Assignment # 1
1. Compare Rodriguez's account of his growth through language, and the
decline in family intimacy that occurred at the same time, with the essays by
Heath and Hampl.
2. To what degree is Rodriguez's experience special to second language
learners, as opposed to the general experience of children educated beyond their
parent's level?
English 101 Final Draft Grading Form for Assignment One
Carefully read through this form to see how you will be graded on this
writing assignment. Additionally, in the event that you did not reach your
desired score after submission of your final draft, you should revise your essay
based on recommendations made on this grading form. If you revise your essay,
you will have one week from the time that I hand back the graded final draft.
The following is expected should you choose to revise your essay: original
draft with my marginal comments and editing suggestions, the final draft grading
form for the original draft, and the revised draft, all of which are enclosed
within a manila folder.
Subject
1. By using textual evidence (e.g., direct quotes, summaries, and
paraphrases), you have adequately compared (e.g., to show similarities)
Rodriguez's account of his growth through language, and the decline in family
intimacy that occurred at the same time, with the essays by Heath and Hampl. 0 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
2. Using specific examples from the readings, from your personal experience,
or from the observation of others, you have shown how Rodriguez's experience is
special to second language learners, as opposed to the general experience of
children educated beyond their parent's level. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Length, Document Design, and Stages of Writing Assignment
3. Essay meets the 3-4 page length requirement (Buckhoff 5). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
4. Essay follows MLA documentation and format (Hacker 371-377). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10
5. Direct quotes, summaries, and paraphrases from the reading are smoothly
integrated into the essay (Hacker 334-340). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Enclosed within a manila folder, essay includes the in-class writing,
invention, planning and drafting, middle draft peer review, and final draft
parts of the writing assignment (Buckhoff 2-3). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Organization
7. The introductory paragraph uses a startling fact, a vivid example, a
description, a paradoxical statement, a quotation, a question, an analogy, or a
joke/anecdote as hooks which lead to a thesis ( Hacker 9, 13-16). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10
8. The most important part of the essay, the thesis suggests a clear
direction of two or three points of comparison which will be made among
Rodriguez, Heath, and Hampl (Hacker 9, 13-16). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Rephrasing the writing assignment (Buckhoff 4), the thesis is generalized
(not factual), limited (not broad), and sharply focused ( not vague.) 0 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10
10. The second paragraph begins with a topic sentence that refers back to the
thesis, detailing some aspect of it. The rest of the sentences in the paragraph
support the topic sentence (Hacker 23-34). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11. The remaining body paragraphs contain topic sentences which in turn,
directly or indirectly refer back to the thesis (Hacker 23-34) . 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
12. The concluding paragraph, an echo of the thesis, summarizes the main
points of the essay. (Hacker 16-17). 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13. Avoiding any new ideas, the conclusion is memorable in that there is a
detail, an example, or an image from the introduction or a quote, anecdote, or a
humorous or witty comment which brings closure to the topic (Hacker 16-17). 0 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Sentence Style, Word Choice, and Grammatical Correctness
14. Sentence Style 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The writer does not have problems with parallelism (S1), needed words (S2),
modifiers (S3), shifts (S4), mixed constructions (S5), emphasis (S6), and
variety (S7).
15. Word Choice: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The writer does not use commonly confused words incorrectly (W1), does not
use wordy sentences (W2), uses primarily active verbs and avoids forms of the
'be' verb or verbs in the passive voice (W3), has appropriate language suitable
to academic writing, and does not use jargon, pretentious language, euphemisms,
doublespeak, slang, regional expressions, and nonstandard English (W4).
16. Exact language: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The writer uses words with appropriate connotations, uses specific concrete
nouns, does not misuse words, uses standard idioms, does not rely heavily on
cliches, and uses figures of speech with care (W5).
17. Grammatical correctness: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The writer has good control of subject-verb agreement (G1).
The writer has no other problems with verbs (G2).
The writer does not have problems with pronouns (G3).
The writer does not have problems using adjectives and adverbs (G4).
The writer does not have problems with sentence fragments, run-on sentences,
or comma splices (G5, G6).
18. Punctuation: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Writer uses commas when they are needed (P1) and does not use them when they
are not needed (P2.)
Writer uses the semi-colon (P3), colon (P4), and the apostrophe (P5)
correctly.
19. Mechanics:0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The writer has good spelling and does not use typos (M1).
The writer capitalizes proper nouns and does not capitalize common nouns
(M3).
The writer does not use inappropriate abbreviations (M4).
______ points out of 220 =______
Writing is the means to unlocking the great mysteries of the mind: thoughts, passions, innovations...-Michael Buckhoff