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Reaction paper assignment, criteria and rubric

 

Students will be responsible for writing a response to a media article approximately every two weeks. The purpose of this is to allow you to take the time to form opinions about the world around you. The final grade will not be based on your opinion or what you think about something, but on how clearly you explain your reaction to it. The criteria for the assignment will be as follows:

 

  1. The article must be about local, national or international news. The subject matter must be politics, economics, history, discoveries, inventions or achievement in these areas. News about murders, accidents, celebrities, etc. are not acceptable topics. If you are unsure, clear the article with me before you proceed.
  2. Your essay must be word processed in 12-point times new roman font. It must be formatted in accordance with the sample paper.
  3. The length is 200 to 300 words. The essay may not exceed 300 words. Be concise.
  4. Editing and GUM matter in the final grade. Spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, capitalization and paragraphing are expected to be perfect. This is a short piece of writing; take the time to review it.
  5. The pieces will be graded in accordance with the attached rubric and writing sample.

 

Here is a basic outline of how the paper should read.

 

Paragraph one: Where the article is from and why it was chosen.

 

Paragraph two: Briefly describe what the article is about. Write summary, which is a short explanation of the main points or topics.

 

Paragraph three (and four if necessary): What is your reaction to this article- how does it make you feel? What does it remind you of? Do you agree with it? Does it upset you? Does it make you feel good? Make connections to your life, your knowledge, your opinions. There should be textual reference in these paragraphs.

 

Last paragraph: Summarize your reaction and write a concluding sentence.

 

Vermont Standard 1.7

RESPONSES TO TEXT

 

Vermont Standard 1.7

RESPONSES TO TEXT

Student Name _________________________
 Vermont Standard 1.7

RESPONSES TO TEXT

Student Name _________________________
 

 

Well Done
4

Meets Expectations
3

Nearly Meets Expectations
2

Below expectations, 
1

Why are you writing this essay? (purpose and focus)
  1. It is clear throughout the essay exactly what it is about. There is a precision and purpose to the writing.
  2. I state the source and why I selected the article. I take a position in relation to the subject.

1. I write only about the article and my reaction to it, with clear explanations.
2. I state the source and why I selected the article.

Sometimes it sounds a little like a summary.
I state what the paper is about, but it doesn’t really unify the paper.
 

Little or no evidence of completing assignment correctly

 

Context
(What is it about?)

The summary of the article is complete enough, and contains enough detail that it is easy for the reader to understand what it is about. It contains some textual evidence (quotes).

The summary of the article is complete enough, and contains enough detail, that it is easy for the reader to understand what it is about. It is not too long.

There is a summary of the article that contains some detail. It may be  too brief.

 

Voice
(read your paper aloud to yourself to hear this)

I use a variety of sentence patterns and my vocabulary is descriptive and interesting.

There is some variety in my sentence patterns and my vocabulary is adequate.

The sentence pattern is repetitive and the vocabulary is limited

 

 

Organization

The paper is written in paragraphs that show a progression from one to the next. There is an intro and concluding paragraph and the body of the essay is in logical order. The paragraphs have “internal coherence.” (this means they are only about one thing)

The paper has an intro and concluding paragraph. The middle paragraphs are in logical order.

A reader can follow the ideas in the paper but it isn’t properly organized or the paragraphs aren’t really in a logical order.

 

Response and
Details

I support my ideas with textual evidence from the article and explain in detail how I feel about the subject. I make more than two connections, personal, background or otherwise.

I have references to the article and some discussion about how I feel about the topic. I make at least one connection, personal, background or otherwise.

I write some personal reaction with some analysis but not enough

 

Format and GUM

Formatted correctly with no obvious GUM/typo errors.

Formatted correctly with no more than two GUM/typos

. Word processed no more than 5 errors.

 

 24 = 97; 23=93; 22=91; 21=89; 20=87; 19=86; 18=85; 17=83; 16=80; 15= 77; 14=73; 13=70; 12=65.
 Score _____________________

 24 = 97; 23=93; 22=91; 21=89; 20=87; 19=86; 18=85; 17=83; 16=80; 15= 77; 14=73; 13=70; 12=65.
 Score _____________________