Tour of Everything You Need to Know about Essays and Evidence in This Course

This course and its requirements for essays can make your life easier—if you know what is here to help you.

 

This tour is meant to substitute for my talking to you and show you what I would point to if we were sitting next to you:

I. Basic Questions and Answers

II. What Are Your Two Choices with the Feedback on Your Practice Essay (the History Changes Essay) and What Related Questions do You Have?

III. What Are the 5 Requirements for Evidence for This Course in Brief, in Detail (See More), and with Tips (See How to Work)

IV. How Essays Work in This Course – A repeat of the information in the Tour of a Learning Module

 

You can move at your own pace and use what helps you. If you have questions, just ask.

 

 

Reminder: You will have an easier time with links if you open them in a New Window. If you do not know how to do this, click here for tips. (This includes how to save these files from the Internet.) If you need help, just ask.

 

I. Basic Questions and Answers

Question

Brief Answer

See More

What is the goal of writing in the course?

You are not writing a summary. You are doing writing that helps you learn the history of our nation by trying to teach it in a common sense way.

Click here

How do the essays work?

You know all of the possible essays and any required readings at the beginning of the course. Blackboard randomly determines which questions you are asked. The Tour of a Learning Module covers that. It is repeated below.

See below

Are there any specific sources?

Required textbook as the only source of facts when you write. Only additional resources: Dallas TeleLearning Videos and resources built in the course. No use of any other Internet sites.

Click here

How does the instructor grade?

How the side-by-side placement of the textbook (opened to the content for the question) and your essay and the rubric lets me see your work and give you realistic and verifiable feedback.

Click here

Is there a rubric used in grading?

A weighted rubric:

·         60% Reading for Evidence

·         30% Writing with Evidence

·         5% Following instructions

·         5% Mechanics such as grammar and punctuation

 

For the 25 point essays, Reading for Evidence is worth 15 (60% of 25); Writing with Evidence, 7.5 (30%); and both Following Instructions and Mechanics, 1.25 each 5%). In other words, evidence and reading and writing are what determine your grade.

Click here for the weights shown with the 10 point essay

Can the rubric give specific feedback?

Example of the rubric used to show detailed feedback specific to you by using highlighting and underlining

Click here

Are there details to explain the rubric?

5 requirements for evidence measured in the rubric with links to a brief explanation (See More) and to tips (See How to Work). 

Click here for III.

Are there any aids for students?

The Practice Essay at 10 points and with an optional extra credit of 10 points

Click here for Heading II.

 

5 Requirements for evidence includes tips (See How to Work)

Click here for Heading III.

 

Displayable pages from The Bedford Handbook, the standards manual chosen by WCJC, if you have any question about whether the Requirements follow those standards

Visible in Blackboard on request

 

Mentoring or coaching by the instructor if you have questions about your work or about the Requirements – Glad to help.

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II. What Are Your Two Choices with the Feedback on Your Practice Essay (the History Changes Essay) and What Related Questions do You Have?

Question

Brief Answer

See More

How is the practice essay used as an aid for students

The Practice Essay at 10 points and with an optional extra credit of 10 points – You can:

·         Tell how your instructor grades

·         If you choose to do the extra credit, earn 10 extra points while  identify how you work and whether how you work might be something you want to choose to change

Click here for the section from the syllabus

Why does the instructor grade in the way she does?

Why does the instructor grade this way? – It was an accidental discovery that:

·         I could easily see how you were working with a source

·         You could see how you were working for yourself
and you could decide if how you were working matched what you needed to do for the future you want

Click here to hear and see this

What are the two choices you have in response to the instructor’s feedback

You can:

EITHER give a specific reply and not do the extra credit activity

OR do the extra credit

Click here for the decision and how you do this.

If you choose to do the 10-point extra credit, what do you do?

You do not rewrite, you do not edit, and you do not make any corrections to what you wrote.

 

Instead, 1) you copy what you submitted for the Practice Essay and 2)  then you either underline your own words (like this) or strike through your own words (like this) depending on the instructions for you in your rubric.

Click here for the instructions

Details to help you understand your decision

-       highlighting and underlining

Example of the rubric used with the Practice Essay to show detailed feedback specific to you by using highlighting and underlining

Click here

-        weighting of the rubric and  the grade for the practice essay

A weighted rubric:

·         60% Reading for Evidence (6 out of 10 points)

·         30% Writing with Evidence (3 out of 10 points)

·         5% Following instructions (.5 out of 10 points)

·         5% Mechanics such as grammar and punctuation (.5 out of 10 points)

 

Reading for Evidence and Writing with Evidence are what determine the grade.

Click here for the weights shown with the 10 point essay

If my way of working is not helping me, are there alternative ways that might work for me?

5 requirements for evidence measured in the rubric with links to a brief explanation (See More) and to tips (See How to Work). 

 

I am also glad to do mentoring or coaching if you have questions about your work or about the Requirements – Glad to help.

Click here for Heading III.

 

III. What Are the 5 Requirements for Evidence for This Course in Brief, in Detail (See More), and with Tips (See How to Work)

These requirements apply to this course and to many jobs that pay well. The links in the How to Work column were built because a student who was active in sports told me “You are telling me what I did wrong, but not how to hold the racket.” His statement was great feedback and a great suggestion on what I could add to help students. I started talking him through how I held “the racket” for each of these requirements and that became the basis for the links in the right column. They are written in the form of a checklist. The word checklist means a list of steps or things necessary for success (such as a pilot’s checklist for takeoff or a tennis player’s set of skills).

 

What Are the 5 Requirements in Brief

See More

See How to Work

1. Must use reliable sources for facts (evidence)—only the textbook chosen by the History Department and the sources provided at our Course Website.

 

Do not assume about facts.

 

Click here

Click here for how to work to meet this requirement

2. Must not copy the author’s phrases without quotation marks and must not copy the author’s sentence structure and just replace a few words. (The Bedford Handbook defines both as “half-copy” plagiarism.)

Click here and why I make a big deal about this.

Click here for how to work (Contains how to work for both Number 2 and 3 because the solution for How to Work for each is the same.)

3. Must not change an author’s words without revealing the changes, especially changes that might mislead your reader about the evidence.

Click here

4. Must use a reliable source to confirm the accuracy of anything you write. Do not cherry pick your facts or embellish them.

 

 If you cannot verify a fact, do not write it.

 

Click here

Click here for how to work

5. Must know exactly where you found every fact you use. Do not assume the author agrees with you and just didn’t say it.

 

 If a reasonable person using a reliable dictionary and reading the entire passage would not agree that you have evidence for what you say, then neither will I.

 

Click here

Click here for how to work

 

IV. How Essays Work in This Course – A repeat of the information in the Tour of a Learning Module

 

 

What You See As You Take the Tour

Hear It

See It

See More

Z6

6

If you click on the link for possible essays for the exam that ends the Unit, what do you see in the general information at the top?

Click here

Click here

How to prepare for objective and essay exams

 

Z7

6

 If you click on the link for possible essays for the exam that ends the Unit, what do you see in the specific information for the possible topics for each question?

You know at the beginning of the Unit every possible essay question for the end of the Unit at the exam—and where to read.

Click here

Click here

 

 

Copyright C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2013

 

 

WCJC Department:

History – Dr. Bibus

Contact Information:

281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu

Last Updated:

2013

WCJC Home:

http://www.wcjc.edu/