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Rubric for "Adopting the Creator Mindset" Essays:
This is what the content grade is based upon. (Since some of you asked: Length is at least two FULL pages to three full pages.)
This assignment's Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) show the following research writing skills: summarizing, paraphrasing, direct quoting, citing parenthetically, and developing correctly formated works cited. |
Introductory paragraph
- Sets the hook
- Narrows the focus/provides needed background info, including a paraphrased definition of Creators and of Victims as defined by Dr. Skip Downing, cited parenthetically or attributed journalistically.
- Includes the (paraphrased) definitions from page 42 of Skip Downing's (print) book On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life, published in Boston by Wadsworth publishing in 2014; it is in it's 7th edition. Remember that being a Creator has to do with making choices.
- Clearly states the thesis. The thesis is about your choice to be a Creator or Victim. (It IS a choice, so what do YOU choose?)
o A thesis statement is NOT an announcement of intention
o States the subject matter
o Is unified
o Clearly indicates the writer’s opinion
o Contain the “key words” if possible
*Note: At some point in the essay, you will include a direct quote from David Mirman's blog article. You decide what to quote and where to place it. It may be in the summary paragraph, or you may place it more aptly in another paragraph. This essay will include [1] a summary of Mirman's article, [2] one or two direct quotes (total, no more) from Mirman's article and Downing's excerpt, and [3] a paraphrase of Dr. Downings definitions of Creators and of Victims.
Body paragraph 1
- Summarizes Mirman's article (his teaching blog post).
- It is documented with a parenthetical citation and the correct works cited entry for his "Prime Mover" teaching weblog.
Body paragraph 2
- One paragraph describing a time that you played the Victim role.
- It has clear, vivid details that SHOW and don't just tell.
Body paragraph 3
- Describes a Creator whom you know personally, not Oprah Winfry or Michael Jordan or anyone else you know of or know about but do not actually know personally.
- Describes details that SHOW that this person is a Creator. Remember: Don't just tell us about your example of a Creator; instead SHOW what the person does or has done that makes you think of him or her as a Creator.
- Shows how you will act the Creator role (or how you ARE being a Creator) in order to achieve your desired outcomes as a college student this semester. BE SPECIFIC, not general. "I will try" really means, "I plan to fail and I am giving myself an excuse for failure." "I'll try." -- That's Victim talk. Think about what your example of a Creator shows YOU about how to be a Creator to create the outcomes you wish to achieve.
- SHOW what the outcomes are that you wish to experience: don't just talk about them--be specific. If you want an A in math, for instance, what will you do to earn it? When and where and with whom will you study? What help will you seek and where? What other resources will you need? I.e., make a plan, and follow through--for all of your courses.
· Will cite Dr. Downing's On Course book, (in the introduction, you will include his definition of Creator and Victim from our class discussion). The excerpt that is posted on line is from pages 42-44 of Dr. Downings book. And you will also cite the other source we read, Mirman's short article about Creators and Victims
· Will follow the correct MLA-style format for the type of article it cites (not just any old works cited entry).
- NOTE: You may use a citation generator such as EasyBib, Son of Citation Machine, or M.S. Word's citation generating function; however, these tools are all inaccurate, so find and compare your works cited source to a correct works cited sample from the research handbook of the Little Seagull Handbook.
Make the essay ready for grading. Be Professional! Care!!!
- The whole essay is spell-checked and grammar-checked with both M.S. Word and Grammarly
- It is style checked using Paper Rater. Print out the report to submit as paper copy when the essay is submitted.
- It is plagiarism and grammar checked using TurnitIn (in Canvas)
- Second-person point of view is purged from the paper since the paper is about YOU and not about your readers
- You have used the Revision and Editing Checklist from the Guide to Grammar and Writing
- It is proofread and "aurally" edited using the "Speak" function in M.S. word