Lower
Division Oral and Written Communication
and
Related
Critical Thinking Skills Course
Position
Paper Assignment
Complete all of the
steps below (be sure to delineate each of the steps by number):
Step One: Identify
your selected topic. Be sure the topic
relates directly to family life issues. Successful completion of the assignment
should not require “research” other than review of readily available e-reserve
readings, notes from class discussions, discussions with available others, and
insights and information attained through your life’s experiences. If you find
that any other “formal” research is required to complete the assignment, it is
important to change topics.
Step Two: State your essay’s central thesis. Be sure your thesis relates directly to family
life and that it is very controversial to our deliberative community.
Step Three: Identify the central issue guiding your essay. Be sure that this issue reflects the
“true” locus of controversy related to your thesis. Be sure as well to frame
the issue as a question.
Step Four: Identify the most important relevant commonplaces
shared by all members of the deliberative community (including those who share
your perspective and those who disagree with your point of view on your
thesis).
Step Five: Prepare 1-2 double-spaced typed pages summarizing the most
compelling reasons in support of your thesis.
Step Six: Prepare 1-2 double-spaced typed pages summarizing the most
compelling reasons available to those who disagree with your thesis. On what
grounds do reasonable people disagree with you?
Assessment Criteria:
·
Completes all
of the steps above (meeting all
specified guidelines)
·
Provides clear
and concise overview of the central issue and related subordinate issues
·
Identifies and
explains key points of controversy among multiple perspectives
·
Clearly and
concisely articulates the author’s perspective
·
Provides
compelling, relevant, and comprehensive support for key claims and for
potentially controversial assumptions
·
Provides
logically coherent and internally consistent arguments in support of the
central thesis
·
Reflects
careful consideration of dissenting voices and divergent means of support
·
Provides a
means of accountability for those affected by the author’s perspective
·
Demonstrates sensitivity
and responsiveness to interests, needs, beliefs, and values of the broader
deliberative community
·
Clearly
communicates key ideas and perspectives
·
Adheres to
appropriate and relevant standards of communication, including grammar,
punctuation, and spelling