For this Reading Journal: In a Word document, read and write a labeled paragraph Reading Journal for the following: Chapters 1-3 in Everything’s an Argument The Qualitie

● Central Idea: (evaluated according to the relevance, scope and clarity of the stance you take in the paper)

● Organization/Coherence: (the arrangement of your ideas and how well connected they are, i.e., the reader's journey through the progression of your ideas and the signposts you provide the reader)

● Support: (the evidence you provide–be it in the form of facts or details, arguments, or anecdotes, i.e., the degree to which and the manner in which you give your reader the opportunity to experience your ideas, feelings, opinions)

● Voice: (not an easy one to define–I like to think of "voice" as the personality of the writer coming through the words on the page. One of the ways I think about the "voice" of a piece of writing is to consider whether or not I as the reader have a sense of the writer's relationship- to the topic and to an audience)

● Sentence Structure/Diction: (the degree to which and the ways in which you join and modify ideas within the boundaries of a sentence.

● Standard Conventions: (grammar/punctuation/spelling/format) ● Unity: created by a strong, clear controlling idea; topic sentences in body

paragraphs; clear relationship of body paragraphs to controlling idea; clear relationship of supporting sentences to topic sentence; ideas communicate a clear purpose

● Development: detailed discussion that satisfies the reader's need to understand the writer's intended points;

● Audience: as shown by appropriate opening and concluding paragraphs; awareness of choice of detail and language appropriate for the reader;

● Fluency: sentences that show appropriate use of logical connectors, such as appositives, adjective clauses, and verbals; language appropriate to the topic, purpose, and audience, avoiding clichés and generalizations;

● Proofreading: sentences that are generally free of basic skills errors, and spelling errors.

The following information contains brief explanations of what the categories of writing effectiveness mean in terms of letter grades throughout your collegiate experience:

"Outstanding (O)" for Amazing Accomplishment

● Relevance and Scope: Central idea is clearly defined, insightful and appropriate for audience and purpose. You may have taken an ambitious approach to the problem you're addressing in this writing assignment. You've taken some risks, tried something difficult and worthwhile, taught your reader how to see things in a new way, and/or entertained him/her gracefully, memorably.

● Organization/Coherence: Essay structure and paragraphing reflect a clear, logical and smooth development of the central idea. In spite of the complexity and/or thoroughness of your thinking, you've found a way to organize your material so that the progression between ideas is always clear. But your method of organization does not draw attention to itself, distracting the reader from the ideas themselves.

● Development: Full and clear explanation of the ideas you're trying to convey through the use of relevant and specific detail (e.g., examples, anecdotes, a metaphor that's elaborated), and/or commentary (i.e., your interpretation or discussion of the details or illustrations you use).

● Voice: Being able to discern the concern, the involvement, the emotion of the writer coming through the words on paper throughout the entire essay.

● Sentence Structure/Diction: Smooth, varied and elaborated sentence structure; your style is effective, showing full assimilation of sentence techniques taught in this class–including a sense of when to use them. Appropriate and fresh word choice. Standard Conventions: Only rare or isolated errors in grammar/ punctuation/spelling.

The general criteria listed above will help you know what to expect. Remember, however, that every essay is different, a unique mixture of strengths and weaknesses that cannot be precisely described by these general terms. Also, since writers are expected to develop over the period of the semester, the criteria established here will, of course, offer an ever-increasing challenge. Central ideas, for example, will become more intricate as writers progress. The organization will become more controlled, then more complex. Support will be derived more and more frequently from outside print sources. Fewer and fewer sentence and word-level problems will obscure the meaning of your ideas. These criteria will remain our evaluative standards as the academic year progresses, but they will be used to assess increasingly sophisticated texts.

"Good (G)" for BETTER than adequate

● Relevance and Scope: You've been bold enough to extend your thinking beyond the basics of the ideas you're writing about; you've offered your readers some fresh, entertaining or compelling observations and insights.

● Organization/Coherence: Besides being able to grasp your main point, the reader generally has an easy journey through your essay, rarely feeling lost. You probably provide good signposts, like transitions between paragraphs.

● Development: Your essay offers several good points or raises several thoughtful questions in your discussion of the topic. Your paragraphs give your reader time to experience an idea, walk around inside it and think it through with you.

● Voice: Your personality and stance toward your reader and topic come through in places in the essay.

● Sentence -Structure: You are using sentence techniques that enhance your meaning(s).

● Standard Conventions (grammar/punctuation/spelling): You may have a few stubborn errors, which you will continue to work on, but they are rare.

"Satisfactory (S)" for Communicatively Competent

The communicatively competent paper adequately fulfills its purpose. It has many commendable features, certainly including a central idea and a recognizable organizational structure. It provides support for its thesis through specific examples and elaboration. It contains, at most, only isolated errors in grammar and punctuation, with only occasional misspellings. The sense of audience and purpose is there, and the authorial voice may show engagement with the topic. Thus, some bottom line skills you have clearly mastered:

● Relevance and Scope: You engage the topic/assignment appropriately; you contribute meaningfully to the conversation you're joining or a problem you address.

● Organization/ Coherence: Your reader gets your main point. ● Development: There's enough detail and discussion that your reader isn't left

with many confusing questions. ● Sentence Structure: You use a clear style that conveys your meaning,

connecting ideas where appropriate.

Despite these strengths, the S paper may be limited in one or more of the categories above. For instance, the central idea may be too general or too predictable; the organization of the content may lack some necessary transitions; support may be insufficient in some places. In general, however, this is a sound and acceptable piece of writing. You demonstrate adequate Communicative Competence ("S" work) at the college level, and for much of the writing you will do in the world beyond school. "Needs Improvement (NI)" for Developing, but not ready for the professor

Some students are astounded when they earn their first "NI" in a college writing class. This grade does not mean you have made no effort, are ignorant or are a hopeless writer. It does not even mean your essay is impossible to understand or says little of interest–though in rare cases these problems may be present. In other words, the NI paper can be the result of a "good faith" effort by the writer, which for many possible reasons may have gone astray and so is not yet eligible for a passing grade of O, G, or S. The writer may have picked a topic that did not leave him or her any room to develop a position. Alternatively, he or she may have tried tackling an ambitious subject, and in the process of writing, has been unable to evolve a clear and central idea, or has found

two competing or conflicting ideas he or she has been unable to reconcile, or has devoted so much time to working out ideas that the language of his or her presentation is rough. Additionally, usage and proofreading is inadequate, leaving serious errors in grammar or punctuation. In some cases, a writer may simply not yet have mastered the sentence options or rules of punctuation needed for this level of work. So, the "NI" paper has one or more of the following characteristics:

● No recognizable central idea or one that is far too shallow or ambitious to be developed in an essay;

● No clearly defined or apparent plan of development. or Disunited or incoherent paragraphs;

● Consistently vague and non-specific support; ● Consistently inaccurate or inappropriate word choices; ● Frequently awkward sentence structure; ● Frequent errors, both major and minor, in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

"Needs Tremendous Improvement (NTI)" for existing, but ineffective and inadequate

The controlling idea is either confusing or absent from the paper. The paper lacks detail, examples, outside sources or a Works Cited page (when research is included). Paragraphs or sentences show serious patterns of error. These papers are generally difficult to understand. Papers revealing plagiarism earn a "NTI" mark.