Quick Link for On-Campus Classes

This is the information I told you about in class. I have added at the bottom a section on the 5 requirements for evidence.

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.

 

Question

Brief Answer

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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.

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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

 

Tip about the rubric: If you choose to develop habits different from those in the D and F columns, you will start to do C and B and A work. Those habits will serve you in learning history and in learning anything—whether in your major program or in a good job.

 

The section at the end of this webpage tells you the requirements AND tips to have habits that help you. AND I am always glad to help you.

 

Click here for the rubric for Unit essays

Are there student examples?

U.S. History I – There is no magic answer to any of these questions and all of these versions are reasonable.

·         Question: Great Awakening - Points Earned: 22

·         Question: John Calvin and Influence on a New England Colony - Points Earned: 22.35

·         Question: John Calvin and Influence on a New England Colony - Points Earned: 23.745

·         Question: Protestant Reformation and Influence on the Middle Colonies  - Points Earned: 22.5

 

U.S. History II

·         Question: Grant’s Peace Policy and the Dawes Severalty Act (what happens with Native Americans) – Points Earned: 22.38

 

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What are the point values in the Rubric?

Click here for the points values for an A, B, C, D, or less than a D for a 25-point essay.

·         Top - the scale for Reading for Evidence at 60%

·         Middle – the scale for Writing with Evidence at 30%

·         Bottom- the scale for either Mechanics or Instructions (Directions) at 5% each

 

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Below is part of the revision I have been trying to do to your top link at Essays Topics.

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

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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.

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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

 

 

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/