Project Guidelines and Rubric
Competencies
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:
· Analyze written works using critical reading techniques
· Explain, in a written communication, a writer’s choices in relation to a specific audience, purpose, and subject
· Adapt the writing process to various writing situations
Overview
Analysis is an essential life skill. You have likely performed analysis and not called it that. Maybe you are a social worker, and you went to a home visit and then had to create a report; you had to record or remember the details and analyze what happened before you could summarize the event and explain the actions you took. Maybe you were a soldier on a mission for the military and were asked to complete an after-action review (AAR). Maybe you wanted to write a letter to a community organization explaining how volunteering for them was a meaningful and rewarding experience for you.
In each of these cases, you had to think carefully about the situation, gather the most important information around a central idea you wanted to share, and then think about how your specific audience would need to have that information presented to them. Sometimes, you need to communicate to multiple audiences, and each audience needs to have that letter or report presented in a new way just for them.
In this project, we are pulling together all the skills you’ve learned in this course to help you show that you understand how to do a close, critical reading and analyze what is being communicated and to whom. You will also show that you can assemble an analysis that shares that central idea and how it works, and you can communicate that analysis with specific audiences, customizing it for the audience who needs it. As you can see, this assignment prepares you for a range of writing projects and tasks in other courses and in your personal life, career, and workplace. We hope you enjoy completing it.
Directions
For your project, you will create two versions of the same paper, an analysis of a written work. In the first version, you will explain the writer’s choices in relation to genre, audience, purpose, and subject. You will also write about the core idea of the text as well as the details that support it. To create this first version, revise the draft you wrote earlier in the course using the feedback you received from your instructor. Your instructor will evaluate this version based on your analysis of the text and on how you use evidence from the text to support it.
For the second version, you will adapt what you have written to a different audience and writing situation of your choice. This means making changes throughout your paper to adapt your writing style and conventions based on the needs of the audience and situation. Therefore, you will use the first version of your paper as the foundation for the second version. Your instructor will evaluate this version based on how you adapt your writing.
Use either the APA or MLA template linked in the What to Submit section to complete your project.
Specifically, you must address the following:
Part One: Analysis of a Written Work for a First Audience
In this section, you will analyze a written work and explain some of the writer’s choices. This is the first version of your paper. The audience for this version is the one you addressed in the draft you wrote in Module Five. This part of your project should be about 1 to 2 pages long.
1. Identify the topic of the text.
2. Explain the writer’s choices in relation to the genre of the text.
3. Describe the writer’s purpose.
4. Explain the writer’s choices in relation to the audience, purpose, and/or subject of the text.
5. Determine the historical and/or cultural context of the text.
6. Articulate the core idea of the text.
7. Summarize details of the text that are relevant to the core idea.
8. Support your analysis of the core idea with evidence from the text.
A. Include at least one quote from the text.
B. Explain how this evidence supports the core idea.
Part Two: Analysis of a Written Work for a Second Audience
This is the second version of your paper. In this version, you will first choose and describe the new audience and writing situation. Then, you will revisit the first version of your paper and make changes to it to adapt your writing style and conventions.
Identify a new audience: Before you get started with your second version, choose a new audience and writing situation by addressing the following items in a few short paragraphs:
1. Identify an audience for the second version of your paper.
A. This audience must be different from the one you addressed in the first version of your paper.
2. Describe the needs of that audience.
3. Describe the needs of the writing situation for the second version of your paper.
A. Choose a writing situation different from the one you addressed in the first version of your paper. Then, describe the needs of that writing situation.
Second version of the paper: Now, revisit the analysis you wrote for the first version of your paper. Make changes to it based on the needs of the audience and writing situation you described in the previous section. This part of your project should be about 1 to 2 pages long. Specifically, do the following:
1. Adapt your writing style based on the needs of your audience.
A. Adapting your writing will require you to make a significant number of changes. While the core idea of your paper will remain the same, the style that you use to communicate it to your audience will be different. Additionally, the changes you make should be consistent throughout the paper.
2. Adapt your writing conventions based on the needs of the writing situation.
A. Adapting your writing will require you to make a significant number of changes. While the core idea of your paper will remain the same, the way that you communicate it to your audience will be different. Additionally, the changes you make should be consistent throughout the paper.
What to Submit
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
Using either the APA template or MLA template, submit your project as a 3- to 5-page Microsoft Word document (with an additional title page and reference page in the case of APA, or a works cited page in the case of MLA) with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. The first and second versions of your paper should be about 1 to 2 pages long each, while the “Identify a new audience” section of Part Two should be addressed in a few short paragraphs. Use evidence from the text to support your paper. Follow APA or MLA citation guidelines when citing the text both throughout and at the end of your project.
Supporting Materials
The following resources support your work on the project:
Student APA Exemplar: Project APA Exemplar
This is an example of a completed assignment using APA style. You may want to use this as a guide when addressing the rubric criteria for this assignment. Keep in mind that the extent of your revisions depends on your audience and writing situation. Reviewing the exemplar can help you understand how to adapt your writing based on the needs of your audience.
Student MLA Exemplar: Project MLA Exemplar
This is an example of a completed assignment using MLA style. You may want to use this as a guide when addressing the rubric criteria for this assignment. Keep in mind that the extent of your revisions depends on your audience and writing situation. Reviewing the exemplar can help you understand how to adapt your writing based on the needs of your audience.
Project Rubric
Criteria
Exemplary (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Needs Improvement (55%)
Not Evident (0%)
Value
Part One: Topic
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Identifies the topic of the text
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the main topic of the text instead of a minor topic or an unrelated topic
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Genre
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Explains the writer’s choices in relation to the genre of the text
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include explaining choices made by the writer or addressing choices related to the genre of the text instead of a different genre
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Purpose
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Describes the writer’s purpose
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include describing a specific purpose relevant to the text
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Audience, Purpose, and/or Subject
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Explains the writer’s choices in relation to the audience, purpose, and/or subject of the text
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include explaining choices made by the writer or addressing choices related to the audience, purpose, or subject of the text
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Historical and/or Cultural Context
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Determines the historical and/or cultural context of the text
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include determining the historical or cultural context relevant to the text
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Core Idea
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Articulates the core idea of the text
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include articulating the core idea of the text instead of a minor idea or articulating a core idea relevant to the text
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Details
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Summarizes details of the text that are relevant to the core idea
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include summarizing details from the text, addressing details that are relevant to the core idea, or addressing these more briefly
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part One: Evidence
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Supports analysis of the core idea with evidence from the text
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include using evidence from the text to support the summary of details relevant to the core idea, including a quote from the text, or explaining how the evidence supports the core idea
Does not attempt criterion
7.5
Part Two: New Audience
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Identifies an audience for the second version of the paper
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying an audience different from the one addressed in the first version of the paper
Does not attempt criterion
6
Part Two: Audience Needs
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Describes the needs of the audience
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include describing specific needs of the audience or describing the needs of the audience chosen for the second version of the paper
Does not attempt criterion
6
Part Two: Writing Situation
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Describes the needs of the writing situation for the second version of the paper
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include describing specific needs of the writing situation or choosing a different writing situation from the one addressed previously
Does not attempt criterion
6
Part Two: Writing Style
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Adapts writing style based on the needs of the audience
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include adapting writing style throughout the paper, making consistent changes, or making changes based on the needs of the audience
Does not attempt criterion
6
Part Two: Writing Conventions
Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner
Adapts writing conventions based on the needs of the writing situation
Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include adapting writing conventions throughout the paper, making consistent changes, or making changes based on the needs of the writing situation
Does not attempt criterion
6
Clear Communication
Exceeds proficiency with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding
Consistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audience
Shows progress towards proficiency, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understanding
Shows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication
5
Citations and Attributions
Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errors
Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errors
Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errors
Does not use citations for ideas requiring attribution
5
Total:
100%
