Unit 1 Assignment – Personal Essay (ENG110) & Unit 2 Assignment – Supporting Paragraph (ENG110)

 

Unit 1 Assignment – Personal Essay Submission Link

For your first written assignment, you will write a personal essay based on your past experiences. Within that story, you will need to show what happened as the plot of the story unfolded, include details of the people/locations within the story, and reflect on what you learned from the story.

Details of this assignment are available here

 

 

Unit 2 Assignment: Supported Paragraph Submission Link (ENG110)

In this assignment, you will be creating one paragraph in which you respond to a question with evidence and practice writing in the third-person perspective.Read the  

assignment sheet

assignment sheet – Alternative Formats

for the detailed instructions, grading criteria, and grading rubric. 

Due Date: 11:59 p.m. EST, Sunday, of Unit 1
Points: 100

Overview:

In the introduction to the unit, you learned about the elements of a personal essay. Now,
you will write that essay. The experience you write about does not have to be
monumental. It just has to be significant to you. Your essay should be a true story, or
narrative, focusing on a place. Within that story, you will need to determine what
happened at this place, who were the important people there, what was said, and what
you learned.

Instructions:

• Create a personal essay about a specific place that is the most memorable for

you and where you had a positive experience. (Please be aware that if you share

information that is distressing, then your instructor is mandated to share that

information with our counseling center.)

• Consider the following questions when starting your essay:

o What is a specific place that is particularly memorable to you?

o What happened at this place that makes it so important to you?

A personal essay is a combination of the description of the action or plot, details about
the people/location of the essay, and reflection on what happened:

• Begin by describing the place. Try using each of the five senses to show the

reader what the place is like.

• Consider the best conversations you had at the place and include that dialogue

in your message.

• Finally, be sure to offer your thoughts on the experience and what you learned

from it.

Requirements:

• Please submit a Microsoft Word document or PDF.

ENG110 – College Writing

Unit 1 Assignment: Personal Essay

• The assignment should be two to three pages in length and should include the

following:

o An APA-style title page (see Unit 1 documents for a sample)

o 1–2 pages for the full essay content

o Double-space the assignment and use 1-inch margins.

o You should use an APA-recommended font; 12 Times New Roman font is

suggested (see Unit 1 documents under the Title page for a list of other

acceptable fonts).

• You need an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion for this essay.

o The introduction should set up what specifically the reader needs to know

before you get into the main action of the essay. You can also include a

thesis, or a controlling idea statement, that lets the reader know your

purpose for writing the essay.

o Your body paragraphs should focus on one specific part of the experience

each. Please do not try to include too much information in each

paragraph.

o Finally, the conclusion will wrap up the essay and show how the action in

the essay was resolved.

• Your writing should be free of punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors and

should contain appropriate word choice for an academic setting with a clear

sentence structure.

• Utilize the senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) to help you tell the story.

Be sure to read the criteria by which your work will be evaluated before you write
and again after you write.

Evaluation Rubric for the Personal Essay Assignment

CRITERIA Novice Needs Improvement Proficient Exemplary

Introduction
and
Conclusion

(0–11 Points) (12–15 Points) (16–17 Points) (18–20 Points)

The introduction
and/or conclusion
are not present.
The
introduction/conclu
sion is very hard to
understand and
significantly
missing details.

The introduction and
conclusion are
attempted. The
introduction and
conclusion may be
lacking details to
properly set up and
then wrap up the
essay. The
introduction/
conclusion is not
related.

The introduction
and conclusion
nicely set up and
wrap up the
essay. The
introduction/conc
lusion could
relate better.

The introduction and
conclusion effectively
set up and wrap up the
essay. The
introduction/conclusion
relates well to each
other.

Organization
and
Structure

Many details are
not in a logical or
expected order.
The paper does
not use
paragraphs, or
they do not each
focus on one part
of the experience
each.

Writing may have
some discernible
organization, but
some details are not
in a logical or
expected order. The
paper uses
paragraphs
ineffectively by lacking
some focus on one
part of the experience
each.

Writing is
organized, and
details are
placed in a
logical order.
Paragraphs are
mostly used
effectively and
generally focus
on one part of
the experience
each.

Writing is effective,
purposeful, and well
organized. Paragraphs
are used effectively
and focus on one part
of the experience
each.

Story There is no clear
story because of a
lack of
development of
the plot,
people/location
within the
narrative, and
reflection provided.

Some aspects of a
story exist through the
development of the
plot, people/location
within the narrative,
and reflection
provided.

Many aspects of
a story exist
through the
development of
the plot,
people/location
within the
narrative, and
reflection
provided.

A clear story exists
through the
development of the
plot, people/location
within the narrative,
and reflection
provided.

CRITERIA Novice Needs Improvement Proficient Exemplary

Description
and Details

Content does not
include any
description or
details that utilize
the senses.

Content includes very
little description or
details that utilize the
senses.

Content includes
some description
or details that
utilize the
senses.

Content includes
descriptions or details
that effectively utilize
the senses.

Paper
Length

(0–5 Points) (6–7 Points) (8 Points) (9–10 Points)

Significantly less
than 1 page or
significantly more
than 2 pages.

Only half a page in
length.

Only three
quarters of a
page in length.

One to two pages in
length.

Clear and
Professional
Writing and
APA Format

Writing is hard to
understand
because of errors
in grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation. Word
choice is
inappropriate for
an academic
setting. Sentence
structure is often
unclear. APA
format is not
followed.

Writing is sometimes
difficult to understand
because of several
errors in grammar,
punctuation, and
spelling. Word choice
is sometimes
inappropriate for an
academic setting.
Sentence structure is
sometimes unclear.
APA format is
sometimes followed.

Writing is easy to
understand
despite minor
errors in
punctuation,
spelling, and
grammar.
Appropriate word
choice is used
for an academic
setting.
Sentence
structure is
mostly clear.
APA format is
mostly followed.

Writing is free of
almost all punctuation,
spelling, and grammar
errors. Appropriate
word choice is used for
an academic setting.
Sentence structure is
clear. APA format is
followed.

ENG110– College Writing

Unit 2 Assignment: Supported Paragraph

Due Date: 11:59 p.m. EST, Sunday, of Unit 2
Points: 100

Overview:

Read this article: Debate on Face Masks Divides Air-Travel Industry

• Gangitano, A. (2020, August 6). Debate on face masks divides air-travel industry. The
Hill, https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/510791-debate-on-face-masks-divides-
air-travel-industry

You will be creating one paragraph that answers the following question:

• Why or why not should passengers be required to wear a face mask on a plane?

You will write that paragraph in third person (he, she, they, one, it, people) and
not use first (me, us, our, we, my, I) or second person (you, your). Most
academic writing is done in third person rather than first or second person
because the writing is more objective.

The key to this assignment is to make sure that the seven-to-nine sentence
paragraph you write only has one topic and includes evidence to support that
topic. Review the Citing Evidence interactive in this unit for information on how to
include a direct quote in your work. Your evidence should go in the middle of the
paragraph so that you can completely introduce it and explain how it supports
your topic. (See step-by-step instructions about creating a paragraph with
evidence.)

Instructions:

Answer the question above in one paragraph comprised of at least seven (7) to nine (9)
sentences. You should use one direct quote from the article.

1. First, begin your paragraph with a clear topic sentence that states where you

stand on the question above.

2. Next, include supporting sentences that explain and prove your topic. Next,
remember to not use the words “me,” “I,” “us,” “we,” “our,” “you,” and “your”.

3. Then, in the center of your paragraph, include a direct quote from the reading as

one piece of evidence to support your topic with an in-text citation that looks like
this: (Gangitano, 2020, p. #).

https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/510791-debate-on-face-masks-divides-air-travel-industry

about:blank

https://post.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_6124252_1&course_id=_100389_1

4. Finally, comment on and explain the quotation and wrap up your paragraph with
a concluding sentence.

Requirements:

• Please submit a Microsoft Word document or PDF.

• Include a title page, a proper font case per APA standards (Times New Roman
12 font is suggested), and a references page. The document should have 1-inch
margins and should be double-spaced.

• The direct quote should be included within the center of the paragraph (as

opposed to at the start or end).

• Use objective third-person language: “he,” “she,” “it,” “him,” “her,”
“himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “they,” “them,” “their,” “themselves.” (Avoid
subjective language such as “I,” “me,” “you,” “we,” “us,” etc.)

• The paragraph should be at least seven (7) sentences in length.

• Follow proper APA formatting when citing the quote and include the article’s

reference double-spaced on a reference page. For the reference page,
simply label the last page of your document References and add this
reference:

o Gangitano, A. (2020, August 6). Debate on face masks divides air-
travel industry. The Hill,

https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/510791-debate-on-face-
masks-divides-air-travel-industry

• When using a reference, you indent after the first line
of the reference (as seen above).

Be sure to read the criteria by which your work will be evaluated before you
write and again after you write.

Evaluation Rubric for Supported Paragraph Assignment

CRITERIA Novice Emerging Competent Exemplary

Direct
Quoting

(0–14 Points) (15–19
Points)

(20–22
Points)

(23–25 Points)

Direct quoting is
not incorporated in
the paragraph or
does not relate to
the topic of the
paragraph. No in-
text citations are
used.

Direct quoting
is attempted but
is not
incorporated in
the paragraph
correctly. In-text
citations may
not be included
or may not be
properly
formatted.

Direct quoting is
present in the
paragraph and
offers basic
support to the
topic of the
paragraph.
In-text citations
include very
few errors.

Direct quoting is
present, is
incorporated
properly, and
supports the topic
of the paragraph.
In-text citations
are included and
properly
formatted.

Topic and
Supporting
Sentences

No topic sentence
is used to focus
the paragraph,
and the overall
paragraph does
not have a clear
topic, is not
formatted as a
paragraph, and
includes no
supporting
sentences.

A topic sentence
is attempted to
focus the
paragraph but is
at times either too
general or too
specific. The
paragraph itself
sometimes gets
off-topic and/or
includes
supporting
sentences that do
not relate to the
topic.

A topic sentence
is attempted to
focus the
paragraph and is
generally well
crafted. The
paragraph itself
sometimes gets
off-topic and/or
may include some
supporting
sentences that
could relate better
to the topic.

A topic sentence
is attempted that
effectively focuses
the paragraph.
The paragraph
itself stays
consistently on
topic and includes
supporting
sentences that
relate well to the
topic.

Objective
Voice

(0–11 Points) (12–15
Points)

(16–17
Points)

(18–20 Points)

The writer’s voice
is not objective.
First and second
person are used
consistently.

The writer’s
voice is not
always objective.
Third person is
used incorrectly,
and first/second
person is often
used.

The writer’s
voice is mostly
objective, using
third person and
only occasionally
slipping into first
or second person.

The writer’s
voice remains
objective, using
third person
without slipping
into first or
second person.

Paragraph
Length

(0–5 Points) (6–7 Points) (8 Points) (9–10 Points)

Paragraph is only
one sentence.

Paragraph is
between 2 and
4 sentences.

Paragraph is
between 5 and
6 sentences.

Paragraph is at
least 7 sentences
in length.

CRITERIA Novice Emerging Competent Exemplary

APA Format APA format is not
followed.

APA format is
sometimes
followed.

APA format is
mostly followed.

APA format is
followed.

Grammar and
Mechanics

Writing is hard to
understand
because of errors
in grammar,
spelling, and
punctuation.
Word choice is
inappropriate for
an academic
setting. Sentence
structure is often
unclear.

Writing is
sometimes difficult
to understand
because of
several errors in
grammar,
punctuation, and
spelling. Word
choice is
sometimes
inappropriate for
an academic
setting. Sentence
structure is
sometimes
unclear.

Writing is easy to
understand
despite minor
errors in
punctuation,
spelling, and
grammar.
Appropriate
word choice is
used for an
academic
setting.
Sentence
structure is
mostly clear.

Writing is free of
almost all
punctuation,
spelling, and
grammar errors.
Appropriate word
choice is used for
an academic
setting. Sentence
structure is clear.

Overview:
Instructions:
Requirements: