Week 8


Week 8 - due by 5pm on Friday 2/28, uploaded to section Canvas

This week I am asking you to turn in a rough draft of your midterm paper. Please look over the paper assignment and write a solid rough draft. Here is the rubric with which we will grade the final draft of the paper.

Rough drafts can be hard to describe. To get credit for this assignment you need to make a solid effort at a rough draft. Every time I assign one, at least one student wants to clarify what I mean by “a solid effort.” I don’t mean that you need to turn in a perfect paper, or even a completely finished paper. But you do need to write enough that it is a real attempt -- you need to attempt to write out / write through an idea that you’re thinking might work. You need to write long enough to give yourself either a firm sense that your plan is working or that it isn’t working at all. You need to have enough of a beginning that you can begin to see the difference between what you thought you’d write and what you’re actually writing. For this paper that would be at least 1200 words, which is about four double-spaced pages. It absolutely needs to have a thesis statement.

When you turn in your rough draft, please include a link to the item you are analyzing, if at all possible. That will help us provide better feedback as we read through your draft.

If you want to include questions or comments directly to your reader (your GSI and me), you are welcome to, but those are in addition to the word requirement. For instance, you can ask "Does this piece of evidence work with my thesis?" or "Is my logic here clear?"