Description
Optional Film Choice: You may do your Film Analysis paper on the outstanding movie Contact, starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. This movie explores the complex relationship between religion and science with an outstanding performance by Foster.
GRADING RUBRIC FOR PAPERS
In order to grade your assignments as accurately as possible, I am using a grading rubric which has been approved by the North Central Accrediting Agency and is widely used by English teachers on the secondary and college levels. For the purpose of simplicity, I have divided the grading into two categories, quantity and quality.
1. Quantity: Did the student write 3-4 pp. of text (approx. 1050-1400 words) as required by the assignment, with proper Chicago documentation. Chicago documentation includes footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography. There should be at least 2 academic sources in the bibliography. Please note that a paper of this type is double-spaced, using an acceptable font.
2. Quality: a) Content and Organization. This category includes the basic content and organization of the paper. The paper should be focused and on target, where all content adds to the whole. The paper should include an inviting introduction, with a thesis statement, thoughtful transitions, controlled pacing, and a satisfactory conclusion.
b) Sentence Fluency and Voice. This category takes into account the student’s active engagement with the topic. Papers should exhibit strong sentences, with interesting vocabulary. Papers at the highest level would be individual, personal, and compelling. The paper itself would invite expressive oral reading. c) Grammar Conventions. This category takes into account the basics of English composition: spelling, grammar, and paragraphing. Short paragraphs tend to make a paper choppy and difficult to read. Papers at the highest grade level are ready to publish and demonstrate a mastery of all grammatical uses. (90%)
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