Back Business Communications Final Writing Assignment
Final Writing Assignment (50%)
Purpose:
Persuasion or argumentation, making a claim and backing it up with supporting evidence (reasons, examples, statistics, etc.) is a key feature of many writing assignments. In most assignments, even if the professor does not explicitly ask you to ‘argue,’ it is assumed that you will go beyond summarizing or listing facts to developing your own viewpoint on a topic and backing it up with evidence. The purpose of this assignment is to practice and improve your argumentation skills by composing a paper that supports a point of view on a complex business topic (chosen the first week of class).
Audience:
The audience for this assignment is your instructor.
Content:
Write a 10-page paper (2500 words, double spaced, not including reference list). Your paper should include:
- An introduction that describes the issue and clearly states a position (thesis statement) on the topic.
- Body paragraphs that include evidence from at least 8 reputable sources to support your position and acknowledge opposing views.
- A conclusion that synthesizes your main points and explains their significance to your position.
- A reference list in APA format.
Process:
Composing a well written persuasive paper is challenging and takes a significant amount of time. To make this assignment more manageable, it has been divided into a series of tasks that follow the stages of the writing process. As you work through the process, you will receive guidance and feedback to help you plan, organize, draft and revise your paper.
Along with your final paper, you will submit a reflection (maximum 3-pages double spaced) discussing how you used the guidance and feedback you received in the course to write and revise your final paper.
Due Dates
| Document | Date | Format |
| Outline (5%) | Sunday, Nov. 22 before midnight EST | Submit as a Word Document on cuLearn. |
| Draft Paper (10%) | Wednesday, Dec 2 before the start of class | Submit as a Word Document on cuLearn |
| Final Paper (25%) | Sunday, Dec. 16 before midnight EST | Submit as a Word Document on cuLearn. |
| Reflection (10%) | Sunday, Dec. 16 before midnight EST | Submit as a Word Document on cuLearn. |
Grading Criteria Final Paper
| Criteria | 60 – 69% | 70 – 79% | 80 – 100% |
| Purpose | Your position on the topic is somewhat unclear and the focal point is not consistently maintained throughout your paper. | Your position on the topic is adequately stated in your introduction and the overall focal point of your paper. | Your position on the topic is clearly stated in your introduction and is the consistent focal point throughout your paper. |
| Developing Content | Your points are lacking detail and development.
You demonstrate a general understanding and limited analysis of the topic, argument and opposing positions. You summarize arguments from sources rather than create your own. You include limited evidence and or it may not be from reliable sources and or relevant to your points. |
Your points are well developed but some are too general, leaving the reader to fill in details.
You demonstrate a good understanding and some critical analysis of topic, argument and opposing positions. Overall you include relevant evidence from reliable sources to support your points.
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Your points are well developed and easily understood.
You demonstrate a sophisticated understanding and critical analysis of the topic and argument, including opposing positions. You include relevant evidence from reliable sources to support your points. Your conclusion is insightful and original. |
| Organization | Often, your paper is unclear.
Your ideas lack organization and resemble ‘free writing’. Many of the paragraphs are unfocused or repetitive. A number of paragraphs have unclear or missing topic sentences. Ideas in paragraphs often lack a logical connections and transitions are limited or missing.
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Overall, organization of your paper is clear and apparent.
Overall your ideas are arranged logically. Most of your main points are divided into coherent paragraphs with a single and distinct focus. Most, paragraphs have a clear topic sentence, logical flow and include some transitions to connect ideas. |
The organization of your paper clear and quickly apparent.
Your ideas are arranged logically. Your main points are divided into coherent paragraphs, each with a single and distinct focus. Every paragraph has a clear topic sentence, logical flow and transitions to connect ideas. |
| Language Accuracy and Readability | Your reader often has difficulty understanding.
You make numerous language errors that slow down your reader. Your sentences structure is often confusing or incorrect. The paper is not neat and the formatting is inconsistent. |
Sometimes your reader must work hard to understand.
You make some language errors, but they tend to be minor and do not interfere with meaning. Overall, your sentence structure is clear. Overall, the paper in neat and consistently formatted. |
Your reader can understand without effort.
You make very few language errors. Your sentence structure is clear. The paper is neat and consistently formatted. |
