ENG 123 Summative Assessment Guidelines and Ru
ic
Overview
Put the argument into a concrete shape, into an image, some hard phrase, round and solid as a ball, which they can see and handle and ca
y home with them,
and the cause is half won.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Persuasion is a constant in each of our lives. No matter where we look, what we read, what we see, or who we interact with, we are inevitably going to encounter
some form of persuasion. Advertisements want us to buy things. Newspapers and television want to convince us of how we should feel about events. We are put
into positions where we must defend our thoughts and beliefs to others, and the process we apply is typically some form of persuasion.
Persuasive writing is one of the most powerful forms of writing—it has the ability to influence one’s thoughts, and also the ability to change one’s mind about a
particular issue. The persuasive essay is an ideal tool for supporting an opinion on an issue using researched facts and information. It also gives you the chance to
ecognize an opposing viewpoint and refute it, noting that those who hold the opposing viewpoint are the intended audience of the piece.
In this assignment, you will write a persuasive essay that makes an argument about a change or a cu
ent issue in your major, a major you are interested in
pursuing, or your field of work.
The project has one milestone, which will be submitted earlier in the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. This milestone will be
submitted in Module Five. The final submission is due in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
Develop stylistically appropriate writing that incorporates strategies for writing to a given audience, subject, and purpose
Incorporate feedback from peer review for improving the quality and effectiveness of one’s own writing
Write informative introductions; coherent theses; well-developed, organized, and supported body paragraphs; and conclusions that are persuasive and
supported by effective research
Utilize appropriate research for developing a well-informed position through written composition
Prompt
For this essay, you will identify an issue in your cu
ent major, a major you are interested in pursuing, or your field of work. You will then establish an argument
and support that argument with research and relevant evidence.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Introduction: This is where readers will have a chance to get an idea of what your essay will be about and what you will prove throughout. Do not give all
of your information away here, but give readers a sample of what is to come. Do not forget to review your writing plan to make sure you are hitting all of
the points that you planned out, while also stating your claim.
A. Provides an overview of the issue you have selected,
iefly describing main points and your argument.
B. Compose an engaging thesis that states the argument that you will prove and support throughout your essay. This statement will give direction
to your essay and should be well thought out.
II. Body: The body is your opportunity to describe and support your argument in depth. Make sure your thoughts and evidence are clear and organized in a
way that is easy for readers to follow and understand.
A. Be sure that you write multiple paragraphs that are focused, clearly state their intent, and move logically from one to the other, building the
thesis argument as the essay progresses.
B. Your body paragraphs should support your argument by combining thoughts and ideas with evidence from sources. There is no such thing as a
ight or wrong argument; the key is how it is supported and the quality of the evidence used.
C. Address and refute any opposing viewpoints to your argument. This is your chance to discredit any opposing views, thus strengthening your
own.
III. Conclusion: Think of the conclusion as a review of your argument. Use this section to restate your argument and remind readers of your supporting
evidence. Think of this as your last chance to persuade readers to agree with you.
A. Review your argument. This section should consist of a review of your main points employed to support your argument. Think of this as your last
chance to prove your point or your closing arguments.
B. Your conclusion should articulate insights about your argument established through your essay. This should follow logically from your essay,
efe
ing to key points or quotes used to support your argument.
Summative Assessment Ru
ic
Guidelines for Submission: Your persuasive essay must be 5–7 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in MLA or APA format.
Save your work in a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Then, check your writing for e
ors.
Once you have proofread your document, submit it via the Summative Assessment: Persuasive Essay link in Brightspace.
Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value
Introduction: Overview Provides an overview of the
issue being analyzed and
iefly
describes main points of
argument (100%)
Provides an overview of the
issue being analyzed and
iefly
describes main points of
argument, but there are issues
egarding accuracy (55%)
Does not provide an overview of
issue being analyzed (0%)
7.5
Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value
Introduction: Thesis Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
thesis is exceptionally clear and
concise (100%)
Composes a thesis that states
the argument that will be
supported and proven
throughout the essay (85%)
Composes a thesis, but there are
issues related to clarity or
elevancy (55%)
Does not compose a thesis (0%) 7.5
Body: Intent Writes multiple paragraphs that
are focused, clearly state their
intent, and build the thesis
argument (100%)
Writes multiple paragraphs, but
writing does not build the thesis
argument (55%)
Does not write multiple
paragraphs (0%)
7.5
Body: Body Paragraphs Meets “Proficient” criteria and
supports argument with a
masterfully constructed
combination of thoughts and
evidence (100%)
Communicates argument
through body paragraphs by
combining thoughts and ideas
with evidence (85%)
Communicates argument
through body paragraphs but
does not combine thoughts and
ideas with evidence (55%)
Does not communicate
argument through body
paragraphs (0%)
45
Body: Opposing
Viewpoints
Meets “Proficient” criteria and
demonstrates keen insight into
oth sides of argument (100%)
Addresses and refutes opposing
viewpoints in a way that
strengthens the argument (85%)
Addresses and refutes opposing
viewpoints but not in a way that
strengthens the argument (55%)
Does not address or refute
opposing viewpoints (0%)
7.5
Conclusion: Review Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
esponse is clear and
contextualized (100%)
Reviews claim and summarizes
key supporting points of essay
(85%)
Reviews claim and summarizes
key supporting points, but there
are issues regarding alignment to
the intent of the thesis (55%)
Does not review claim (0%) 7.5
Conclusion: Insights Meets “Proficient” criteria and
offers nuanced insight into the
elationship between the
evidence and the claim (100%)
Articulates insights about
argument established through
the analysis, following argument
logically and refe
ing to key
points or quotes used to support
argument (85%)
Articulates insights about
argument established through
the essay, but does not follow
argument logically or does not
efer to key points or quotes
used to support claim (55%)
Does not articulate insights
about argument (0%)
7.5
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of e
ors
elated to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and organization
and is presented in a
professional and easy-to-read
format (100%)
Submission has no major e
ors
elated to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
(85%)
Submission has major e
ors
elated to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
eadability and articulation of
main ideas (55%)
Submission has critical e
ors
elated to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas (0%)
10
Total 100%