POLS 1100: U.S.

Government and Politics—Online

Instructor: David Hubert

Office: AAB 355V
Office Hours: Any time. Make an appointment
Contact: Via the Inbox in Canvas. If you cannot get into Canvas and need to: david.hubert@slcc.edu.
Do NOT email me via the MySLCC email.

“I noticed during my stay in the United States that a democratic state of society similar to that found there could lay
itself peculiarly open to the establishment of a despotism.”
--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Volume II (1840)

Course Readings

• The textbook is available at http://pols1100text.weebly.com.

• You will be directed to other readings via links in the Canvas course site or in this syllabus.

Learning Outcomes
The main objective of POLS 1100 is to help students attain a broad historical understanding of the institutions and
practices of the U.S. government and political system. The learning outcomes of this course match the General
Education learning outcomes established by Salt Lake Community College in the following ways.

• Substantive Knowledge: By the end of this course students should be able to demonstrate that they
understand key concepts, events and personalities relating to the Constitutional foundations of U.S.
government, the major national-level governing institutions, political behavior and linkage institutions, and the
civil rights and civil liberties of people living in the United States.

• Effective Communication: By the end of this course students should be able to critically read contemporary
and historical texts, reflect on those texts, write persuasive short-form articles, and construct an electronic
portfolio that mixes text and images in an impressive way.

• Quantitative Literacy: By the end of this course students should be able to use and interpret information
presented as data, graphs, and tables relevant to analyzing political behavior, public policy, and/or the
historical development of the U.S. political system.

• Critical Thinking: By the end of this course students should be able to: demonstrate in writing that they
understand key aspects of critical thinking such as claims and evidence analysis; identify fallacious
argumentation within the context of the theory and/or practice of U.S. politics; make their own arguments
within the context of the theory and/or practice of U.S. politics.

• Civic Literacy: By the end of this course student should be able to: produce learning artifacts indicating
understanding of the political, historical, economic or sociological aspects of social change and continuity;
think critically about—and weigh the evidence surrounding—issues important to local, national, or global
communities.

• Work Constructively with Others: By the end of this course student should be able to engage constructively
with classmates in online discussions.

• Computer and Information Literacy: By the end of this course student should be able to: use computer
hardware and software to complete course assignments; use credible sources in their work; properly hyperlink
to the sources they use in discussions and short-form arguments.

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Learning Modules

• Introductory Module—In this section, we’ll get to know each other. While we do that, you’ll have time to
explore the course site and begin to read the course materials. The requirements for this section are:
o Aug 22-29—Introduce Yourself Discussion. (10 points)
o Aug 30-Sept 1—Introductory Module Quiz. (10 points)

• Module One—In this learning module we’ll talk about what it means to think like a political scientist. The
graded requirements for this section are:
o Sept 2-8— Five Very Powerful Questions Discussion (10 points)
o Sept 12—Critical Reading/Reflecting Assignment—Abolitionism in the early republic
o Sept 13-15— A Quiz on the course readings. In order to prepare for this quiz you should read chapter
one of the text carefully several times. (10 points)
o Sept 15—First ePortfolio Assignment (10 points)

• Module Two—In this learning module we’ll cover the Constitutional foundations of the American polity. The
graded requirements for this section are:
o Sept 16-22—Reactions to the Constitution Discussion. (10 points)
o Sept 26—Secularism Essay Quiz (10 points)
o Sept 27-29—A Quiz on the course readings. In order to prepare for this quiz you should read chapter
two of the text carefully several times. (12 points)

• Module Three—In this learning module we’ll cover the national governing institutions—Congress, the
Presidency, and the Supreme Court. The graded requirements for this section are:
o Sept 30-Oct 6—Presidential Rhetoric Discussion. (10 points)
o Oct 10—First Short Argument Essay (20 points)
o Oct 11-13—A Quiz on the course readings. In order to prepare for this quiz you should read chapter
three of the text carefully several times. (14 points)

• Module Four—In this learning module we’ll cover linkage institutions such as political parties, organized
interests, and the media. The graded requirements for this section are:
o Oct 14-20—Political Advertisements Discussion. (10 points)
o Oct 24—Quantitative Literacy Worksheet (10 points)
o Oct 25-27—A Quiz on the course readings. In order to prepare for this quiz you should read chapter
four of the text carefully several times. (16 points)

• Module Five—In this learning module we’ll cover electoral politics and other political behavior. The graded
requirements for this section are:
o Oct 28-Nov 3—Campaign Finance Discussion (10 points)
o Nov 8-10—A Quiz on the course readings. In order to prepare for this quiz you should read chapter
five of the text carefully several times. (18 points)
o Nov 12—Critical Reading/Reflecting Assignment—Gerrymandering

• Module Six—In this learning module we’ll cover civil rights and civil liberties. The graded requirements for
this section are:
o Nov 19— Second Short Argument Essay (20 points)
o Nov 25-Dec 1—First and Second Wave Feminism Discussion (10 points)
o Nov 25—Critical Reading/Reflecting Assignment—First and Second Wave Feminism. (10 points)
o Dec 4-6—A Quiz on the course readings. In order to prepare for this quiz you should read chapter six
of the text carefully several times. (20 points)
o Dec 10—Final ePortfolio Assignment and Reflection (20 points)

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Course Requirements
• Introductory Module Quiz (10 points)
• Module/Chapter Quizzes (90 points altogether)
• Secularism Essay Quiz (10 points)
• Seven Discussions (10 points each)
• Three Critical Reading/Reflecting Assignments (10 points each)
• Quantitative Literacy Assignment (10 points)
• First ePortfolio Assignment—Setting it up properly (10 points)
• Final ePortfolio Assignment—At least one short argument paper showcased, with final reflection (20 points)
• Two Short Argument Essays (20 points each)
• Total Possible Points = 290

Optional Service-Learning Requirements (Let me know early if you are choosing this option, which is discussed
in more detail on page 5 of this syllabus.)
For those of you who are in the Civically Engaged Scholar Program, or who would like to get service-learning credit
for this course, you will complete the following course requirements:
• Introductory Module Quiz (10 points)
• Module/Chapter Quizzes (90 points altogether)
• Secularism Essay Quiz (10 points)
• Seven Discussions (10 points each)
• Three Critical Reading/Reflecting Assignments (10 points each)
• Quantitative Literacy Assignment (10 points)
• First ePortfolio Assignment—Setting it up properly (10 points)
• Service-learning—Sixteen hours of service with a community partner and completion of a 5-6 page service-
learning journal—40 points
• Final ePortfolio Assignment—At least one short argument paper showcased, with final reflection (20 points)
• Total Possible Points = 290

Course Components
Quizzes—Quizzes will consist of defined-answer questions and will closely track the course text. They will be given
on dates indicated on the schedule, so you will have plenty of advanced notice. Notice that quizzes are worth more as
the course proceeds. This is due to the fact that each successive quiz will not only cover the new material, but will also
incorporate a few questions about previous chapters of the text. They will be open for three days so you can take them
any time within that period.

General Education ePortfolio—Each student in General Education courses at SLCC maintains a General Education
ePortfolio. Instructors in every Gen Ed course will ask you to put at least one signature assignment from the course
into your ePortfolio, and accompany it with reflective writing. Your ePortfolio will allow you to showcase your work,
set your educational goals, and describe your extracurricular activities. When you finish your time at SLCC, your
ePortfolio will then be a multi-media showcase of your educational experience.

It is a requirement in this class for you to add to your ePortfolio. The only eligible signature assignments in this
course are the two short argument papers. You must put at least one of them in your ePortfolio on the page that
represents this course. It must be accompanied by your final reflection. The page must be artfully done, with an
introductory paragraph and an image pertaining to the subject of this course. Here are two examples of how your page
should be structured. Note that for the Digication example, you need to log into Digication before clicking on the link:
• http://mercator99.weebly.com/american-institutions.html
• https://slcc.digication.com/david_demo_portfolio/American_Institutions_AI/published

For detailed information visit the student resource site and click on all the tabs there. If you haven’t yet started an
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ePortfolio, please use Digication to do so. SLCC has online tutorials for you and drop-in labs on three campuses.

Discussions—This course relies heavily on discussion pedagogy. They typically run from Sunday morning to Saturday
evening. You cannot receive better than a “C” in the discussion if your initial post doesn’t happen by midnight
on Monday. I make this requirement so there is time for a conversation to develop. Each discussion is worth 10 points.
You must be proactive and participate in these discussions several times during the week. Discussions cannot be made
up if you miss them. The discussion grading criteria appear later in this syllabus.

Assignments—Spread throughout the term, several assignments ask you to perform specific tasks. Check the
assignment details in Canvas. These include the Secularism Essay Quiz, the first ePortfolio Assignment, the
quantitative literacy assignment, the critical reading/reflection assignments, and the final ePortfolio
assignment/reflection.

Short Argument Essays—There are two short argument essays due during the term. The purpose of these essays is to
give you practice in short-form, online argumentation in which references to supporting evidence take the form of
hyperlinks rather than traditional scholarly citation.

Scenario—You are a writer for an online political news/blog called Vox Populi, and your editor has asked you to
produce two 1-2 page pieces that are single-spaced, with double spaces between paragraphs. The two pieces need to
address two of the propositions (listed in the Canvas assignment) that the editorial board would like the news/blog to
cover this term. You are free to take a position on either side of the propositions, and you need to craft a tight argument
that has a clear thesis and sufficient supporting evidence. Vox Populi’s editorial board expects pieces that grab the
reader right away, have a clear author’s “voice” (but NOT in first person), a thesis that is not in doubt, and supporting
evidence from at least four (4) other reputable sources on the internet.
Scoring—The editors of Vox Populi will use the scoring rubric at the end of this syllabus to evaluate your essays.
Examples—Note the clear theses/topics and supporting evidence here, here, and here. Note also how they hyperlink to
supporting evidence. Note also that some of them use first person, when this assignment is calling for you to use third
person only.

Service-Learning Option—For those of you who are in the Civically Engaged Scholar Program or who simply would
like a service-learning experience with this class, I encourage you to choose the service-learning option, but you must
let me know early in the course. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, “service-learning
combines community service with academic instruction, focusing on critical reflective thinking, and personal and civic
responsibility.” Under this option, the quizzes and discussions are exactly the same, but you will be excused from
doing the persuasive essays. Instead, you will need to perform 16 hours of service with a community partner and write
a 5-6 page service-learning journal.

For this course, I am interested that you work with any group that could reasonably be said to be interested in affecting
public policy: Political parties and campaigns, environmental groups, civil rights groups, single-issue groups, and so
forth. Go to http://www.slcc.edu/thaynecenter to search for such opportunities on the Thayne Center’s great database
of community partners.

Your service-learning journal should focus on the work you do for the community partner organization and how that
helped you make sense of how political ideology meets the real world of civic action. You should have a journal entry
entirely about the organization you’re working for and why you chose it. You should have an entry for each time you
work for the organization, describing what you did that day. You should have an entry that reflects on the personal
meaning of your work and another one on its broader societal meaning. If more people did more of this type of work,
how would the world be a better place? It is your responsibility to arrange for your service commitment, but you may
ask me questions and may certainly seek assistance in person from the Thayne Center for Service and Learning in the
basement of the Student Center on the Redwood Campus. It is your responsibility to see that a representative from the
community partner contacts me via email to document your sixteen hours of service. You’ll turn in your service-
learning journal to me at the end of the term and put it into your ePortfolio.

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Other Useful Information

Participation—Because this is an online course, it places a greater engagement burden on students than does a
traditional “live” course in a classroom. There’s no other way to say this: you must be proactive and self-
disciplined or you will not do well in this course. While there is no “participation grade” per se in this course, but
everything in it requires that you be actively engaged in your own education. This syllabus and the online course
calendar tell you when discussions are open and when they close, when assignments are due, and when exams are held.
It is your responsibility to participate in those discussions, complete those assignments, and take those exams. It is also
your responsibility to keep track of your assignment scores in the Canvas gradebook and contact me immediately if
you have any questions about them, rather than waiting until the end of the term and being surprised by your grade.

Late assignments—If you fail to turn in an assignment on time, it can drop one letter grade per day late depending on
the validity of the excuse. I will grade a discussion once it is closed, and your grade will reflect your comments (or
lack thereof) up to that closing date. You cannot make up for lack of participation in a discussion. Missed quizzes
cannot be made up without specific documentation of a debilitating three-day condition precisely when the exam was
scheduled. You should identify an alternative place from which to access the Internet should your primary access go
down.

Final grades—will be calculated according to how many points you receive on class assignments, relative to the
maximum number of points. I use a ten-point scale where those receiving 90% or more of the possible points earn an
A, those with 80-89% of the possible points earn a B, and so on. Pluses and minuses are given to percentages within
three points of the next letter grade (with one exception; the cut-off from an A to an A- is at 94% rather than 93%). I
do not curve grades, nor do I offer extra credit points. You can see the grades for all the assignments in the course site,
so you should be able to see how you’re doing by dividing the number of points you’ve received by the number of
possible points up to that point in the course.

Help—If you have any questions about the course, email me from within the course. Use the email at the top of this
syllabus only if you cannot access the course at all. If you’re having trouble getting into the course, you should call the
SLCC Online support center at (801) 957-4406 or 1-888-963-7522. You may also call the Technical Help Desk at
(801) 957-5555.

Important Information for Students

The Disability Resource Center

SLCC values inclusive learning environments and strives to make all aspects of the College accessible to our students.
If you have a disability and believe you need accommodations to improve access to learning materials or the learning
environment, please contact the Disability Resource Center: (phone) 801-957-4659; (email) drc@slcc.edu;
(website) www.slcc.edu/drc.

The Student Code of Conduct

All students are expected to follow the SLCC Student Code of Conduct.

Title IX Statement
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in any educational institution
that receives federal funding. Salt Lake Community College does not tolerate sex discrimination of any kind including:
sexual misconduct; sexual harassment; relationship/sexual violence and stalking. These incidents may interfere with or
limit an individual’s ability to benefit from or participate in the College’s educational programs or activities. If you
have questions or concerns regarding your rights or responsibilities, or if you would like to file a Title IX complaint
please contact:

Kenneth Stonebrook, J.D.

Title IX Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
Taylorsville Redwood Campus – STC 276A

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(801) 957-5027
ken.stonebrook@slcc.edu

Online Reporting Form: http://www.slcc.edu/title-ix/complaint.aspx

Students may also report incidents to an SLCC faculty or staff member, who are required by law to notify the Title IX
Coordinator. If a student wishes to keep the information confidential, the student may speak with staff members of the
Center for Health and Counseling, (801) 957-4268. For more information about Title IX, go
to: http://www.slcc.edu/title-ix/index.aspx

General Education
Regardless of your major, General Education courses build a foundation of broad knowledge and skills that help you in
your further career and life.

Learning Support and Tutoring Services

General Learning Support & Tutoring Services provide support for SLCC students enrolled in any class at the College.
All resources are provided free-of-charge. Ask your instructor about discipline-specific learning support and tutoring
services.
• Tutoring: index of all tutoring resources.
• STEM Learning Centers: provide free assistance in Math, Science, Accounting, CSIS and Allied Health
Classes at 6 campus locations.
• Student Writing Center: provides in-person and online feedback on all writing assignments.
• Academic Literacy Center: provides tutoring in reading and conversation.
• Library Services: provides research help, print and online resources, computers and study space.
• ePortfolio Lab: provides drop-in assistance for all ePortfolio questions.
• eLearning Support: provides support for navigating online and hybrid classes.
• Business Resource and Innovation Center: provides tutors and a study space for students in Business and
CSIS courses. Located in BB 226 on Taylorsville-Redwood Campus.

Advising and Counseling Support Services

Advising and Counseling Support Services provide support for students enrolled in any class as the college.
• Center for Health and Counseling: provides health care, mental health counseling, massage therapy services
and healthy lifestyle programs.
• Veterans’ Services: assists hundreds of students in using their VA education benefits each semester.
• Academic and Career Advising: helps students plan, explore, make decisions, access resources and evaluate
their academic and career goals.
• Academic Achievement Center: helps students achieve GPA requirements for graduation.

How to Succeed in This Course

This is not a closely guarded secret. I suggest you do the following:

1. Print this syllabus and look it over carefully. Ask me any questions you have about it.
2. For any given learning module, read the relevant portion of the text several times, listen to the relevant
lectures once, and do the online exercises until you can do them without reference to the text. It is important
to be familiar with these key concepts, persons, and events.
3. Every time you log in to the course, check to see if you have any announcements or emails. Better yet, set up
your Canvas communication preferences so that my announcements and Canvas messages go to your phone.
4. Participate in each discussion on at least three of the six days it’s open, and make your initial post by Monday
in the discussion week.
5. Be proactive and take charge of your own education—how much you get out of this course is in large part
determined by how involved you are.
6. This is a three (3) credit hour course, so you should anticipate spending six (6) hours per week reading,
listening to podcasts, doing the exercises, participating in discussions, writing essays, doing assignments, and
taking quizzes.
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Discussion Grading Criteria

When I grade online discussions, I consider the following characteristics:

1. How active has the student been in making posts? In order to get above a “C” (average—6 or 7 out of 10)
grade for discussions students must:
a. post one substantive comment of their own by just before midnight on Monday of any discussion that
starts on Sunday.
b. respond effectively to the original posts of at least two of their classmates.
c. respond to others in the thread that you started with your original post.
All of this must be spread out over multiple days during the discussion, rather than all on one day.

2. Do the posts consist of full paragraphs and complete sentences? Usually two full paragraphs are sufficient,
but you should err on the side of elaboration.

3. Do comments stay on topic and contribute to the discussion in a meaningful way? Simply posting variants
of “I agree” or “I disagree” does not constitute a meaningful contribution.

4. Are the posts consciously reflective? This means that the author reflects on his/her own thinking, on what
other classmates are writing, and/or on what the class reading has to say.

5. Do the posts make concise, effective reference to course readings or other materials? Quote extensively if
you absolutely need to in order to make your point, but paraphrasing works best in most cases, e.g., “So and so
said this in the such and such article, but I think that’s contradicted by subsequent events like. . . .”

6. Do the posts indicate a thoughtful comment that is well-organized, rather than something that reads like it
was dashed off quickly?

7. Do the posts make substantial points, bring in new evidence or lines of argument, or pose interesting
questions, all of which stimulate others to respond with serious comments of their own?

8. Is the language in the posts professional and reasonable? Disrespect, offensive language (unless it’s
appropriate to your argument—I’m not a prude), and personal attacks are unacceptable. This class is a
community of scholars, not a forum for vulgarity, lowbrow humor, or personal rivalry.

9. Can the student disagree with others without causing a personalized spat?

10. Are spelling and grammatical errors fairly infrequent?

11. Does the student link out to relevant information to support his/her points?

Using these criteria, I’ll assign grades on a 10-point scale, where 10 equals “excellent,” 8-9 equals “very good,” 6-7
equals “average,” 4-5 equals “below average,” 1-3 equals “poor,” and zero means the student did not contribute in the
specified time.

SLCC’s General Education Learning Outcomes

Students communicate effectively. This includes developing critical literacies—reading, writing, speaking,
listening, visual understanding—that they can apply in various contexts; Organizing and presenting ideas

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and information visually, orally, and in writing according to standard usage; Understanding and using the
elements of effective communication in interpersonal, small group, and mass settings.

Students develop quantitative literacies necessary for their chosen field of study. This includes
approaching practical problems by choosing and applying appropriate mathematical techniques; Using
information represented as data, graphs, tables, and schematics in a variety of disciplines; Applying
mathematical theory, concepts, and methods of inquiry appropriate to program-specific problems.

Students think critically and creatively. This includes reasoning effectively from available evidence;
demonstrating effective problem solving; engaging in creative thinking, expression, and application;
Engaging in reflective thinking and expression; Demonstrating higher-order skills such as analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation; Making connections across disciplines; Applying scientific methods to the inquiry
process.

Students develop civic literacy and the capacity to be community-engaged learners who act in mutually
beneficial ways with community partners. This includes producing learning artifacts indicating
understanding of the political, historical, economic or sociological aspects of social change and continuity;
thinking critically about—and weighing the evidence surrounding—issues important to local, national, or
global communities; participating in a broad range of community-engagement and/or service-learning
courses for community building and an enhanced academic experience.

Students develop the knowledge and skills to work with others in a professional and constructive
manner. This includes engaging with a diverse set of others to produce professional work; Interacting
competently across cultures; understanding and appreciating human differences; Understanding and acting
on standards of professionalism and civility, including the SLCC Student Code of Conduct.

Students develop computer and information literacy. This includes using contemporary computer hardware
and software to effectively complete college-level assignments; Gathering and analyzing information using
technology, library resources, and other modalities; Understanding and acting upon ethical and security
principles with respect to computer technology and to information acquisition and distribution;
distinguishing between credible and non-credible sources of information, and using the former in their work
in an appropriately documented fashion.

Students develop the attitudes and skills for lifelong wellness. This includes understanding the importance
of physical activity and its connection to lifelong wellness; learning how participation in a fitness, sport or
leisure activity results in daily benefits including stress reduction, endorphin release, and a sense of well-
being.

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 Reflective Writing for SLCC’s Gen Ed ePortfolio: A Commonsense Rubric

Levels of Performance
Criteria Exceeds Expectations Meets Expectations Progressing Towards Clearly Below
Expectations Expectations
Language Use The writer always uses engaging The writer usually employs The writer sometimes The writer uses
language, and his/her voice is clear engaging language, and his/her uses engaging language, language that fails to
and compelling. voice is apparent. but his/her voice seems to engage the reader at
be lost most of the time. all. The writer's voice
seems to be
completely missing.

Context and The writer clearly understands that The writer generally recognizes The writer makes some The writer jumps
Reference s/he is writing for an audience that s/he is writing for an attempt to set the context. right into the
beyond the instructor, and therefore audience beyond the instructor, S/he makes vague reflection without
sets the context for the assignment and therefore sets the context for references to the work setting the context,
and the reflection prompt. The writer the assignment and the reflection s/he turned in. and s/he makes no
refers to specific features of the work prompt. The writer refers to references to the work
s/he turned in. specific features of the work s/he s/he turned in.
turned in.
Depth of The writer directly addresses the The writer addresses the The writer partially The writer fails to
Reflection reflection prompt(s) given by the reflection prompt(s) given by the addresses the reflection address the reflection
instructor, elaborates his/her points, instructor, and does a fairly good prompt(s) given by the prompt(s) given by
makes real connections between the job with elaboration, making instructor, and fails to the instructor. The
assignment and his/her learning, connections, offering new sufficiently elaborate reflection piece
highlights new insights and insights and perspectives, and/or his/her points. S/he contains no
perspectives, and/or uses techniques uses techniques such as makes few connections, elaboration and is too
such as questioning, comparing, questioning, comparing, offers few insights and short.
interpreting, and analyzing. interpreting, and analyzing. perspectives, etc.
Conventions of The writer demonstrates a solid The writer usually demonstrates The writer shows some Errors in spelling,
Standard Edited grasp of standard writing a good grasp of standard writing control over standard punctuation,
English conventions (e.g., spelling, conventions and uses writing conventions. capitalization, usage,
punctuation, capitalization, sentence conventions effectively to Conventions are grammar and
structure, word choice, enhance readability. The sometimes handled well paragraphing
paragraphing) and uses conventions presence of few errors makes the and enhance readability; repeatedly distract the
effectively to enhance readability. piece generally enjoyable to at other times, errors are reader and make the
Errors are practically non-existent. read. distracting and impair text difficult to read.
readability.

© David Hubert at Salt Lake Community College. Permission granted for reproduction with attribution.
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 Notes for Students on the Criteria in the Reflective Writing Rubric

Language Use--It's very difficult to describe the differences between engaging writing that conveys a sense of voice and its opposite, but every
one of your instructors can recognize the former as distinct from--and better than--the latter. In strong reflective writing, a bit of your
personality and character should shine through to the reader due to the distinctive way you phrase your thoughts and due to the choice of words
you use. That's your "voice." Unlike in most signature assignments, it's okay to write in first person in your reflective writing. So you can write
"I think" this and "I noticed" that in your reflective writing. Engaging writing uses language that is interesting, compelling, and captivating; it
pulls the reader into the mind of the writer, instead of being a stale, forgettable recitation of facts.

Context and Reference--Your instructor knows about your work and the reflective writing accompanying it, because s/he made the
assignment. However, other people with whom you share your ePortfolio will not know the context of each page in your ePortfolio. If you
jump right into your reflective writing without setting the proper context, most readers are going to be confused. At some point in your
reflective writing (usually in the opening sentences) you need to encapsulate the assignment and the reflective writing prompt that have
combined to elicit your brilliant thoughts. Try to do this is an imaginative way, rather than writing something like "For this class I had to write
an essay about George Orwell's 1984, and now I'm going to reflect on how my essay is a good example of critical analysis." Boring.

In addition to setting the context, effective reflective writing almost always makes reference(s) to specific elements of your work on the
signature assignment(s). These references to your work constitute good evidence for the claims you are making in your reflective writing.

Depth of Reflection--First of all, make sure you address the reflection prompt given to you by the instructor. Elaborate your points with
analysis, connection-making, questioning, comparisons, interpretations, and insights about yourself, your learning, or the wider world that are
initiated by the assignment and the reflective writing prompt. Reflective writing is difficult for many of us; it takes a certain amount of courage,
so go ahead and risk a little by pushing yourself as you translate your thoughts into writing.

Conventions of Standard Edited English--Your ePortfolio is a formal presentation of your academic self that you share with SLCC
instructors, friends, family, scholarship committees, and possibly others. Therefore you want to ensure that not only are the artifacts in your
ePortfolio representative of your best work on signature assignments, but that your reflective writing is also free from obvious mistakes. Don't
let simple mistakes detract from the quality of your reflection.

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 Short-Form Argument Essay Scoring Rubric

Criteria (8 points) (6 points) (4 points) (2 points)

Content Writer correctly employs The writer correctly employs The writer omits some major The writer hardly uses major
Development nearly all of the major political
most of the major political political concepts, political concepts, personalities, or
concepts, personalities, or concepts, personalities, or personalities or events events at all in the essay, and/or
events needed to give a events needed to give a needed to give a complete makes significant errors in their
complete response to the complete response to the response to the proposition, application to the topic.
proposition. proposition, or employs them, and/or makes significant
but with some errors in their errors in their application to
application to the topic. the topic.
Credible Assertions in the essay that Assertions in the essay that Assertions in the essay are Assertions in the essay are often
Evidence merit external support are merit external support are sometimes supported by unsupported.
(properly cited) almost always supported by generally supported by evidence.
credible evidence. credible evidence.
Organization Sophisticated organization Competently organized into Organizational structure Organizational structure may not
within introduction, body, and introduction, body, and includes all essay “chunks”: include one of the essay “chunks”:
conclusion chunks; paragraphs conclusion chunks; introduction, body, introduction, body, conclusion;
are consistently well paragraphs are mostly well conclusion; paragraphs paragraphs within sections not
developed and logically developed and logically within sections are divided logically (may be a single
divided; meaningful transitions divided; (some paragraphs inconsistently divided or paragraph or a series of
are consistently present. may need dividing); ordered; none, or very few, disconnected paragraphs); no
Opening paragraph grabs the formulaic transitions are transitions present. transitions present.
reader. present though are not
consistent.
Author’s The writer always uses The writer usually employs The writer sometimes uses The writer uses language that fails
Voice engaging language, and his/her engaging language, and engaging language, but to engage the reader at all. The
voice is clear and compelling. his/her voice is apparent. his/her voice seems to be lost writer's voice seems to be
most of the time. completely missing.
Control of The writer consistently The writer usually The writer shows limited Errors in spelling, punctuation,
Syntax and demonstrates a good grasp of demonstrates a good grasp of control over standard writing capitalization, usage, grammar and
Mechanics standard writing conventions standard writing conventions conventions. Conventions paragraphing repeatedly distract
(e.g., spelling, punctuation, and uses conventions are sometimes handled well the reader and make the text
capitalization, grammar, effectively to enhance and enhance readability; at difficult to read.
usage, paragraphing, word readability. Errors tend to be other times, errors are
meaning) and uses relatively few. distracting and impair
conventions effectively to readability.
enhance readability.
© David Hubert at Salt Lake Community College. Permission granted for reproduction with attribution.

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