race can reduce racial anxiety. Such extended contacts are
especially important, the report says, in a segregated society, where many white
people may have limited opportunities for social interaction with black people and
people of color.
12 - Which brings us back to diversity—in kids' literature and in other venues as
well. One of the takeaways from the Perception Institute report is that racism isn't
necessarily always a conscious choice. You can have egalitarian ideals, you can
consciously want to be egalitarian, but implicit bias and racial anxiety can still trip
you up. If white people are going to stop being racist, they need more than just
will—they need a culture that supports anti-racism. Diverse kids' literature gives
children of color a chance to see themselves as heroes, which is vital. But smart,
thoughtful books with non-white protagonists can also give white children a chance
to see black people and people of color as something other than anxiety-producing
others or stereotypes.
13 - Greater diversity in children’s literature (and in media in general), gives more
options to everyone. It lets kids see themselves as heroes—and, just as important, it
lets them see that other people can be heroes too.
Source: https://psmag.com/social-justice/answer-implicit-racism-might-childrensliterature-95094
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What does the statement “Children's literature is a vast sea of white” mean?
(paragraph 2)
2. What is implicit racism?
3. According to the author, what is the relationship between the discrimination seen
in children’s literature and implicit racism?
4. What does the author mean by “white anxieties”? Why does the author think
white anxieties are important? (See paragraph 10)
5. According to the author, what are some ways to reduce anxiety and bias?
6. According to the author, what positive effects would greater diversity in
children’s literature have?
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
1. In addition to starting the article with a question, the author poses a question to
the reader several more times throughout the article. Why do you think the
author does this and what effect does this have on the reader?
2. How does paragraph 4 build up to the question posed at the beginning of
paragraph 5?
3. In paragraph 10, the author elaborates on “white anxieties.” How does he build
the argument that white anxieties are important?
4. How does the author wrap up and conclude the article in paragraphs 12 and 13?
Do paragraphs 12 and 13 summarize important points that he mentioned
previously in the article?
Middle School Ethnic Diversity Benefits All Students
By Tom Jacobs
1 - How do we make our schools a more welcoming place for students? Newly
published research finds one answer is genuine ethnic diversity.
2 - A study featuring 4,302 sixth-graders in 26 Los Angeles-area middle schools
found many indicators to suggest well-being was higher in schools where no single
ethnic group had a clear majority.
3 - "More ethnic groups of relatively equal size—the hallmark of school diversity—
may be protective because the numerical balance of power is less likely to be
tipped in favor or one or more large ethnic groups," writes a University of
California–Los Angeles research team led by psychologist Jaana Juvonen.
4 - The study, published in the journal Child Development, focused on middle
schools in middle- and working-class neighborhoods. In six of the 26, the student
body contained whites, blacks, Latinos, and Asians, and "no single ethnic group
represented a numerical majority." Nine "have two large and relatively equal ethnic
groups," while members of one such group were the clear majority in 11 others.
5 - The sixth-graders completed a series of questionnaires measuring, among other
things, how safe they felt at school, whether they get "picked on by other kids," and
whether they believe their teachers treat everyone fairly.
6 - In addition, researchers measured comfort level with members of other ethnic
groups, asking them how likely they were "to eat lunch, get together at their house,
dance together at a party, or sit together on a school bus with peers from different
ethnic groups in their grade."
7 - Their answers were compared with the ethnic make-up of both their school, and
of the specific classes they took.
8 - The results: As the ethnic diversity of middle school increased, African-American,
Latino, Asian, and white youth all reported feeling safer in school, less lonely, and
less likely to be victimized. Students in more diverse schools were also more likely
to report that their teachers provided "fair and equal treatment of all ethnic groups."
9 - In addition, those whose specific classes were more diverse were also less likely
to ostracize kids of other races or ethnicities. "The pattern of findings was similar for
all ethnic groups," the researchers write, "and regardless of their ethnic
representation in a given school."
10 - The bad news is the number of students who receive these benefits may be
declining. Juvonen and her colleagues point to recent research suggesting "schools
serving ethnic minority youth are more segregated today than in the 1960s." They
also note that, in 2007, the Supreme Court overturned one school district's policies to
increase diversity.
11 - "The court did not see K-12 diversity as a compelling interest," they write, "and
(the justices) questioned whether social-science research had adequately justified
the use of race-conscious policies." Well, here's a study that does just that.
Source: https://psmag.com/education/middle-school-ethnic-diversity-benefits-allstudents
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
1. What does psychologist Jaana Juvonen believe about ethnic diversity?
2. What were the main findings from the study featuring 4,302 sixth-graders in 26
Los Angeles-area middle schools?
3. Why types of questionnaires did the sixth-graders complete?
4. According to the study, what makes students feel safe at school?
5. How does the author feel about the current K-!2 diversity policy?
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
1. The author begins his article with a question, then answers it in the following
sentence. What effect does this have on the reader?
2. Is the author’s description of the study clear and engaging?
3. The author quotes the study quite often throughout the article (paragraphs 3 – 6,
and 8 -11). Underline all the quotes that he uses. Are there some quotes that he
could have paraphrased instead? If he had used less quotes, how would that have
changed his article?
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