As you peer review your two assigned peer reviews through Canvas, use the questions below to help you evaluate your classmates’ drafts. Make at least one comment per question below. As you will see, some questions may require more than one comment. Also, please comment in the text, by highlighting a relevant section to attach your comment to. (Please watch the peer review video (Links to an external site.) if you have any questions about how to complete the peer review.)

If you cannot see their paper when you open their paper, and you see a little hyperlink that says “view feedback” on the right, click that link. The Canvas Community Page (Links to an external site.) also explains and shows what it looks like.

Note: Do not add comments to the peer review rubric. Instead, you should leave your feedback directly on the document that your peer submitted, as shown in the video. (Canvas may instruct you to leave comments on the rubric, but the rubric is for the instructor to complete.). Your comments will save as you go.

Note: You will need to open these assignment instructions in another window so that you can see the questions below while you comment on your peer’s paper.

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Peer Review Questions

Answer the following questions by commenting in the draft.

1. Does the writer include an introduction that frames the claims? Is it well written and effective for their specific audience? Make a comment about why this is effective and/or what is missing/unclear/confusing.
2. Look at what they wrote at the top of the page for their audience and purpose — does it all match? Do you think the text (as a whole) is actually effective for that audience and purpose? Make comments about where they do this effectively or where this connection could be improved.
3. Does the student reference specific texts/assignments from our semester to support each of their claims? (Remember, there should be at least one specific class reference in each explanation.) Make a comment about the quality of the class references. For example, you might comment on a place where an example could be added, where an example be made more specific, where an example is unclear, and/or where an example seems unrelated.
4. Does the student reference personal experiences to support each of their claims? If so, comment on the relevancy and clarity of these personal examples. Point out which personal experiences are especially well done and which one(s) could be strengthened. If the student does not include personal experiences, identify places where these examples could be added.
5. There are always areas where we can be more specific or effective for our particular audiences. Even the BEST pieces of writing have room for improvement. Point out at least one specific part of the project where the student could add in additional explanation or ideas that will help them to more fully address their specific audience and achieve their specific purpose.
6. Look at what the student said about the genre they are writing in (at the top of the page). Is this document a good, effective example of that genre? Does it look like the genre? If so, what is especially well done here? Or, what do you think could be improved/added to make the document a more effective representation of this genre?
7. Is everything organized in a way that makes sense to you? Step back and look at the entire project. Would reorganizing anything make it stronger? Do the claims make sense in the order in which they are presented? Would it be more effective if one of the claims came before/after another claim? If the organization is effective, explain why. If there’s something that should be improved, comment on it.
8. Does the project have a title? If not, suggest one. If so, comment on whether it’s effective and appropriate for the audience/purpose.
9. Identify a section of the project that you think is particularly strong and explain why.
10. Make a comment on the bottom of the page about at least one thing think the author should focus on improving for their next draft.

Compare and Contrast Essay 

1. Choose two topics of your choice to compare and contrast. You are not required to do any research for this essay, so this assignment encourages you to pick topics you know about so that you can use your own knowledge to build the content of the essay. Below, there will be some examples of compare and contrast topics, but you may pick your own. Ask your instructor if you have difficulty in finding topics.

2. When you choose your topics, spend some time brainstorming to find three items you can compare between the two topics. The example here is how in the Unit 4 lecture notes we found the items of Cost, Size and Teachers for our Community College and University essay. Again, the items you choose will be your decision about what you would like your essay to focus on. Use your judgment of what you feel is most important to discuss between the two topics.

3. Decide whether to use the Topic-by-Topic pattern or the Item-by-Item pattern. Either pattern is valid, so use the one you are most comfortable with. When you decide on your pattern, create an Outline as we did in the Unit 4 notes for Community Colleges and Universities.

4. Be sure that your essay has an introduction that has the four points listed in the lecture notes, not necessarily in the order given in the notes: Topic, Thesis, Attention Grabber, Signposting. (Note, if you decide to write the essay inductively by not having the thesis in the introduction but in the conclusion, that is acceptable, so in place of the thesis in the introduction, you may ask a question and/or explain the purpose of the essay).

5. With your outline, you will write the essay filling in all the details for each point in the outline.

6. Be sure to have a conclusion where you evaluate and analyze the topics. This conclusion could be more than one paragraph, and you will likely develop it after writing all the other points of the essay. Part 3 of the Unit 4 notes show how the essay evaluated and analyzed the two types of schools to question the saying “you get what you pay for.”

7. Include a title for the essay.

8. Read over the essay several times to see if you need to make any revisions. Also, proofread the essay to make corrections. It is a good idea to let at least one other person read your essay for revision and proofreading. Your reader could be a friend or family member, or it could even be someone you connect with in class. It is fine to get together with a classmate to e-mail essays back in forth for proofreading and revision.

The essay needs to be at least two full pages following the MLA formatting guidelines of 1-inch margins, double spacing between lines, Times New Roman 12 type.

Ideas for Compare and Contrast Essays: As the instructions above say, you may write your compare and contrast essay on any two topics you choose. However, here are some ideas. These are based on essays the instructor writing this page has seen over the years and ideas from when that same instructor was a student and had to write this type of essay:

Online Classes vs. On-Campus Classes

High School vs. College

Renting vs. Buying a House

After High School: Attending College vs. Going to Work Full-Time

Summer vs. Winter (or Fall vs. Spring)

Dogs vs. Cats

Movies vs. Books

Two Books compared against each other (or two t.v. shows or two movies compared against each other).

Standard Transmissions vs. Automatic Transmissions

Sons vs. Daughters

Two court cases (writer of this page had to compare two court cases in political science class)

Two different historical events (World War II vs. Civil War)

Playing Guitar vs Playing Bass

Two Restaurants compared against each other

Two Branches of Government (Legislative Branch vs. Judicial Branch)

Two Different Decades (1970’s vs. 2010’s)

Two Periods of Your Life (teenage years vs. young adult years)
 

 

Description

If you opt for the final paper option, you will produce an 6-8 page rhetorical criticism of a persuasive text of your choosing. Your chosen text should be some type of public political communication–a speech, a campaign ad, an attack ad, a presidential debate, an opinion editorial in a newspaper, etc. It cannot be any text we have analyzed in class. 

Once you have selected your text, you will delve deeper into the relevant literature to produce a more thorough analysis of the artifact.

Your paper should include the following elements:

A thesis statement articulating who and what your artifact persuades.

Example: “This artifact encourages its audience of college students to vote for Candidate Y.”

Example: “This text tries to get Group A to work with Group B to change the living conditions of low-income people in the inner-city.”

• A description of the artifact and its context.

Describe your artifact/text: what it is–campaign ad for a candidate, pamphlet to pass out around a neighborhood about a candidate’s positions and experience, an op-ed article posted in the New York Times; what are its main arguments or contents–does it focus on the candidate’s health care plan, immigration reform, etc. 

• The context of the artifact: Who created the text? How was the text circulated? Who was the primary audience of this text? What do you think the text is trying to persuade the audience to do think or feel about the text or as a result of engaging with the text?
• An analysis section that includes four discrete arguments about how the text tries to persuade its audience. Each argument should include the following elements.
• A topic sentence: the topic sentence should identify the persuasive strategy and how it persuades the audience.

Example: The author lists their credentials to establish their ethos in order to persuade the audience to trust their opinion. 

• Example: The text uses metaphors to encourage the audience to feel negatively about the candidate’s opposition.
• The definition of the persuasive strategy referenced in the topic sentence. You must define four different persuasive strategies. All of the strategies must come from either the course textbook or the peer-reviewed articles we read as a class on Fridays this semester. At LEAST TWO of the four strategies must come from the peer-reviewed articles we read as a class this semester. Each definition should be followed by an in-text citation indicating where you drew your definition from. 
• An example of the persuasive strategy being used in the text. 

Example: if you argue that they list their credentials to establish ethos, paraphrase the list or include the list.

• Example: if you argue that they use metaphor, given an example from the text of the metaphor they use.

An explanation of why the specific example of the persuasive strategy is likely to work to persuade the specific audience of the text.

• What about the list of credentials makes the audience believe the speaker is particularly qualified?
• What does the metaphor compare and how might that metaphor influence this specific audience’s opinion?
• A conclusion that restates the thesis statement and recaps the main points quickly and succinctly to draw the essay to a close.
• You must provide in-text citations as well as complete bibliographic information for the work cited at the end of your paper. You can choose between APA, MLA, or Chicago style.

Evaluation

• When evaluating the final paper, I will use the following criteria:
• Does the paper begin with a clear, concise thesis statement?
• Does the provide enough accurate context to understand the text, its persuasive goals, its intended audience, and the social factors that might influence its reception?

Does the paper identify, define, and provide examples and explanations of four distinct persuasive strategies?

• Do at least two of the four strategies come for peer-reviewed articles we discussed on Fridays during the semester?
• Are the arguments about the text’s persuasive strategy well organized and clear?
• Does the author include in-text citations throughout the paper to indicate when and from where the gleaned information?
• Does the author include a bibliography that includes information on all the sources cited in the paper?

Portfolio Assignment Instructions

Please be sure to read all of this assignment description carefully. It’s very detailed. It describes two separate things. However, all items will be submitted in ONE Word document.

1. The portfolio that contains elements you have been working on throughout the course; and
2. The final paper (problem analysis) that you will include as part of the portfolio.

Let’s look at the BIG picture first, the final portfolio.

What is a portfolio?

A portfolio is a collection of items organized in a notebook, file, or a similar format. By collecting this information throughout a course, you can clearly see the connections among assignments as well as the progress you have made. In ENGL110, your portfolio will reflect the work you have done in a specific discipline or topic, ending with the analysis of a problem you have explored. Here are the required elements of the portfolio. The required sections are included in the template.

Title Page

Table of Contents

Item 1 of the Portfolio – Description of Discourse Community in Your Field

This is the assignment you submitted in week 2. You are to submit a final version of the description, including any changes recommended to you in the instructor’s feedback.

Item 2 of the Portfolio – Annotated Bibliography for your Final Paper

This is the assignment you submitted in week 4. You are to submit a final version of the annotated bibliography, including any changes recommended to you in the instructor’s feedback.

Item 3 of the Portfolio – Final Paper – Analysis of a Problem

This is the final problem analysis paper that is the culmination of all the work you have done in the course. Please see the complete description of the paper below.

Final Paper (Problem Analysis)

Assignment Instructions

This analysis project requires you to tackle a problem within your field of study by first exploring it, its causes, and its impacts. Then, if you want, you can recommend one or more practical solutions to solve the problem.

After deciding on the problem you wish to tackle, begin building questions about it. Your goal for the analysis is to answer the questions through your sources. Finding multiple angles and perspectives is ideal so that you explore those possibilities in the final paper before settling on your recommendation. Be sure to identify what is at stake.

Here are questions to help guide your analysis:

1. What is the problem being addressed (explain, describe, and “prove” that it exists)?
2. Who is affected by this problem?
3. Why does this problem exist (identify the root causes)?
4. Why does the problem persist (identify the major factors that contribute to the problem’s ongoing presence)?
5. What is at stake if the problem is not solved?

If you decide to include a solution, use these questions to guide you:

1. Who can take action?
2. What should they do, exactly?
3. Why would this help?
4. What are the positive and negative aspects of your solution(s)?

• PURPOSE: To analyze a problem and possibly provide a solution
• AUDIENCE: Classmates, others interested in the field
• LENGTH: 900 – 1,000 words (Times New Roman font). Please do not go significantly under or above the word count requirement.
• SOURCES: 5 (five) sources from the APUS Library (These may include sources you used in previous assignments. Going under this number will cost points in grading.)
• FORMAT: The citation style that is appropriate for your discipline. You are responsible for knowing your discipline’s format. If you don’t know it, you can find it here: https://apus.libguides.com/programstyleguides.

Submit your assignment as a single Word document attached to the assignment link so it can be automatically processed through Turnitin. Use the template provided. You can save the template with a title like this: Your Name Portfolio Final Paper.

Please note that the template is in MLA style. If your field of study uses APA style, set up your paper (cover page, parenthetical citations, etc.) as shown in the guide linked here: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_sample_paper.html.

Conduct a personal, professional and self-care assessment of your values, strengths, challenges, readiness for action and goals. Create an action plan for personal, professional and self-care development.

DIRECTIONS

Complete each of the sections using the forms provided. Submit the completed forms.

Part 1: Self-Assessment

Name______________________________________                                       Date ____________

Self-Assessment: Use this part to document a self-assessment of your personal, professional, and wellness values, strengths, areas for improvement, readiness level for change, and identified goals. In each area reflect on what you do to care for yourself, what pressures do you face each day, what are your priorities, and what changes would you like to make that will contribute to your evolving as a person and professional nurse.  The challenge will be to focus on a single goal in each area. Be as specific as possible with you goal statements.

Section A. Personal Assessment

Values (what is important to me as a person? What is my life’s purpose?):

Strengths:

Challenges: (What I want to Change or improve in my personal life):

Readiness Level (on a scale of 1-10, how ready am I to make change and work toward my goal?):

Goal –– (areas in my personal life to continue, enhance or change):

Section B.  Professional Assessment

Values (what is important to me as a professional nurse?):

Strengths:

Challenges: (What I want to change or improve for my professional development):

Readiness Level (on a scale of 1-10, how ready am I to make change and work toward my goal?):

Goal – Your professional goal may relate to specific knowledge, skill, or competency you would like to achieve, such as negotiation, group member skills, evidence based practice, or technology/informatics:

Section C. Wellness/Self-Care Assessment

Review each of the following: 1. Physical Wellbeing (exercise and fitness; health care and self-care; diet and nutrition); 2. Mental Wellbeing (ability to gather, process, recall, exchange information); 3. Emotional Wellbeing (Stress mastery, emotions, attitudes, and self-esteem); 4. Spiritual Wellbeing (meaning and purpose in life, relationship with self, higher consciousness, family and family

Values (what aspects of health are important to me as a person?)

Strengths:

Challenges (What I want to change or improve for my health and well-being) –

Readiness Level (on a scale of 1-10, how ready am I to make change and work toward my goal?):

Wellness Goal (The wellness area I want to continue, enhance or change):

Part 2: Action Plan

Name______________________________________                                       Date ____________

Use this part to document the action plan for each area of your holistic development plan based on your self-assessment.  For each Goal incorporate the following:

1. Criteria of Goal Achievement:  List the new behavior and skill that you will be demonstrating.  How will you know you accomplished your goal? What are the ways you might measure your accomplishment(s)?

2. Actions/Activities:  What steps will you take over the course of the semester as you work toward your goal? The actions are concrete, specific, and measurable.  Consider small steps toward the larger goal.

3. Actions outside your comfort zone: these are actions that may make you uncomfortable, that you believed in the past these actions were beyond your abilities.  These actions enhance your knowledge in an area that has been very challenging to you.  These actions may be considered risk-taking on your part, but you are up to the challenge!

4. Feedback from others:  Change is not a solo journey.  Other people in your life will be impacted and influenced by the changes you make.  You may also find that other people can help you with the changes you are making.  Identify one person for each goal who you would like to receive helpful feedback from along the way. 

Section A. Personal Goal [insert from Assessment]

1.     Criteria of Goal Achievement: 

2.     Actions/Activities: 

3.     Actions outside your comfort zone:

4.     Feedback from others: 

Section B.  Professional Goal [insert from Assessment]

1.     Criteria of Goal Achievement: 

2.     Actions/Activities: 

3.     Actions outside your comfort zone:

4.     Feedback from others: 

Section C. Wellness/Self Care Goal [insert from Assessment]

1.     Criteria of Goal Achievement: 

2.     Actions/Self-Care Activities: 

3.     Actions outside your comfort zone:

4.     Feedback from others: 

Use this link to complete your Holistic Personal, Professional & Wellness Development Plan Download Holistic Personal, Professional &