A Rubric for the Reflective Essay

In FVC 101 F3 we are bracing ourselves for the submission date for the analytical-reflective essay on "The Unknown Masterpiece" by Honore de Balzac. This essay is due at 8:15 a.m. this Thursday, the 27th September.

Here is a possible rubric structure I am considering.

"You need to improve:

MLA format (document design overall)

thesis construction
thesis development
outlining &/or structuring the essay overall

paragraph construction
sentence construction
punctuation &/or capitalization
spelling &/or diction (generally)
grammar (generally)

style (generally -- if an impediment to clarity of presentation)

analysis (some basic logical challenges)
research (may also mean irrelevance of material presented to thesis)

reading skills (obvious errors of interpretation)

MLA citation format (in-text citations and "Work Cited" page)

use of the rhetorical triangle (shown in the clarity and force of the essay, your adoption of an appropriate style or "voice", and the relevance of the content)

use of the dialectic (shown in the development of the thesis over the course of the essay).


You must develop an action plan for improvement in these areas by ___________.

Your greatest strengths lie in:

MLA format (document design overall)

thesis construction (thesis is clearly stated and comprehensive)
thesis development (the points of the thesis are all addressed and relevantly advanced)
outlining &/or structuring the essay overall

paragraph construction (paragraphs support and advance the flow of the main argument)
sentence construction (sentences are complete, correct, and varied in length and form)
punctuation &/or capitalization
spelling &/or diction (generally)
grammar (generally)

style (goes beyond simple act of technically-correct communication towards art)

analysis (original &/or sophisticated treatment of the topic)
research (relevance of all material presented)

reading skills (clear, inventive, use of a wide range of sources)

MLA citation format (in-text citations and "Work Cited" page used creatively)

Use of the rhetorical triangle (shown in the clarity and force of the essay, your adoption of an appropriate style or "voice", and the relevance of the content)

Use of the dialectic (shown in the development of the thesis over the course of the essay)."

Foundations of Verbal Communications is now in two components, and three courses. FVC 001 is the Writing Workshop to assist students identified as requiring support specifically in writing skills by the orientation writing sample, by instructor referral, or by self-identification. FVC 101 and 102 are together the general required Foundation year course of Listening - Speaking -Reading - Writing.

Without going into all the background of HOW I reached these conclusions, I suggest a few basic objectives to be met in FVC 101/102.

1. Students must demonstrate technical proficiency in
A. mechanics of writing (diction, document design, grammar, punctuation, spelling)
B. academic honesty (specifically, proper attribution of sources)
C. research and analysis of research (including "information literacy")

2. Students must demonstrate understanding of the rhetorical triangle in
A. listening -- be able to identify the likely credibility and purpose of a speaker, for example
B. speaking -- be able to establish appropriate rapport with their audiences in varied circumstances, for example
C. reading -- be able to discern centrally important points in written matter, for example
D. writing -- be able to establish credibility as a scholar as appropriate, for example

3. Students must demonstrate appropriate use of the dialectic
A. distinguishing between a topic and a thesis and
B. between a thesis question and a thesis statement and
C. advancing the thesis through antithesis and synthesis.

The main question before us is how much of this macro-aim should be accomplished in each semester, or whether we should present these objectives for both semesters, as though, in essence, FVC 101 and FVC 102 has the same objectives.

A corollary to this question must be in what way these general objectives should relate to the graded assignments, which in my view should be essentially the following:

in FVC 101

1. a reflective essay, in which an understanding of the rhetorical triangle is demonstrated

2. a "research" essay, in which the development of a thesis and all of the mechanisms of scholarship (MLA format, in-text citation, works-cited page) are demonstrated

in FVC 102

1. an analytic essay, in which a thesis is formulated and developed with "objective" intent

2. a persuasive essay, in which a "controversial" thesis is carried through a dialectic.

These assignments hit the reading and writing components of the course fairly well, and would sensibly be culminating assignments with prior development in, for example,

in FVC 101

short reflective pieces in which ethos, logos, and pathos are explored individually

topic and thesis formulation exercises

outlining exercises

annotated bibliography

in FVC 102

brief analytic pieces in which a thesis is supported with textual evidence (or formulated from textual evidence)

persuasive writing is explored from several angles in diverse literary forms before being cast in scholarly prose.

The oral component of the class could also be closely tied to the process of reading and writing through, for example

oral presentations and follow-up discussions of the material in persuasive essays

oral critique of written essays.

***

I personally am inclined to reduce the number of graded assignments to about six in each semester, and as much as I would like to have parity between listening, speaking, reading, and writing, I'll lean most heavily on writing as the product we are assessing. I suppose in a certain sense one or two for each basic skill would be good -- that could be six or eight.

I am very interested to hear of any suggestions of exercises to assess listening and speaking skills.

I am also concerned that all of the exercises move, in a sense, toward a single project that pulls all the elements of grading together each semester: in my suggestions above, the "research" paper in FVC 101 and the "persuasive" paper in FVC 102 are intended to be culminant.

MEA

FVC 101.03 F06 Course Content Survey

Every semester students prepare a course content survey at about the mid-point of the course. Instructors are required to prepare a response indicating what they see as the special challenges of the course and proposing changes, if needed, based upon the course content survey. Since the course content survey is largely reflective of the students's own experience rather than an assessment of the instructor, the concentration of the answers can be intensely personal and subjective; at the same time, the survey provides an excellent indicator of common experiences in the course. What I find here is a need for caution in approaching thesis-based assignments: many of you comment here that formulating thesis statements and creating outlines out of these statements presented special difficulty. Therefore, this aspect of writing should be given greater attention so that thesis construction becomes easier for the majority of you. I also find considerable interest in "more and better" instruction for oral presentations. I concur with you that this is a particular need, and plan to incorporate a fuller instruction earlier in '07-'08, which should make the next class happier. For you, the remedy can be presented from now until the end of term, and in the Spring of 2008. I imagine by April some of you will be begging to be relieved of oral work. But now that may be difficult to imagine.

What aspect or assignment in this course was the most difficult for you?

One aspect or assignment I found difficult was preparing notes in a different format before handing them in. Not only was it frustrating to rework my personal format, I felt that I didn’t get nearly as much out of the presentation as I could have by taking notes in my traditional manner.

Instructor comment: I don’t recall having insisted on any particular format (except to include an address and name heading, which should hardly have effected the notes per se), although the assignment called for the notes to be complete. Not knowing the “traditional manner” I couldn’t say whether that was effective or not.

So far the essay on Tolkien and Balzac for comparison and contrast was the most difficult. It’s been over 6 years since I wrote an essay and I only remember writing one essay in high school. I had to get used to the format and on top of that I had a hard time thinking up a thesis statement. My rough draft received a decent grade. Sometimes I feel lost when writing, but my grades are better than I expected.

I would say the hardest thing in this class was the comparative essay. The hard part was the thesis and it was just a much more in depth writing assignment than I was used to. I think that I learned a tremendous amount through this assignment, so it was a “good” hard, as opposed to a “bad” hard.

Instructor comment: I’m glad to hear some advantage accrued.

Writing a thesis statement was difficult for me. It took me a while to come up with it, because I have a difficult time with writing[;] I needed more help.

Instructor comment: You should speak with me about help. I can only provide so much during class sessions, and if your need is really great, we have the writing workshop for assistance. The basic policy of the administration and faculty is that we are very willing to help, but can only do so much to identify persons needing help; if you need help, you must ask for it, because by the time we are able to recognize a problem, you may feel it is too late. If you need help on a specific assignment, make an appointment to meet with me while work on that assignment is going forward. Afterwards is, well, too late.

The comparison essay between [“]Leaf by Niggle[“] and [“]The Unknown Masterpiece[“] – because I didn’t fully understand [“]Leaf by Niggle[“].

Instructor comment: You’re welcome to contact me during my office hours, or call me. I have a pretty good idea of what “Leaf by Niggle” is about and could give you some suggestions.

The comparative essay – outlining has always been a challenge for me. And the oral presentation – I was unclear about the subject I was presenting (Faigley versus Orwell).

I would have to say the most difficult assignment was the Balzac and Tolkien comparative essay, because it was the most time-consuming and had many steps.

Two things were difficult: the time of the class – before a seven hour class [it] could be compared to Hell. The outline to the comparative essay was also difficult. In high school no one helps with that or MLA parts of the document so it took a while to figure things out. MLA should be covered longer here.

Instructor comment: The prescription that MLA should be covered in more detail parallels my own sense, particularly after the MLA pre-test. However, not all students had quite the same view. Consider, for example, the student who wrote, in response to the question “What aspect or assignment was the least difficult?”, [The aspect which was least difficult was] the whole MLA thing[;] I already knew about it since high school[;] I don’t understand why we needed to keep repeating it.”



The assignment that was most difficult to me was the beginning writing on the first day of class. I know this sounds weird because it wasn’t really graded, but I was worried about ho I did and hoping I did well since I didn’t want to gain an extra class onto my schedule.

Having several assignments at a time has proved the biggest challenge so far. Learning to juggle them and have them done at the appointed time is something I’m new at.

I don’t really like reading, but I do it. The only real difficulty is probably my mechanics and grammar when writing papers.

Going for a year or so without writing an official essay, thesis and all, and then having to do one[,] was difficult. Such as getting the ideas prepared and organized to fit the guidelines.

Instructor comment: Fragments and so on.

I’d say the amount of books / amount of reading was the most daunting work load.

Instructor comment: Brace yourself.




What aspect or assignment was the least difficult?

Instructor comment: compare this first student comment with the last one in the previous section.

All the reading wasn’t difficult. It was enjoyable.

One aspect I found least difficult was the obituary / pen pal letter assignment. This is probably because we were able to create a story, rather than an essay or an informative paper.

The least difficult assignment had to be the obituary. All I had to do was write about my life up to that point and the goals I had in mind. Although I did not receive an overall grade of A on the assignment I could have probably done a bit better and because it was an early assignment I was not thinking hard enough about what to write. Not that I was doing that on purpose, but … I hadn’t been pushed yet.

I think the least difficult assignment was the pen pal letter.

The pen pal letter [was least difficult;] it was essentially a free form piece with few limitations.


The assignment that was least difficult was the “term speeches”. I liked it because I need to be more comfortable while standing in front of the class, and this assignment helped.

The oral presentation – once I understood the information I was to present, it was easy. I don’t mind speaking in front of an audience about something I know.

The least difficult assignment for me was the paragraph we wrote from our presentations. It was easy for me because of the topic I had.

Although I’m sure they will [become] more difficult as the year goes along, the writing assignments haven’t been as hard as I expected. They’re by no means easy, just not that difficult.

The majority of the writing assignments in-class weren’t too difficult.

The atmosphere of the classroom made me, for once in an “English” class, feel comfortable. It was easy to speak out and discuss things here. [It has been] a laid back setting where I learned something.

Instructor comment: apparently this student enrolled in a different class than the student who wrote, in response to “What did you think you were going to learn that you didn’t learn?”, “I thought more of a discussion would take place, rather than just lecture.”


The whole MLA thing, I already knew about it since high school, I don’t understand why we needed to keep repeating it.

Instructor comment: I’m glad you’ve mastered the MLA form, but I think you are one of two students in the class who have done so. Perhaps you could share your knowledge with others by offering yourself as a tutor. On the other hand, I notice that you need to learn how to avoid sentence fragments and the proper use of the semi-colon, which apparently you have confused with the comma. Perhaps we should spend some time studying punctuation.

Honestly, listening and paying attention was the easiest thing for me in this class. Achtermann is one of those characters who knows a lot about what he teaches[. It] was very easy for me to “get into the class.”

Instructor comment: Yes, I am a character, aren’t I?

What did you think you were going to learn that you didn’t learn?

How to speak in front of a crowd for 10 minute intervals. [This is followed by the response to the question “What did you learn that you didn’t expect to learn?”: practically everything in here. I thought it was a speech class.}

Instructor comment: I assume there was some confusion between “verbal” and “oral”. Next semester we will take on “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” and you may have an opportunity then of regaling the masses for ten minutes at a time. For the moment, I considering that I am modeling the behavior for you, so watch and learn – watch and learn.

Something I though I would learn but haven’t is how to better create stories, rather than essay papers.

Instructor comment: We offer a course in Creative Writing which should satisfy your craving at least in part. You will have scant need of story writing over the next three and a half years, and much need of essay writing. Also, good story writing is a much more complicated matter than some folks seem to believe, and teaching good story writing is an involved process. We will have some opportunities in the Spring to write stories, but, sadly, the mainstay of this course writing-wise is the essay.

I was expecting a course more along the lines of learning about grammar and reading stories from start to finish. Essentially reading an entire book, one at a time.

Instructor comment: My, you have a leisured view of time.

I didn’t learn how to understand Old English. I have trouble with that.

Instructor comment: Ic tó; ac is ná dhe án biccum?

I thought more of a discussion would take place, rather than just lecture.


I didn’t expect as much coverage on the different types of communication (ex.: writing) as we have worked with.

I thought I would learn more about presenting and more oral presentations.

More/better tips for oral presentations – this is a VERBAL communications class; I thought we would have more class discussions and oral assignments.

Instructor comment: 1. Good things come to those who wait. 2. “Verbal” is not identical to “oral”.

I thought I was going to learn to write better or improve my writing, but I don’t think I did.

Not as much grammar, but I think it’s getting better.

N/a

All bases were covered.

Instructor comment: Including Orwell’s exhortation to avoid cliché.

So far, the course has covered what I expected.


What did you learn that you didn’t expect to learn?

Instructor comment: By this question, many students seem to have lost the ability to form complete sentences. I have left most responses unedited, save for minor spelling corrections.

Practically everything in here. I thought it was a speech class.

Instructor comment: Oops.

Something I have learned, but didn’t expect to, is the proper formatting of essay outlines as well as essays themselves.




Outlining and drafting techniques I didn’t expect to learn. I thought we would have assumed to know how to already.

Instructor comment: Oh, how I wish I could make that assumption.

I have learned to communicate better and to try to think harder about what to do and to push myself since I am now in college. This course is also giving me a sense of confidence in this subject.

I didn’t expect to learn so much about the books we already read and things we needed to touch upon.

Breaking down writing to the basic structure.

I’ve learned about time management[:] how to balance my schedule.

Instructor comment: And you didn’t even have to go to the workhouse infirmary.

I really gained more confidence in public speaking through my presentation, as well as seeing how others presented. I’ve always had trouble with presentations so I didn’t expect to get over my fear of it… but I did.

Many many many things. Mostly anything not related to class specifically, that was told by the teacher. The elaborate explanations and tangents from class, I think, made it pretty enjoyable. It’s a turn from just boring lectures.

The only thing I didn’t expect to learn that I ended up using quite a bit was study guide skills. Now I am able to make an accurate study guide to rpepare for tests and quizzes. To me this is very valuable.

Writing a study guide.

I’ve learned to be a better reader by taking notes while I read.

That Tolkien can write interesting short stories.

Instructor comment: Well, not any more he can’t.

Introduction and some advice for early risers

The four basic operations of verbal communications are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. We practice all of them every day, usually in a haphazard way. In this course, we work on making these operations fully conscious, deliberate, and effective.

As instructor, I expect a fair amount of maturity from the students in my classes. By "maturity" here I mean, in part, some serious application to the work at hand, and an understanding of the conditions set in this syllabus and elsewhere by the College or by me with reasonable notice thereof to you. This course is for your benefit far more than for mine, and the more complete your interest and involvement the better.

On the first day of class, we'll spend some time taking about expectations. Here are seven of mine with an eighth point for good measure:

1. Come to class on time, ready to work. This means you will need the appropriate materials, just as you would for drawing or 2-d design. We use pencils, pens, three-ring binders (with paper -- don't try to be tricky), index cards, and textbooks. Generally, bring Faigley (The Penguin Handbook) and whatever other book we are reading at the moment; no need to bring all six texts everyday, although you can if you want.

2. Come to class awake, and stay awake. Naps are good. Naps in class are less good. See "Some advice for cultivating interest and involvement" below.

3. Silence the cell. If you have a cell phone (if?), you need to learn how to turn it off. I don't mean how to put it in manners mode, although that's a start. Turn the thing off when you come into class, and leave it off for the duration of class. If you are experiencing a situation which requires you to be on call, please let me know before class. I can understand emergency situations.

4. Don't text message. See the above. Extend this as a principle to passing notes, talking while a presentation is taking place, and so on. Look, this is pretty simple: you're here to study. I do my best to create opportunities for interactions among students. Keep your focus on the work. I know it can be hard, but that's life.

5. Stay in class. Remember that the class is one and one-half hours long. Do whatever you need to do before you come to class, so that you can stay in class for one and one-half hours. This is not a huge block of time. I have things to do, too. I drink tea. I understand. Stay in class.

6. The only dumb question is the question not asked. If you wonder about some assignment, or do not understand something someone has said quite as well as you would like, don't remain ignorant without a fight -- ask a question. Your question may need to be clarified before you can get the answer you need, but at least start the process. I can't know everything that you don't know. I make assumptions, and sometimes they are wrong. Ask your question.

7. Respect others's right to say or write what they will, even when (and maybe especially when) you disagree. The right to say or write something is not a guarantee of propriety or truth. Many people hold opinions which are outrageously rude and false. Yet they have a right to them. Often the key to effective correction of rude and false opinions is to be able to express those opinions clearly and then to show in what ways they are rude and false and to offer alternatives which are proper and truthful. But this requires compassion and reason. Take the opportunity to develop these virtues.

8. All rules have exceptions, but exceptions are not the rule.


Some advice for cultivating interest and involvement

Boredom and interest and the college instructor

I am a college instructor. Please note that this is my job, not "comedian" or "entertainer". My job is not to entertain, but to inform. Sometimes I may be funny (intentionally or not). Sometimes I may be entertaining. But I am never, ever boring. I am never, ever interesting. I simply am. You may find me to be boring, or interesting -- but that is wholly up to you. That is your choice. If you think I am boring, that is because I am boring to you. If you think that I am interesting, that is because I am interesting to you. Take ownership of your experience.

It is possible to become more interested in something which seems uninteresting by an application of will. If you wish to be interested, you will become interested. I can never make you interested, and I wouldn't want to do so, because I would be changing who you are without your permission. That's not my job, and it's not my character.

My guitar teacher was a wise fellow (and probably still is). He used to say that when one had to face the difficulties of life as a professional musician (which I did for two years), one should "assume the virtue" of one who could overcome the difficulties. Imagine what a person who is successful at doing something does to be successful, and then do that. It's a bit of play-acting. By pretending to be something we wish to be, we eventually become that something. This can have some comic effects, but it's worth doing.


Involvement and participation: a little story from the olden days

One of the most important experiences of my college career was spending time talking about books with fellow students. I even tape-recorded some of our conversations. I remember especially a conversation with an art-major friend of mine and my anthropology-major girlfriend about Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, which we were reading for History of Philosophy II. I was having a dickens of a time trying to get through Hobbes's 17th-century English, much less understand his political philosophy. My friend would say, "Well, I don't understand it all, but I understand this," and he would explain what he thought a particular passage meant. Then we would argue back and forth whether it really meant that. We'd pull out a dictionary and consider whether "passions" meant what we thought it did, and we'd consider it some more. Then my girlfriend would say what she thought the next passage meant, and so we would proceed together.

This was in my dorm room; we were just sitting around doing what college students in a Bohemian college in the early Reagan years did -- reading Leviathan and comparing it to what we knew about the world. This was not an assignment. We weren't cramming for an exam. We simply wanted to understand just what in blazes Hobbes meant, and we had a blast doing it together. I didn't do really well in that course, but that's not the point: the point is, take the involvement with your coursework out of the classroom. You are artists and designers, sure, but you are also scholars. Remember, 42 credit hours of your college career are going to be in Liberal Arts and Art History. You are scholars; you have to be to get those covetted BFAs. But you should want to be because you will be better artists and designers for being better scholars.

Assume the virtue.

Some advice for early risers (that means you)

The class sessions are held early in the morning; there’s nothing to be done about that. For morning people this is fine; for others, some type of accommodation to the fact of an early start is necessary. Before you rush to slam down that triple-espresso or a few rounds of some "energy drink" liberally laced with taurine, consider moving your bed-time back an hour or two.

I have argued for years that college-age students should not be asked to attend classes before 10 a.m. because for many students classes held prior to that hour are unproductive. Until about five years ago, my fundamental argument was based on experience in the classroom (I began teaching in 1982, and have taught on the college level steadily since 1991). Recently, however, I learned that the hormone melatonin (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin) has a major role in humans' sleep cycles, and therefore in their productivity during the day.

If you are, as I am, not a morning person by nature (left to my own devices, I would sleep in until 9:30 or so), you face four years of struggle at PCA&D, because virtually every semester you will have at least one course beginning at 8:15 a.m. Bummer.

I'm going to make a few suggestions here; they bear on your private life, but also on your interaction with me and others at PCA&D, so I think they are appropriate. If you follow them, or even some of them, you should have a better time dealing with the early morning classes. I am assuming, in making these suggestions, that you are a typical college student in some ways -- that you have to make ends meet, and so you have to work; that you have a pile (I would have said s---l--d, but this is a public blog) of schoolwork to do, including quite a bit of reading, writing, and preparation for this course; that you have some kind of social life squeezed in there, too -- or maybe the others are squeezed around the social life. I also assume that you are typical biologically, and so your melatonin production is peaking in the middle of the night, slowing down towards morning, and basically leaving you a bit groggy by 8.

1) Sleep at least 9 hours. If at all possible, those should be continuous. This is a terrible thing to say to a college student, but the greater the number of those hours before midnight, the more rested you will be. Even if you become a social isolate, at least you will be rested!

2) Avoid caffeine. Alas! The ambrosia so many of us seek to help us stay awake in the morning also disrupts our sleep at night. Even something so seemingly innocent as a C--e (insert the name of your preferred caffeinated soft-drink) can disrupt peaceful sleep. A double cappuccino at 9 p.m. is probably a really bad idea from a standpoint of being ready for class in the morning.

3) Exercise -- if at all possible in the morning or early afternoon (but avoid exercise within four hours of bedtime). This is, again, a difficult suggestion within the college schedule, but a brisk walk at break-time instead of a slow smoke (see #4 below) will help your sleep, and therefore your waking, improve over time.

4) Don't smoke. Period. No tobacco, no cannabis, no whatever. Congested lungs = congested breathing = poor sleep. I'm talking about sleep here, so I'm not even going to start on all the other ways smoking is unhealthy. But you knew that already, didn't you?

5) Do it in the dark. This may come as no surprise, but you need to be in the dark from time to time to be able to function properly in the light. It's hard to pull this off in some living arrangements, but try to make your sleeping area as dark as you can. When you get up in the morning, try to spend some time in bright sunlight; this actually promotes good sleep later on.

6) Don't work in bed. Robert Goldman and Ronald Klatz, in their monograph "Sleep: Essential for Optimal Health" (2003), write "[limit] the bed for engaging in two activities only -- sleep and sex" (48).

7) Cool and quiet does it. Keep the sleeping area cool. If you have to deal with a noisy environment, try to cancel out the noises with white noise from a fan, for example.

These are very basic suggestions. If you find that you have a lot of difficulty sleeping, don't just let it pass -- you would be robbing yourself of productivity, and maybe even making your life a lot more difficult than it needs to be. I understand the notion of the suffering artist, but I'm inclined to think it's a bad fantasy we can do without.