WRIT 107 INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING UNIT #1: COMPARE/CONTRAST WRITING. The texts for Unit 1 include essays from: The Kindness of Strangers:

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1 WRIT 107 INTRODUCTION TO ACADEMIC WRITING UNIT #1: COMPARE/CONTRAST WRITING The texts for Unit 1 include essays from: The Kindness of Strangers: o Mea and Cheese in Turkey by Alice Waters o Everything Come Round by James D. Houston o We Can t Fix Anything, Even the Smallest Things, in Cuba by Dave Eggers o Egg Child by Sarah Levin The assignments for Unit 1: 1. Diagnostic timed writing: Imagine that you are writing for a publication from your home country. In a brief essay, write about ONE aspect of home (food, education, family, etc.) compared/contrasted to what you ve noticed in the US. Try not to focus on a qualitative judgment (good vs. bad); instead focus on explaining how your chosen aspect of home is different from or the same as in the US. 2. Compare/Contrast essay: described below. 3. Summative timed writing: Choose another aspect of home to compare/contrast with the US. Use the rhetorical devices discussed in class to improve your essay. 4. Reflection prompts: answer the following questions in an essay. Your first paragraph should serve as an introduction to your reflection, and the remaining paragraphs should address the four questions below. You should carefully reflect on the materials you ve assembled for your portfolio to these questions. a. What did you learn from this unit? What writing skills have you developed? b. How did your compare/contrast essay evolve over the course of the unit? c. How did you integrate feedback during the revision process? Consider feedback you obtained from your peers, your tutor and other writing place tutors, your prefect, and your instructor. d. What compare/contrast skills do you need to continue to develop? How will you work on developing these skills? 5. Portfolio: Assemble the following items in your pocket folder for assessment by your instructor a. Timed writings b. Essay drafts c. Final essay d. Answers to your reflection prompts e. Your self- evaluation rubric; be thoughtful about your responses. ESSAY #1: COMPARE/CONTRAST WRITING The primary goal of this essay is for you to demonstrate the ability to compare and contrast texts and incorporate source material. The Assignment Write an essay in which you compare and contrast two travel narratives. You will choose two essays from Kindness of Strangers. Once you have chosen your narratives, you will outline each text. Then you will write an analytic essay where you compare and contrast how the texts cover a topic (travel) similarly and differently. Your essay should include a thesis based on your comparative analysis. Unit 1: Compare/Contrast Essay Fall

2 Audience Write this essay as if you were writing an introductory, academic essay for other international students who are interested in travel. Your language should be formal and contain the elements discussed in class. Guidelines The essay should be in Times/Times New Roman 12 font, double- spaced, 1- inch margins, 2-3 pages. Give your essay a precise heading; include name, class, assignment, and date. Give your essay an effective title; this should introduce the main idea of the essay. Produce your best grammar, punctuation, spelling, word use, etc. Since you will be referring to sources, you must include a works cited page. This page does not count in your 2-3 pages. Use the MLA guidelines in your handbook for paper formatting, in- text citations, direct quotations, and a works cited page. Due Dates The first draft is due at class time on 9/20 (end of week 3). Draft 2 is due 9/25 (middle of week 4) (with previous draft and evidence that the tutor has assisted you in the revision process or signed draft is fine). We will peer-edit your essay so bring 3 copies to class. The final draft is due 9/30 (end of week 5) along with your previous drafts and your paragraph describing how you integrated feedback from your tutor/instructor/peers into revision. Upload your paper to Moodle before class on the day it is due. You will also include a hard copy of your paper for inclusion in your portfolio. SELF-Assessment Rubric -- Unit 1 Unit Portfolio Outcomes First Timed Writing thoughtful, gaps of of Essay Rough Drafts Drafts are fully, well- developed, and show significant progress/ revision toward completion. Drafts are and show significant progress/ revision toward completion. Drafts are mostly and show some progress/ revision toward completion Drafts are underdeveloped and show in progress/ revision toward completion Reflective Prompts thoughtful, gaps of of Unit 1: Compare/Contrast Essay Fall

3 Final Timed Writing thoughtful, Furthermore, response shows great improvement from the gaps of compre- hension. Response shows some improvement from Little improvement from of No improvement from first timed writing. Portfolio Documents are fully d, professional, and show substantial revision/ thinking on unit material. Documents are d, professional, and show substantial revision/ thinking on Documents are d, professional, and show revision/ thinking on unit material Some documents are underdeveloped OR show limited revision/ thinking on Some documents are underdeveloped AND show limited revision /thinking on Writing Skills Formatting Formatting is perfect or only has one or two minor errors. Formatting is accurate but contains several errors, some of which are conspicuous. Some attempts made at formatting, but some major lapses. Does not appear to be using formatting. Random formatting. Mechanics Writer excels with complex (and appropriate) grammar, language usage, punctuation, and spelling. There are only minor issues with grammar, punctuation and spelling. Overall, the paper appears to be proofread. There are few issues with grammar, punctuation and spelling. Writer demonstrates significant difficulty with grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Sloppy, un- professional presentation; major errors in grammar/ mechanics/ usage. Organization Essay is ordered in necessary steps that reveal a sense of symmetry and emphasis; transitions reveal the progress of the thesis. Essay is ordered in necessary steps; transitions aid the reader. Order of essay is apparent; transitions are functional but at times choppy. Order of essay is ineffective; reader struggles to follow the reader s ideas and progressions. Transitions may be unclear, mechanical, and/or tedious. Order and emphasis of essay Essay lacks transitions. Paragraphing unified and coherent. mostly unified and always coherent. mostly unified but sometimes incoherent. jumbled or underdeveloped. Paragraphing is lacking or wholly arbitrary. Word Choice precise for the assignment and shows a sophisticated, academic vocabulary. precise for the given acceptable for given inconsistent. Unit 1: Compare/Contrast Essay Fall

4 Standard Usage varied; diction is fresh, precise, and idiomatic, complementing the subject, distinguishing the writer, and defining the audience. correct and varied; diction is clear and idiomatic. Sentences and diction are correct but ordinary. immature or tediously patterned; usage is vague or not idiomatic. incoherent; Diction is nonstandard. Tone is Unit 1: Compare/Contrast Essay Fall

5 Final Essay Writing Strategies Compare/ Contrast Thesis is complex, engaging, and concisely written. Thesis statement is clear and insightful. Thesis statement is clear but lacking Thesis statement is too general, vague, or confused No discernable thesis statement. Essay clearly and accurately presents and explains both Essay clearly presents both Essay is slightly lopsided in presenting both Essay spends significant more time focusing on one source than the other. Essay is ly unbalanced in its explanation and presentation of Essay maintains a sophisticated and balanced perspective on the topic. Essay focuses on explicit comparison with only concise and precise summary to support the major points. Essay maintains balanced perspective on the topic. Essay focuses on explicit comparison with only a few moments of unfocused summary. Essay maintains a mostly balanced perspective on the topic with only one or two lapses of bias. Essay is mostly comparison, but it overuses summary. Essay presents a slightly unbalanced perspective. Essay presents too much summary that distracts from the comparison. Essay presents a biased argument about the topic. Essay is mostly summary. Use of Sources Essay accurately cites appropriate readings to aid in comparison. The essay uses diverse strategies to incorporate source material. Essay is properly formatted (MLA in- text citation and works cited). appropriate readings to aid in comparison with minor issues. Essay is properly formatted except for one or two little errors. appropriate readings to aid in comparison but some material is unnecessary, ineffective, or tangential. Essay formatting is mostly correct but with one significant issue. appropriate readings to aid in comparison with significant issues. Major issues with essay formatting. inappropriate sources or does not cite sources at all. Essay does not conform to any of the guidelines for formatting. Unit 1: Compare/Contrast Essay Fall

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