use a news article brought to class and approved by the instructor. Think about the issue and choose a side to advocate. This

NM 410 Nursing Ethics: News Article Summary and Persuasion Paper

News Article Summary and Persuasion Paper Rubric

Content 10 8 6 4 2

Introduction Grabs readers

attention with

an interesting

question or

surprising fact

Interesting and might

get reader’s attention

Partially

developed

attention

grabbing

opening

Relevant but

does not engage

reader’s

attention

Dull or trite

introduction

Summary of

Article

Complete and

concise

Summary is missing

a valuable detail

Summary is

wordy and/or

missing many

needed details

Summary is one

sentence and

lacks

understanding

Summary is not

consistent with

article

Thesis Well defined,

presenting

specific issue

and writer’s

point of view

Thesis and writer’s

point of view are

presented but are

disorganized

Thesis or

writer’s point of

view are

presented but not

clearly

Thesis hints at

an issue but is

unclear and

writer’s point of

view is unclear

Thesis or

writer’s point of

view is omitted

Reasons for

Point of View in

Order of

Importance

Reasons are

clearly in order

of importance

Reasons are mostly in

order of importance,

but some supporting

details are out of

order

Reasons are in

discernible order

but not in

importance

Reasons are in

random order

Only one reason

for viewpoint

offered

Evidence Evidence

supports each

reason for the

opinion and

reflects a

consistent

point of view

Evidence supports

each reason and

reflects a consistent

point of view but

some reasons need

more evidence

Evidence

supports most of

the reasons and

usually reflects a

consistent point

of view

Evidence

supports at least

one reason, but

some evidence is

not clearly

relevant

No evidence

supports any

stated reason

Opposing view Evidence

refutes reason

for opposition

Evidence refutes

reason for opposition

but lacks in strength

Evidence loosely

refutes opposing

view

Evidence neither

refutes or

supports

opposing view

No evidence to

refute opposing

view

Conclusion Clearly and

freshly states

opinion,

summarizes

reasons, and

includes a call

to action

States opinion,

summarizes reasons,

and includes a call to

action

Does not include

one of the

following:

restates opinion,

summarizes

reasons, and

includes a call to

action

Does not include

two of the

following:

restates opinion,

summarizes

reasons, and

includes a call to

action

Does not include

the following:

restates opinion,

summarizes

reasons, and

includes a call to

action

Word Choice Creative and

enhances the

argument

Enhances the

argument

Evidence of

some attention

given to word

choice

Word choice is

limited

Same words

used throughout

the paper

Grammar,

mechanics, and

spelling

No errors One or two errors Three or four

errors

Five to seven

errors

Greater than

seven errors

APA Format No errors One error Two errors Three errors Greater than 3

errors

NM 410 Nursing Ethics News Article Summary and Persuasion Paper

This assignment will use a news article brought to class and approved by the instructor. Think

about the issue and choose a side to advocate. This does not necessarily have to be your side, although

that is easier to defend. No judgment will be cast, regardless of your decision. Everyone is entitled to

an opinion, including you. Consider this paper as if it were to be published in a journal for nurses as

the audience. You may have to do a small amount of research to provide solid, convincing evidence.

Understand all sides of the issue and identify the most convincing evidence even for the opposing

viewpoints. Paragraphs are to be five to seven sentences in length. The paper is to be three pages in

length (the third page does not have to be full). Successful completion of this assignment will provide

100 points.

Paragraph 1: Grab the reader’s attention, give an overview of the article and/or issue, and close with a

thesis statement that reveals your position.

Paragraph 2 (or more): Each body paragraph should focus on one piece of evidence with the

supporting detail (facts, statistics, quotes from experts, examples, etc). You may choose to use

analogies, draw comparisons, or describe a hypothetical situation. Give terms and background

information if necessary.

Paragraph 3: Describe and refute the key points of the opposing view. Again, you may choose to use

analogies, draw comparisons, or describe a hypothetical situation. Give terms and background

information if necessary.

Paragraph 4: Restate and reinforce the thesis and supporting evidence. Encourage the reader to adopt

the position or take action. The closing statement might be a dramatic plea, a prediction that implies

urgent action to be taken, a question that incites readers to seriously think about the issue, or other

recommendations with specific action ideas.