Fluent Essays

Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you cant submit it until you have completed the unit’s Challenges. Once youve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score. Touchstone 1.1: Engage with a Work of Research ASSIGNMENT: For this essay, you will select one of the articles provided below and engage in a 2-3 page summary and response dialogue with the source. This will involve providing a detailed summary of the sources argument and responding to that argument with your position based on the information provided in the source. In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any recycled work will be sent back with a 0, and you will be given one attempt to redo the Touchstone. Article Option 1: The Recess Debate: A Disjuncture between Educational Policy and Scientific Research Article Option 2: Sugar in School Breakfasts: A School Districts Perspective Sample Touchstone A. Assignment Guidelines DIRECTIONS: Refer to the list below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines. 1. Article Summary ❒ Have you communicated the sources purpose?❒ Have you included all of the sources main points?❒ Have you restated the sources argument in your own words? 2. Article Response ❒ Have you provided your perspective on the sources argument?❒ Have you used specific examples from the source to illustrate why you either agree or disagree with the argument? 3. Reflection ❒ Have you answered all reflection questions thoughtfully and included insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses? ❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the main assignment? B. Reflection Questions DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all of the following reflection questions. What ideas originally came to mind when you first read through the article? Did your initial response to the article change after reading it for a second time? (3-4 sentences) How does paying attention to the way you respond to a source help you formulate your stance on a topic? (2-3 sentences) C. Rubric Advanced (90-100\%)Proficient (80-89\%)Acceptable (70-79\%)Needs Improvement (50-69\%)Non-Performance (0-49\%) Source Summary Summarize the main argument of a research source.Provides a complete and accurate summary of the article’s main purpose and argument in the writer’s own words.Provides an accurate summary of the article’s main purpose and argument in the writer’s own words.Provides an accurate summary, but relies too heavily on source quotations.Provides an incomplete summary of the article’s main purpose and argument and/or relies too heavily on source quotations.Does not provide a complete and accurate summary of the article’s main purpose and argument in the writer’s own words. Source Response Articulate a response to the argument presented in a research source.Constructs a thoughtful and academically appropriate response to the source, including samples from the source that relate to the response.Constructs an academically appropriate response to the source, including samples from the source that relate to the response.Constructs an academically appropriate response to the source, but could include more samples from the source that relate to the response.Constructs a response to the source, but does not include samples that relate to the response.Does not construct an academically appropriate response to the source and/or does not include samples from the source that relate to the response. Organization Exhibit competent organizational writing techniques.Includes all of the required components of a summary and response essay, including an introduction with an engaging summary of the sources argument, body paragraphs containing a detailed and thoughtful response to the argument, and a conclusion with a concluding statement.Includes all of the required components of a summary and response essay, including an introduction with a summary of the sources argument, body paragraphs containing a response to the argument, and a conclusion with a concluding statement.Includes nearly all of the required components of summary and response essay; however, one component is missing.Includes most of the required components of a summary and response essay, but is lacking two components; sequences ideas and paragraphs such that the connections between ideas (within and between paragraphs) are sometimes unclear and the reader may have difficulty following the progression of the essay.Lacks several or all of the components of a summary and response essay; sequences ideas and paragraphs such that the connections between ideas (within and between paragraphs) are often unclear and the reader has difficulty following the progression of the essay. Style Establish a consistent, informative tone and make thoughtful stylistic choices.Demonstrates thoughtful and effective word choices, avoids redundancy and imprecise language, and uses a wide variety of sentence structures.Demonstrates effective word choices, primarily avoids redundancy and imprecise language, and uses a variety of sentence structures.Demonstrates generally effective style choices, but may include occasional redundancies, imprecise language, poor word choice, and/or repetitive sentence structures.Frequently includes poor word choices, redundancies, imprecise language, and/or repetitive sentence structures.Consistently demonstrates poor word choices, redundancies, imprecise language, and/or repetitive sentence structures. Conventions Follow conventions for standard written English.There are only a few, if any, negligible errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.There are occasional minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.There are some significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.There are frequent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage.There are consistent significant errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and usage. Reflection Answer reflection questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses, following or exceeding response length guidelines.Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; includes multiple insights, observations, and/or examples, following response length guidelines.Primarily demonstrates thoughtful reflection, but some responses are lacking in detail or insight; primarily follows response length guidelines.Shows limited reflection; the majority of responses are lacking in detail or insight, with some questions left unanswered or falling short of response length guidelines.No reflection responses are present. D. Requirements The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded: Composition must be 2-3 pages (approximately 500-750 words). Double-space the composition and use one-inch margins. Use a readable 12-point font. All writing must be appropriate for an academic context. Composition must be original and written for this assignment. Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited. Submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition. Include all of the assignment components in a single file. Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx. E. Additional Resources The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on this assignment: Purdue Online Writing Labs APA Formatting and Style Guide This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA style, as well as individual pages with guidelines for specific citation types. Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style This page on the official APA website addresses common questions related to APA formatting. The References, Punctuation, and Grammar and Writing Style sections will be the most useful to your work in this course. APA Style: Quick Answers—References This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of reference list formatting for various source types.Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk Volume 6 Issue 2 Nutrition and Food Insecurity Article 7 2015 Sugar In School Breakfasts: A School Districts Perspective Jennifer G. Lengyel MS, RDN, LD Houston Independent School District, [email protected] Nan Cramer RDN, LD Houston Independent School District, [email protected] Amanda Oceguera MS, RDN, LD Houston Independent School District, [email protected] Lana Pigao MA Houston Independent School District, [email protected] Houston Independent School District, Nutrition Services Department Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk The Journal of Applied Research on Children is brought to you for free and open access by CHILDREN AT RISK at [email protected] Texas Medical Center. It has a cc by-nc-nd Creative Commons license (Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives) For more information, please contact [email protected] Recommended Citation Lengyel, Jennifer G. MS, RDN, LD; Cramer, Nan RDN, LD; Oceguera, Amanda MS, RDN, LD; Pigao, Lana MA; and Houston Independent School District, Nutrition Services Department (2015) Sugar In School Breakfasts: A School Districts Perspective, Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 6: Iss. 2, Article 7. Available at: http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol6/iss2/7 http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol6?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol6/iss2?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol6/iss2/7?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol6/iss2/7?utm_source=digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu\%2Fchildrenatrisk\%2Fvol6\%2Fiss2\%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk http://childrenatrisk.org/ http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/ http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ mailto:[email protected] Introduction For Houston Independent School District (ISD) Nut© 2008 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois The Recess Debate A Disjuncture between Educational Policy and Scientific Research • Anthony D. Pellegrini Some devalue recess because they assume it to be a waste of time. There is no theory or empirical evidence to support this point of view. There is, however, abundant and clear evidence that recess has beneficial effects on children’s social competence and academic performance. The author tells how his interest in standardized tests led him to years of recess study, compares recess survey findings in the United States to those in the United Kingdom, and summarizes the benefits of recess for school performance. Recess has been part of the school day for as long as we can remem- ber. Typically, most people have considered what children do during recess as merely “playful.” Adults usually regard it as a break from the serious work of the day—reading, writing, and arithmetic—while kids often say, perhaps only half-jokingly, that it is their favorite time. Because what goes on at recess does not appear serious, some claim it interferes with the “educational” mis- sion of schools. This perception has led many districts to question the need for recess. Since I explored this trend in considerable detail three years ago in Recess: Its Role in Education and Development, recess has remained under attack in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The debate over recess began around the same time (the early 1980s) in both countries and revolves around similar issues in both places. The onslaughts against recess persist today, even in the face of significant research supporting its educational value, a lack of research supporting a contrary view, and a rising awareness of the importance of play in general. Thus, it is useful to look anew at the arguments for and against recess and to be reminded of what the evidence does and does not show. AMJP 01_2 text.indd 181 9/8/08 4:07:23 PM 182 A m E R I C A N J O u R N A L O F P L A Y   •   F a l l 2 0 0 8 The Argument against Recess Breaks during the school day, like breaks from work on the factory assembly lines, have existed for nearly as long as each of those institutions has existed. Indeed, the rationale for breaks in both is very similar: after a reasonable amount of work, you need a break, if for no other reason than it may help you to be more productive. If you have never worked on an assembly line or do not remember your primary school days, perhaps you can remember driving on a long trip. You probably recall that the longer you drove the less attentive (and less safe) you became. If you pulled over for a rest or a break, you were more attentive (and safer) after you started again. This explains why many states have laws governing the length of time truckers and airline pilots can drive or fly without a break. This rather simple but powerful and widely understood benefit of breaks haSophia Pathways for College Credit – English Composition II SAMPLE TOUCHSTONE AND SCORING Nyeri Robison Sophia Pathways Comp II December 4, 2019 Who’s Hooked on Stanley Fish?: An Interpretation of Reader-Response Theory In 1980, literary scholar Stanley Fish published his famous book Is There a Text in this Class? Most widely-read from this text is the self-titled thirteenth chapter, which is seen as one of the primary texts that sparked what is known as ‘reader-response theory.’ This theory, some might know, is the belief that all readers can and do make their own meanings of texts, whether those be novels, stories, poems, plays, films, or even text-messages shared between friends. Such reader-made meanings or ‘responses’ are often separated and completely different from the intent of the text’s author; instead, they are mostly shaped by our communities – schools and classrooms, churches and religious groups, businesses and neighborhoods, families and friends, to list just a few examples– which offer and teach us different strategies to interpret texts and construct meanings. In other words, there are no fixed, objective, pre-determined textual meanings; rather we invent meanings as we encounter texts wearing the lenses of our own histories, personal experiences, sets of knowledge, and worldviews. This rather postmodern philosophy, however, is one that I want to challenge in part, since I believe it can work ironically to reinforce dominant power-structures and the status quo in our society. To understand the possible critiques of Stanley Fish’s theories, however, one must first understand what he argues. In “Is There a Text in This Class?” Fish works to calm the fears of other Comment [SL1]: Hi Nyeri! I’m looking forward to reading your essay today! Comment [SL2]: It’d be a good idea to introduce who Stanley Fish is and why this article was written in the first place. Comment [SL3]: This is a good summary of the theory presented. It would be good to lead off with what the article touched on first, then go into more detail about the theory that is presented. Comment [SL4]: Great thesis statement! Sophia Pathways for College Credit – English Composition II SAMPLE TOUCHSTONE AND SCORING literary scholars who think we need objective meanings in texts, standardized methods of interpreting these meanings, and prescribed ways of teaching students those methods. They believe that these strategies are required to prevent a fragmentation and eventual breakdown of meaning into an infinite, disorienting cloud of unique and isolated subjective interpretations. For example, in the case of Hamlet, what would happen if we strayed so far from Shakespeare’s intent for the play and interpreted it as being about space aliens taking the forms of royalty in the Danish court? What if the reader (the Subject) got too far from the text (the Object)? It is this fears that Fish tri