Perform a search for scholarly peered reviewed articles or other publications from reputable sources (as discussed in class)
For each publication you must use the Word template provided. You can type in your responses into the template for submission
Please be brief, concise, but thorough with your responses
Ensure that when you include the citation for source at the end of template, that it is in the proper APA format
If there is question in the template that does not apply to your publication, please put N/A and the rationale as to why
The information from this template is what you will present to the class for the Summary Article Presentations
Your final grade for this Summary Article will be based on turning in the Summary Article and performing the accompanying presentation. Your grade will be given after your in-class presentation. Your grade will be based on the content of your Summary Article and quality of your presentation. Please see rubric below.
Article Topic: Find aircraft accident with is related with maintenance dirty dozen
Topic: Application of Statistical Process Control Control and Quality Inspection to Improve a Medical Device Manufacturing.
I am conducting a research study in a medical device manufacturing company where I identified stent catheters with exposed outside wires. I collected data on their outer diameters of sample size 50 each categorized in 10. I would like to a tutor to help me in creating control charts for Statistical Process Control. That is calculate:
Upper specification limit
Lower Specification limit
Cp, and Cpk, mean
OR work on Taguchi Methods
And any other values under Statistical Process Control. I will provide more information as sonn as Study Daddy contacts me
In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:
Use descriptive statistics for business analysis
Perform regression analysis to address an authentic problem
Apply statistics in the business environment
Overview
You have been hired as a consultant by a large hospital chain. As part of its expansion plan, the organization wants to open a new hospital in a small- to medium-sized town (with a population of 10,000–50,000). Previously, senior management hired a market research firm to do an initial feasibility analysis. The firm presented the management team with two options:
Option A: Open a small facility of 90–100 beds.
Option B: Open a medium-sized facility of 300–350 beds.
The hospital’s vice president of operations and finance has tasked you with doing an in-depth analysis to determine which of the two options will be the most profitable, given the expense range of $55–$75 million. The hospital has provided you with a data set that contains data about admissions, personnel, and hospital beds, and attributes of the data such as outpatient visits, births, total expense, and census information.
PromptPart 1: Data Analysis Workbook
Analyze the data from the provided Hospital Data Set (linked below) and identify current and future trends and patterns in operations.
Descriptive Analysis: Open a new Excel file and title it Data Analysis Workbook. In the workbook, create a sheet titled P1_Descriptive Analysis. Present descriptive statistics (mean, median, standard deviation, and range) in a table for four attributes from the data set.
Analyze the current hospital data to identify trends and patterns in hospital admissions and costs.
Outliers: Identify any outliers that you see and explain how they have an impact on the overall admission and expense trends. Outliers are the data points that can have an impact on your averages and basic descriptive analysis.
Identify future trends and attributes that impact expenses and admissions by adding new sheets to your Data Analysis Workbook per the descriptions below.
Perform two bivariate regressions to provide recommendations.
For the first bivariate regression, the dependent variable should be Total Expense. Choose an independent variable from one of the remaining attributes.
Create a sheet titled P2_1st_Bivariate_Regression in your Data Analysis Workbook.
For the second bivariate regression, the dependent variable should be Admissions. Choose an independent variable from one of the remaining variables.
Create a sheet titled P2_2nd_Bivariate_Regression in your Data Analysis Workbook.
What would be the right attribute size (independent variable) seems most appropriate to lead you in the expense range of $55–$75 million?
Perform two multivariate regressions to provide recommendations.
For the first multivariate regression, the dependent variable should be Total Expense (the column in the data set). Choose two independent variables from one of the remaining attributes.
Within your Data Analysis Workbook, create a sheet titled P2_1st_Multi_Regression.
Which combination of the attributes seems most appropriate to lead you in the expense range of $55–$75 million?
For the second multivariate regression, the dependent variable should be Admissions (the column name in the data set). You should choose two independent variables from one of the remaining attributes.
Within your Data Analysis Workbook, create a sheet titled P2_2nd_Multi_Regression.
Which combination of the attributes would seem appropriate that would lead you in the expense range of $55–$75 million?
Part 2: Final Recommendation Analysis PowerPoint Presentation
Create a presentation designed for senior management and the board of directors to share the results of your analysis and provide your final recommendation.
Guidelines for Submission
To complete this project, you must submit the following:
Supporting Materials
The following resources support your work on the project:
You are a newly appointed county manager of Brown County, which is large suburban jurisdiction covering 1500 square miles. Reviewing the county budget by department you notice that infrastructure costs for water utilities comprises a large percentage of the public works department’s annual budget.
The Division of Public Works is the largest department in Brown County and the water utilities department in the Division of Public Works serves approximately 41,952 water customers. The utilities department currently operates 482 miles of water main with six water pump stations. The department also oversees 12 water storage facilities with a combined capacity of 67 million gallons.
You decide to embark on a performance measurement exercise of water utilities to help public works set a course to monitor operating efficiency and to justify potential capital expenses.
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: WHAT ARE WE MEASURING?
As a first step toward performance assessment, you decide to examine the operating ratio of the water utility. This measure represents the total costs for operation and maintenance of the water distribution system as provided by the accounting division of Public Works divided by the total revenues generated from water purchased by the public from the county utility department. Therefore, costs are expressed as a percent of total revenue. Hence an operating ratio of .20, or 20% (move the decimal two places to the right) indicates that operating and maintenance costs comprise 20% of operating revenue. A higher operating cost percentage indicates that operating expenses are increasing relative to revenue. Conversely, if the operating ratio is decreasing, expenses are decreasing, or revenue is increasing, or some combination of both.
WHAT IS “GOOD” PERFORMANCE?
To establish if a performance measure is “good” it needs to be compared to a standard or best practice results established by an independent professional association within specific industries. In the case of water utilities, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) establishes bench marking guidelines. AWWA, using data gathered from suburban counties throughout the U.S. similar to Brown County, established the top quartile for operating ratio at 45%. According the AWWA, this benchmark indicates financial efficiency of water operations.
ASSESS HOW THE WATER UTILITY IS DOING
The performance target goal for Brown County is .45 or 45%. Review the descriptive analysis of the operating ratios for FY 2019 and FY 2020. Describe the trends and assess the utility’s performance
Panarin Company entered into two contracts on the same date with Hjalmarsson Corporation. Panarin has provided the following analysis of price and cost for the contracts:
Contract AContract BContract price$125,000 $80,000 Cost of related goods 70,000 55,000 Gross profit (loss)$55,000 $25,000
Hjalmarsson, the customer, may cancel both contracts if either of them is not fulfilled by Panarin in a timely manner. Stand-alone prices are typically $120,000 for the goods in Contract A and $80,000 for the goods in Contract B.
Required:
Should the two contracts be combined for purposes of applying the five-step revenue recognition model?
What amount of revenue should Panarin associate with each of the contracts?
When should revenue be recognized on each of the contracts?
MSK Construction Company contracted to construct a factory building for $525,000. Construction started during 20X1 and was completed in 20X2. Information relating to the contract follows:
20X1 20X2
Costs incurred during the year $290,000 $150,000
Estimated additional cost to complete 145,000 —
Billings during the year 260,000 265,000
Cash collections during the year 240,000 285,000
Required:
Record the preceding transactions in MSK’s books assuming it recognizes revenue over time and uses costs incurred to measure the extent to which its performance obligation has been satisfied.
Record the preceding transactions in MSK’s books assuming it recognizes revenue at a point in time when control of the completed factory is transferred to the customer at the end of the project.
Prepare the entry to record the construction costs incurred. Hint: Use Cash, payables, materials, etc.
Prepare the entry to record the amounts billed to the customer.
Prepare the entry to record the cash receipts from the customer.
Prepare the entry to record the construction costs incurred. Hint: Use Cash, payables, materials, etc.
Prepare the entry to record the amounts billed to the customer.
Prepare the entry to record the cash receipts from the customer
Record the preceding transactions in MSK’s books assuming it recognizes revenue over time and uses costs incurred to measure the extent to which its performance obligation has been satisfied
ASSIGNMENT: Write a 3-4 page (approximately 700-1000 words) comparison/contrast essay in the informative mode. In addition, you must answer the “Think About Your Writing” questions, described below, beneath your essay.
Sample Comparison/Contrast Essay 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.
A. Instructions
Begin by choosing a topic for your comparison/contrast essay. You are free to select your own topic, or you may use one of the sample topics listed below. However, you should choose a topic that you have knowledge of so that you have sufficient points of comparison or contrast to discuss in your essay. You will need to compare or contrast two or three primary points about the two subjects you choose to write about, resulting in an essay with either four or six body paragraphs, an introductory paragraph, and a conclusion.
Compare or contrast two cities you’ve visited or that you’ve lived in
Compare or contrast two members of your family
Compare or contrast two sources of news
Compare or contrast two singers in different music genres
Compare or contrast two historical figures
Compare or contrast two artists (for example, Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso or Keith Haring and Andy Warhol)
Compare or contrast two eras in time
Compare or contrast two television series
Compare or contrast two types of technologies (for example, Android and Apple phones or PlayStation and Xbox)
Compare or contrast two medical topics (for example, traditional medicine and modern medicine or doctors and midwives)
Remember that the two subjects you choose should have a meaningful connection so that you can draw comparisons or contrasts between the two.
Your thesis should convey the main idea of the essay and clearly articulate what two topics you are comparing/contrasting. Because you are writing in the informative mode for this essay, you should use objective language. Remember that for this essay, you are not trying to persuade or convince the audience that one thing is better or worse than the other; you are instead informing the reader about the similarities or differences between the two subjects in an objective manner.
Please note that if you use information from any outside sources, you will need to cite them. Plagiarism is not acceptable in academic writing. The following resources will be helpful to you if you need to cite any sources:
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.
This page on the official APA Style website provides numerous examples of reference list formatting for various source types.
B. Think About Your Writing
After you’ve drafted your essay, answer the following questions about your writing. Include answers to all of the questions below your essay.
1. Did you use the point-by-point or block method to organize your body paragraphs? What made you decide to organize your essay in this way (3-4 sentences)? Sophia says: Consider the ways a comparison/contrast essay can be organized. Which organization did you choose and why?
2. In what ways did writing a comparison/contrast essay differ from the Narrative essay you wrote in Touchstone 1? Give specific examples (3-4 sentences). Sophia says: Consider how the structure, point of view, and purpose of the two essays differ.
3. Remember that the writing process is a recursive process, and your first draft of an essay is rarely your last. What part of the draft did you struggle with (3-4 sentences)? Sophia says: Think about how you could improve the draft if you continued the writing process with revision and editing.
C. Comparison/Contrast Guidelines
Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until your draft meets all of the guidelines.
Elements of a Comparison/Contrast Essay
❒ Are there significant points of comparison or contrast between the two subjects you have selected? ❒ Do you make clear comparisons or contrasts between the two subjects within the body paragraphs of the essay? ❒ Are the body paragraphs organized either by point or by subject? ❒ Have you used transitional words or phrases to indicate points being compared or contrasted? ❒ Does the essay have a clear and consistent focus of comparing and contrasting two subjects?
Thesis Statement
❒ Have you included a clear, focused, and detailed thesis statement? ❒ Does your thesis state the subjects to be compared or contrasted and include the two or three points of comparison or contrast? ❒ Is your thesis a single sentence located in the introductory paragraph?
Organization
❒ Is there an introductory paragraph that contains your thesis statement? ❒ Are there four or six total body paragraphs, each with a clear topic sentence? ❒ Is there a conclusion paragraph with a concluding statement? ❒ Have you used transitions to connect ideas between sentences and paragraphs?
Style and Tone
❒ Is the tone of the essay objective and informative? ❒ Have you carefully considered your word choices? ❒ Is the purpose of your essay clearly to inform the reader about the similarities or differences between the two subjects?
Conventions
❒ Have you checked your essay for grammatical and mechanical errors? ❒ Have you used spell check or another method to check spelling?
Before you Submit
❒ Have you included your name, date, and course at the top left of the page? ❒ Have you completed the “Think About Your Writing” questions? ❒ Is your essay between 3-4 pages (approximately 700-1000 words)?
D. Scoring
Your essay will be scored according to the Touchstone 2.1 Rubric, which considers required elements for a comparison/contrast essay, the thesis statement, focus, organization, style and tone, conventions, and answers to the “Think About your Writing” questions above.
E. Rubric
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Acceptable (75%)
Needs Improvement (50%)
Non-Performance (0%)
Comparison/Contrast Essay Elements Properly apply elements of a comparison/contrast essay.
Makes a clear and meaningful connection between two subjects related to one of the writing prompts; effectively organizes body paragraphs in one of the two prescribed ways and consistently uses transitional words or phrases to comparison/contrast ideas.
Makes a clear connection between two subjects related to one of the writing prompts; organizes body paragraphs in one of the two prescribed ways and often uses transitional words or phrases to comparison/contrast ideas.
Makes a predominately clear connection between two subjects related to one of the writing prompts; organizes body paragraphs in one of the two prescribed ways and occasionally uses transitional words or phrases to comparison/contrast ideas.
Makes a connection between two subjects related to one of the writing prompts, but the connection is not very clear or lacks meaning; attempts to organize body paragraphs in one of the two prescribed ways, but organization could use some work. May occasionally use transitional words or phrases to comparison/contrast ideas.
Does not make a connection between two subjects related to one of the writing prompts; the essay lacks organization and words or phrases characteristic of a comparison/contrast essay.
Thesis Statement State the focused central claim of the essay with the clear purpose of comparing/contrasting two subjects.
Has a clear, focused, and detailed thesis expressed in a single sentence that states the central claim of the essay; the thesis statement effectively communicates the two subjects that will be compared or contrasted and the two or three main points of comparison/contrast.
Has a clear and focused thesis expressed in a single sentence that states the central claim of the essay; the thesis statement communicates the two subjects that will be compared or contrasted and the two or three main points of comparison/contrast.
Has an acceptable working thesis that states a claim, but it may be somewhat unclear or unfocused or composed of more than one sentence; the thesis statement somewhat communicates the two subjects that will be compared or contrasted and the two or three main points of comparison/contrast.
Has a working thesis, but it is not clear and/or focused and/or it does not state a claim; the two subjects being compared or contrasted and points of comparison/contrast may not be clearly articulated.
Does not have an identifiable working thesis and/or the thesis is extremely unclear or unfocused; there are no subjects being compared or contrasted.
Organization Exhibit competent organization, flow, and writing techniques.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a strong thesis, an adequate number of body paragraphs (4-6), each with an effective topic sentence and a conclusion with an effective concluding statement; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is logical.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a thesis, an adequate number of body paragraphs (4-6), each with a topic sentence and a conclusion with a concluding statement; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is predominantly logical.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a thesis, an adequate number of body paragraphs (4-6), each with a topic sentence and a conclusion with a concluding statement, but some components may be ineffective; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is somewhat logical.
Is missing one of the required components of an essay or most of the components are ineffective; the sequence of sentences and/or paragraphs is frequently illogical.
Is missing multiple required components of an essay or all of the components are ineffective; the sequence of sentences and/or paragraphs is consistently illogical.
Style and Tone Establish an informative tone and make thoughtful choices.
Demonstrates thoughtful and effective word choices and uses a wide variety of sentence structures; establishes a consistently objective and impersonal tone that is appropriate to an informative essay.
Demonstrates effective word choices and uses a variety of sentence structures; establishes an objective and impersonal tone that is appropriate to an informative essay, with occasional minor exceptions.
Demonstrates generally-effective style choices, but may include poor word choice and/or repetitive sentence structures; primarily establishes an objective and impersonal tone that is appropriate to an informative essay; however, some sections express bias or include personal observations.
Frequently includes poor word choices and/or repetitive sentence structures; primarily establishes a tone that is subjective and personal observations and opinions are expressed frequently.
Consistently demonstrates poor word choices and/or repetitive sentence structures; tone is consistently subjective and the essay is dominated by personal observations and opinions.
Conventions Demonstrate command of standard English grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and usage.
There may be a few 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.
Think About Your Writing Reply to reflection questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; answers all reflection questions effectively, following or exceeding response length guidelines.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; includes multiple insights, observations, and/or examples; answers all reflection questions effectively, following response length guidelines.
Primarily demonstrates thoughtful reflection, but some responses are lacking in detail or insight; answers all reflection questions, primarily following response length guidelines.
Shows limited reflection; the majority of responses are lacking in detail or insight; answers reflection questions inadequately: may not answer all of the questions and/or may not follow response length guidelines.
Does not answer the majority of reflection questions or the majority of answers do not follow response length guidelines.
F. Requirements
Your draft must be 3-4 page (approximately 700-1000 words)
Guidelines must be followed or submission will not be graded
Double-space your draft and use one-inch margins.
Use an easily-readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Your draft must be original and written for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Your submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your draft.
Your submission must include your answers to the “Think About Your Writing” questions
Submit a only single file that contains all of the assignment components.
ASSIGNMENT: Select one of the following writing prompts and draft a 3-5 page (approximately 800-1300 words) informative essay. As a part of your completed draft, complete the color coding activity described below. In addition, answer the “Think About Your Writing” questions on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your draft submission.
Note: Touchstone 3 will be a revision of the draft that you submit for Touchstone 2.2.
Choose one of the following prompts for your informative essay.
PROMPT A: IMAGE ANALYSIS: Although we look at print advertisements every day, we often do not consider the ways in which they affect us. Visual images in ads can influence and persuade us, so it is important to evaluate them critically to understand their meanings. Good image analysis involves examination of the components of an image to gain an understanding of the whole.
Select an advertisement to analyze. The advertisement you choose should be directed towards a specific audience. To identify the intended audience, think about the members of the potential audience for the advertisement that you have chosen. Who are they? Ads for a beauty product, for example, may be aimed at young girls; ads for a deodorant might target men; a diaper commercial is likely intended for new parents; ads for cruise trips might be aimed at retirees. You can use any academically-appropriate advertisement to complete this assignment, as long as its intended audience is clearly identified.
Your thesis must inform the reader of your topic and purpose. Because you are writing in the informative mode, use objective language and a neutral point of view.
Draft an analytical essay that examines the audience, context, and purpose of the advertising image you’ve chosen. Read the article by Jenna Pack titled “Breaking Down an Image” found in the “Model Informative Essays” tutorial for ideas about how to write an image analysis. Your analysis should lead to a conclusion about the ad’s effectiveness, based on examination of its components. Include the image with your draft.
PROMPT B: EXTENDED DEFINITION: Define or redefine one of the following words:
Family
Success
Courage
Art
Beauty
In your draft, briefly explain how society, or the dictionary, defines the word you’ve selected, and then explain your unique or extended definition of the word. Provide examples and explanations to support your definition. Your thesis must inform your readers of your new definition and, because you are writing in the informative mode, you must use objective language.
Draft an extended definition essay that defines or redefines a word or concept. Read the article by Dan Richards titled “Digital Ethics” found in the “Model Informative Essays” tutorial for ideas about how to write an extended definition essay.
B. Think About Your Writing
As a part of your completed draft, complete the color coding activity and include answers to all of the questions below your draft.
PART 1: Color Coding Activity
Using the color codes provided, evaluate your draft as follows:
Use red text to indicate your thesis statement.
Use green text to indicate the topic sentence of each body paragraph.
PART 2: Questions
1. What is the significance of your essay? Why should readers care about what you have written? (2-3 sentences) Sophia says: Think about why you decided to analyze this particular image, or why you picked the word you chose to define. Your interest in in your subject matter should be clear to readers.
2. Which areas of your draft do you think will benefit most from revision? (2-3 sentences) Sophia says: Consider the organization, style, focus, development, and conventions of your draft. Which areas did you struggle to complete?
3. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your writing. How can you capitalize on your strengths and improve on your weaknesses in future essays? (3-4 sentences) Sophia says: Think about what was easy about writing the draft, and what was more difficult. For example, if you write paragraphs with strong topic sentences, but repeatedly use the same type of sentence to provide supporting details, you can improve your paragraphs by varying sentence structure.
C. Informative Draft Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until your draft meets all of the guidelines.
Essay Prompt: Image Analysis
❒ If you chose the image analysis prompt, have you analyzed and interpreted – and not just described – the ad’s design? ❒ Have you made conclusions about the audience and effectiveness of the ad? ❒ Did you include the image in your draft? ❒ Did you complete the color-coding activity? ❒ Is your draft 800-1300 words long?
Essay Prompt: Extended Definition
❒ If you chose the extended definition prompt, did you indicate how society defines the word you selected, and then explain your definition (or an extended definition) of it? ❒ Have you included examples and explanations to support your definition? ❒ Did you complete the color-coding activity? ❒ Is your draft 800-1300 words long?
Working Thesis
❒ Have you included a clear, focused, and detailed thesis statement? ❒ Does your thesis state the topic and purpose of your essay? ❒ Is your thesis a single sentence, and is it located in the introductory paragraph?
Focus and Organization
❒ Is there an adequate number of body paragraphs, each with a clear topic sentence? ❒ Is there a conclusion paragraph that makes a concluding statement? ❒ Are your draft paragraphs sequenced properly? ❒ Have you used transitions to connect ideas between sentences and paragraphs? ❒ Can your draft be described as having a good flow? ❒ Does your draft have a clear focus? ❒ Are all supporting details relevant?
Style and Tone
❒ Is the tone of your draft unbiased and informative? ❒ Is it clear that the purpose of your essay is to inform readers about your topic? ❒ Have you carefully considered your word choices?
Conventions
❒ Have you checked your draft for grammatical errors? ❒ Have you used Spell-Check or another method to check spelling? ❒ Have you punctuated your draft correctly?
Before You Submit
❒ Have you included your name, date, and course at the top left of the page? ❒ Have you completed the “Think About Your Writing” questions and color coding activity? ❒ Is your draft between three and five pages long (approximately 800-1300 words)
D. Scoring
Your draft will be scored according to the Touchstone 2.2 Rubric, which considers required elements for either the analysis essay or the definition essay, the thesis statement, organization, style and tone, focus, conventions, completion of the color-coding activity and answers to the “Think About your Writing” questions above.
E. Rubric
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Acceptable (75%)
Needs Improvement (50%)
Non-Performance (0%)
Image Analysis / Extended Definition Prompt A: Analyze an advertisement using parts to draw conclusions. Prompt B: Define a meaningful word or concept in a unique or compelling way.
Prompt A: Consistently goes beyond description to analyze the design choices made in the advertisement, including layout, color schemes, text, and/or other design components; effectively draws conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement. Prompt B: Defines a meaningful and nuanced word or concept in a coherent and compelling way, consistently using critical thinking and thoughtful discussion to explore the definition; consistently goes beyond traditional definitions to define or redefine the word in a new and unique way.
Prompt A: Primarily goes beyond description to analyze the design choices made in the advertisement, including layout, color schemes, text, and/or other design components; draws conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement. Prompt B: Defines a meaningful and nuanced word or concept in a coherent way, primarily using critical thinking and thoughtful discussion to explore the definition; primarily goes beyond traditional definitions to define or redefine the word in a new and unique way.
Prompt A: Includes some analysis of the design choices made in the advertisement (e.g., layout, color schemes, text, and/or other design components), but focuses primarily on description; somewhat effectively draws conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement. Prompt B: Defines a meaningful and nuanced word or concept adequately, but only sometimes uses critical thinking and thoughtful discussion to explore the definition; only sometimes goes beyond traditional definitions to define or redefine the word in a new and unique way.
Prompt A: Focuses heavily on description; analysis of the design choices made in the advertisement is limited or absent; conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement are very limited. Prompt B: Defines a word or concept, although critical thinking and thoughtful examination are largely absent; often relies too much on the traditional or dictionary definition and does not sufficiently explore a new or unique definition.
Prompt A: Does not describe or analyze the advertisement; does not draw conclusions about the advertisement. Prompt B: Does not define a word or concept from the list provided and/or does not explore the definition in a thoughtful or critical manner; relies almost entirely on the traditional or dictionary definition.
Working Thesis State the focused central claim of the essay.
Has a clear, focused, and detailed working thesis that is expressed in a single sentence that states the central claim of the essay.
Has a clear and focused working thesis that is expressed in a single sentence that states the central claim of the essay.
Has an acceptable working thesis that states a claim, but it may be unclear or unfocused, or consist of more than one sentence.
Has a working thesis, but it is not clear and/or focused and/or it does not state a claim.
Does not have an identifiable working thesis and/or the thesis is extremely unclear or unfocused.
Organization Exhibit competent organization, flow, and writing techniques.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a strong thesis; an adequate number of body paragraphs (3-6), each with an effective topic sentence; and a conclusion with an effective concluding statement; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is logical and flows well.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a thesis; an adequate number of body paragraphs (3-6), each with a topic sentence; and a conclusion with a concluding statement; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is predominantly logical and flows well.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a thesis; an adequate number of body paragraphs (3-6), each with a topic sentence; and a conclusion with a concluding statement; however, some components may be ineffective; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is somewhat logical, and may lack good flow.
Is missing one of the required components of an essay or most of the components are ineffective; the sequence of sentences and/or paragraphs is frequently illogical and lacks flow.
Is missing multiple required components of an essay or all of the components are ineffective; the sequence of sentences and/or paragraphs is consistently illogical and there is no flow.
Style and Tone Establish a consistent, informative tone and make thoughtful choices.
Demonstrates thoughtful and effective word choices and uses a wide variety of sentence structures; establishes a consistently unbiased and impersonal tone that is appropriate for an informative essay.
Demonstrates effective word choices and uses a variety of sentence structures; establishes an unbiased and impersonal tone that is appropriate for an informative essay, with occasional minor exceptions.
Demonstrates generally effective style choices, but may include poor word choice, and/or repetitive sentence structures; primarily establishes an unbiased and impersonal tone that is appropriate for an informative essay; but some sections express bias or include personal observations.
Frequently includes poor word choices, and/or repetitive sentence structures; primarily establishes a tone that is biased, and personal observations and opinions are expressed frequently.
Consistently demonstrates poor word choices and/or repetitive sentence structures; tone is consistently biased and the essay is dominated by personal observations and opinions.
Focus Include relevant details and draw effective connections.
Details are relevant and support the purpose of the essay; the writer consistently makes effective connections between the supporting details and the working thesis.
Details are relevant and support the purpose of the essay; the writer makes some effective connections between the supporting details and the working thesis.
Details are predominantly relevant and generally support the purpose of the essay, though some details may be irrelevant and/or distracting.
Details are often irrelevant and frequently distract from the purpose of the essay.
Details are irrelevant and distract from the purpose of the essay.
Conventions Demonstrate command of standard English grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and usage.
There may be a few 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.
Think About Your Writing Answer reflection questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; answers all reflection questions effectively, following or exceeding response length guidelines.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; includes multiple insights, observations, and/or examples; answers all reflection questions effectively, following response length guidelines.
Primarily demonstrates thoughtful reflection, but some responses are lacking in detail or insight; answers all reflection questions, primarily following response length guidelines.
Shows limited reflection; the majority of responses are lacking in detail or insight; answers reflection questions inadequately: may not answer all of the questions and/or may not follow response length guidelines.
Does not answer the majority of reflection questions or the majority of answers do not follow response length guidelines.
F. Requirements
Your draft must be 800 to 1300 words in length (approximately 3-5 pages).
Informative Draft Guidelines and Topic Selection Guidelines must be followed or your submission will not be graded.
Double-space your draft and use one-inch margins.
Use an easily-readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Your draft must be original and written for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Your submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your draft.
Your submission must include both your color-coded informative draft and your answers to the “Think About Your Writing” questions.
Submit a only single file that contains all of the assignment components.
ASSIGNMENT: Select one of the following writing prompts and draft a 3-5 page (approximately 800-1300 words) informative essay. As a part of your completed draft, complete the color coding activity described below. In addition, answer the “Think About Your Writing” questions on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your draft submission.
Note: Touchstone 3 will be a revision of the draft that you submit for Touchstone 2.2.
Choose one of the following prompts for your informative essay.
PROMPT A: IMAGE ANALYSIS: Although we look at print advertisements every day, we often do not consider the ways in which they affect us. Visual images in ads can influence and persuade us, so it is important to evaluate them critically to understand their meanings. Good image analysis involves examination of the components of an image to gain an understanding of the whole.
Select an advertisement to analyze. The advertisement you choose should be directed towards a specific audience. To identify the intended audience, think about the members of the potential audience for the advertisement that you have chosen. Who are they? Ads for a beauty product, for example, may be aimed at young girls; ads for a deodorant might target men; a diaper commercial is likely intended for new parents; ads for cruise trips might be aimed at retirees. You can use any academically-appropriate advertisement to complete this assignment, as long as its intended audience is clearly identified.
Your thesis must inform the reader of your topic and purpose. Because you are writing in the informative mode, use objective language and a neutral point of view.
Draft an analytical essay that examines the audience, context, and purpose of the advertising image you’ve chosen. Read the article by Jenna Pack titled “Breaking Down an Image” found in the “Model Informative Essays” tutorial for ideas about how to write an image analysis. Your analysis should lead to a conclusion about the ad’s effectiveness, based on examination of its components. Include the image with your draft.
PROMPT B: EXTENDED DEFINITION: Define or redefine one of the following words:
Family
Success
Courage
Art
Beauty
In your draft, briefly explain how society, or the dictionary, defines the word you’ve selected, and then explain your unique or extended definition of the word. Provide examples and explanations to support your definition. Your thesis must inform your readers of your new definition and, because you are writing in the informative mode, you must use objective language.
Draft an extended definition essay that defines or redefines a word or concept. Read the article by Dan Richards titled “Digital Ethics” found in the “Model Informative Essays” tutorial for ideas about how to write an extended definition essay.
B. Think About Your Writing
As a part of your completed draft, complete the color coding activity and include answers to all of the questions below your draft.
PART 1: Color Coding Activity
Using the color codes provided, evaluate your draft as follows:
Use red text to indicate your thesis statement.
Use green text to indicate the topic sentence of each body paragraph.
PART 2: Questions
1. What is the significance of your essay? Why should readers care about what you have written? (2-3 sentences) Sophia says: Think about why you decided to analyze this particular image, or why you picked the word you chose to define. Your interest in in your subject matter should be clear to readers.
2. Which areas of your draft do you think will benefit most from revision? (2-3 sentences) Sophia says: Consider the organization, style, focus, development, and conventions of your draft. Which areas did you struggle to complete?
3. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of your writing. How can you capitalize on your strengths and improve on your weaknesses in future essays? (3-4 sentences) Sophia says: Think about what was easy about writing the draft, and what was more difficult. For example, if you write paragraphs with strong topic sentences, but repeatedly use the same type of sentence to provide supporting details, you can improve your paragraphs by varying sentence structure.
C. Informative Draft Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until your draft meets all of the guidelines.
Essay Prompt: Image Analysis
❒ If you chose the image analysis prompt, have you analyzed and interpreted – and not just described – the ad’s design? ❒ Have you made conclusions about the audience and effectiveness of the ad? ❒ Did you include the image in your draft? ❒ Did you complete the color-coding activity? ❒ Is your draft 800-1300 words long?
Essay Prompt: Extended Definition
❒ If you chose the extended definition prompt, did you indicate how society defines the word you selected, and then explain your definition (or an extended definition) of it? ❒ Have you included examples and explanations to support your definition? ❒ Did you complete the color-coding activity? ❒ Is your draft 800-1300 words long?
Working Thesis
❒ Have you included a clear, focused, and detailed thesis statement? ❒ Does your thesis state the topic and purpose of your essay? ❒ Is your thesis a single sentence, and is it located in the introductory paragraph?
Focus and Organization
❒ Is there an adequate number of body paragraphs, each with a clear topic sentence? ❒ Is there a conclusion paragraph that makes a concluding statement? ❒ Are your draft paragraphs sequenced properly? ❒ Have you used transitions to connect ideas between sentences and paragraphs? ❒ Can your draft be described as having a good flow? ❒ Does your draft have a clear focus? ❒ Are all supporting details relevant?
Style and Tone
❒ Is the tone of your draft unbiased and informative? ❒ Is it clear that the purpose of your essay is to inform readers about your topic? ❒ Have you carefully considered your word choices?
Conventions
❒ Have you checked your draft for grammatical errors? ❒ Have you used Spell-Check or another method to check spelling? ❒ Have you punctuated your draft correctly?
Before You Submit
❒ Have you included your name, date, and course at the top left of the page? ❒ Have you completed the “Think About Your Writing” questions and color coding activity? ❒ Is your draft between three and five pages long (approximately 800-1300 words)
D. Scoring
Your draft will be scored according to the Touchstone 2.2 Rubric, which considers required elements for either the analysis essay or the definition essay, the thesis statement, organization, style and tone, focus, conventions, completion of the color-coding activity and answers to the “Think About your Writing” questions above.
E. Rubric
Advanced (100%)
Proficient (85%)
Acceptable (75%)
Needs Improvement (50%)
Non-Performance (0%)
Image Analysis / Extended Definition Prompt A: Analyze an advertisement using parts to draw conclusions. Prompt B: Define a meaningful word or concept in a unique or compelling way.
Prompt A: Consistently goes beyond description to analyze the design choices made in the advertisement, including layout, color schemes, text, and/or other design components; effectively draws conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement. Prompt B: Defines a meaningful and nuanced word or concept in a coherent and compelling way, consistently using critical thinking and thoughtful discussion to explore the definition; consistently goes beyond traditional definitions to define or redefine the word in a new and unique way.
Prompt A: Primarily goes beyond description to analyze the design choices made in the advertisement, including layout, color schemes, text, and/or other design components; draws conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement. Prompt B: Defines a meaningful and nuanced word or concept in a coherent way, primarily using critical thinking and thoughtful discussion to explore the definition; primarily goes beyond traditional definitions to define or redefine the word in a new and unique way.
Prompt A: Includes some analysis of the design choices made in the advertisement (e.g., layout, color schemes, text, and/or other design components), but focuses primarily on description; somewhat effectively draws conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement. Prompt B: Defines a meaningful and nuanced word or concept adequately, but only sometimes uses critical thinking and thoughtful discussion to explore the definition; only sometimes goes beyond traditional definitions to define or redefine the word in a new and unique way.
Prompt A: Focuses heavily on description; analysis of the design choices made in the advertisement is limited or absent; conclusions about the intended audience, and the likely impact and effectiveness of the advertisement are very limited. Prompt B: Defines a word or concept, although critical thinking and thoughtful examination are largely absent; often relies too much on the traditional or dictionary definition and does not sufficiently explore a new or unique definition.
Prompt A: Does not describe or analyze the advertisement; does not draw conclusions about the advertisement. Prompt B: Does not define a word or concept from the list provided and/or does not explore the definition in a thoughtful or critical manner; relies almost entirely on the traditional or dictionary definition.
Working Thesis State the focused central claim of the essay.
Has a clear, focused, and detailed working thesis that is expressed in a single sentence that states the central claim of the essay.
Has a clear and focused working thesis that is expressed in a single sentence that states the central claim of the essay.
Has an acceptable working thesis that states a claim, but it may be unclear or unfocused, or consist of more than one sentence.
Has a working thesis, but it is not clear and/or focused and/or it does not state a claim.
Does not have an identifiable working thesis and/or the thesis is extremely unclear or unfocused.
Organization Exhibit competent organization, flow, and writing techniques.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a strong thesis; an adequate number of body paragraphs (3-6), each with an effective topic sentence; and a conclusion with an effective concluding statement; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is logical and flows well.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a thesis; an adequate number of body paragraphs (3-6), each with a topic sentence; and a conclusion with a concluding statement; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is predominantly logical and flows well.
Includes all of the required components of an essay, including an introduction with a thesis; an adequate number of body paragraphs (3-6), each with a topic sentence; and a conclusion with a concluding statement; however, some components may be ineffective; the sequence of sentences and paragraphs is somewhat logical, and may lack good flow.
Is missing one of the required components of an essay or most of the components are ineffective; the sequence of sentences and/or paragraphs is frequently illogical and lacks flow.
Is missing multiple required components of an essay or all of the components are ineffective; the sequence of sentences and/or paragraphs is consistently illogical and there is no flow.
Style and Tone Establish a consistent, informative tone and make thoughtful choices.
Demonstrates thoughtful and effective word choices and uses a wide variety of sentence structures; establishes a consistently unbiased and impersonal tone that is appropriate for an informative essay.
Demonstrates effective word choices and uses a variety of sentence structures; establishes an unbiased and impersonal tone that is appropriate for an informative essay, with occasional minor exceptions.
Demonstrates generally effective style choices, but may include poor word choice, and/or repetitive sentence structures; primarily establishes an unbiased and impersonal tone that is appropriate for an informative essay; but some sections express bias or include personal observations.
Frequently includes poor word choices, and/or repetitive sentence structures; primarily establishes a tone that is biased, and personal observations and opinions are expressed frequently.
Consistently demonstrates poor word choices and/or repetitive sentence structures; tone is consistently biased and the essay is dominated by personal observations and opinions.
Focus Include relevant details and draw effective connections.
Details are relevant and support the purpose of the essay; the writer consistently makes effective connections between the supporting details and the working thesis.
Details are relevant and support the purpose of the essay; the writer makes some effective connections between the supporting details and the working thesis.
Details are predominantly relevant and generally support the purpose of the essay, though some details may be irrelevant and/or distracting.
Details are often irrelevant and frequently distract from the purpose of the essay.
Details are irrelevant and distract from the purpose of the essay.
Conventions Demonstrate command of standard English grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and usage.
There may be a few 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.
Think About Your Writing Answer reflection questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; consistently includes insights, observations, and/or examples in all responses; answers all reflection questions effectively, following or exceeding response length guidelines.
Demonstrates thoughtful reflection; includes multiple insights, observations, and/or examples; answers all reflection questions effectively, following response length guidelines.
Primarily demonstrates thoughtful reflection, but some responses are lacking in detail or insight; answers all reflection questions, primarily following response length guidelines.
Shows limited reflection; the majority of responses are lacking in detail or insight; answers reflection questions inadequately: may not answer all of the questions and/or may not follow response length guidelines.
Does not answer the majority of reflection questions or the majority of answers do not follow response length guidelines.
F. Requirements
Your draft must be 800 to 1300 words in length (approximately 3-5 pages).
Informative Draft Guidelines and Topic Selection Guidelines must be followed or your submission will not be graded.
Double-space your draft and use one-inch margins.
Use an easily-readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
Your draft must be original and written for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Your submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your draft.
Your submission must include both your color-coded informative draft and your answers to the “Think About Your Writing” questions.
Submit a only single file that contains all of the assignment components.