Category: English

What You Will Learn: In this Touchstone, you will practice your critical reading skills by summarizing and responding to the source you found in Touchstone 1.1. You will deepen your ability to engage with scholarly or credible information, build your analytical thinking, and prepare for future academic writing (including your final paper for this course).

Why It Matters: Learning to carefully summarize and thoughtfully respond to sources is critical for academic and real-world success. Whether you’re supporting a business plan, drafting a research paper, or making personal decisions, being able to accurately understand and critically evaluate information helps you communicate more effectively and make stronger arguments.

What You Will Hand In: A 23-page paper that provides a detailed summary of the source’s argument. You’ll also respond to that argument with your own thoughts based on the source, including examples from the source (quotes or paraphrases of specific lines). See Step 2 for more details.

Keys to Success:

• Develop and submit your own original work.
• Read your source a few times and take notes using the SQ3R strategy you learned.
• Summarize the key arguments of the source.
• Provide your analysis and reflections based on the source.

Helpful Links:

Instructions

Step 1: Read and Process Your Source

Your source should offer clear, trustworthy information that helps you understand your topic more deeply. Using SQ3R helps you stay engaged, remember more, and prepare for future assignments where youll build on your research. To read your source critically and effectively, use the SQ3R method, which stands for:

• Survey: Skim the source to get a general idea of its structure and content. Look at headings, subheadings, visuals, and the introduction and conclusion.
• Question: Turn headings and key points into questions. What do you want to learn? What does the title make you curious about?
• Read: Read the source carefully to find answers to your questions. Take notes as you go.
• Recite: Summarize key points in your own words. Try saying them out loud or jotting them down without looking back.
• Review: Revisit your notes and the source. What were the most important ideas? How do they help you understand your topic?

You should also review the tutorials that introduce how to think about and understand what you read: , , , .

Step 2: Write a Summary and Response of the Article (23 pages)

Your essay should include three parts:

• Summary: What is the authors main point? What question(s) are the author(s) trying to answer, and what are their findings? What is the central argument? What kind of evidence supports their claims? Is there a place where you noted a strong argument or one that could be better developed?
• Analysis: Write a short analysis of the article. Is the argument well-reasoned and supported by evidence? Do you notice any biases or assumptions? What is your response to the ideas in the article? You can agree, disagree, extend, or question ideas in the source.
• Usefulness: Evaluate how well the source would support a student research project. How can this source contribute to a future essay that you might write? Do you have further questions, including ones for future research? How might it come in handy to back up a claim (or address a counterclaim)?

Step 3: Review and Submit

• Review the rubric to confirm that you have met all the requirements of the Touchstone. Once you are happy with it, you can submit it as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) file. Your submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your assignment.

Rubric Advanced (100%)Proficient (85%)Acceptable (75%)Needs Improvement (50%)Non-Performance (0%)Summary of the Source

Clearly and accurately summarizes the sources main argument, purpose, and supporting points. (20%)

Provides a concise and accurate summary of the sources main argument and key points, including authors purpose, evidence, and conclusions.Summary has only minor omissions or unclear areas.Summary is present but lacks clarity or detail; some key ideas are missed or misrepresented.Summary is vague or inaccurate, missing multiple key ideas or points.No summary is provided, or summary is entirely inaccurate.Analysis of the Source

Critically evaluates the articles reasoning, evidence, and assumptions. (20%)

Provides a thoughtful, well-supported analysis of the articles logic, evidence, and potential biases. Demonstrates strong critical thinking.Analysis addresses key points and assumptions.Analysis shows an attempt to engage critically but is vague, overly general, or lacks support.Analysis is minimal or mostly a summary.No analysis is provided, or analysis is unrelated to the article.Usefulness of the Source

Evaluates how the source might be used in a future essay or research context. (10%)

Provides a well-reasoned and specific evaluation of how the source could support a research project, including how it could be cited or used to address a counterargument.Explains how the source is useful, with mostly clear reasoning and appropriate examples.Offers a general statement of usefulness but lacks specificity or clear application to research.Mentions usefulness in vague or unsupported terms; lacks explanation.No evaluation of usefulness is provided.Response to the Source

Engages with the articles ideas and reflects on their meaning. (15%)

Responds to the article by extending, challenging, or questioning its ideas, with well-supported reasoning.Responds to the article, offering a clear stance or reaction.Provides a response without engaging with the article’s ideas or reflecting on their meaning.Response is minimal or largely summary, with little original thought.No response is provided, or response is unrelated to the source.Structure and Organization

Essay is clearly organized with effective transitions and paragraphing. (10%)

Well-organized; introduction includes clear thesis, body paragraphs follow logical progression, and conclusion effectively summarizes.Organized overall, with clear introduction, body, and conclusion; some transitions may be weak.Basic organization present, but transitions are lacking, or structure is difficult to follow.Poorly organized or confusing; lacks clear structure.No discernible organization or structure.Style

Establishes a consistent, informative tone and makes thoughtful stylistic choices. (10%)

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 choices, 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 and Proofreading

Demonstrates command of standard English grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and usage. (10%)

There are 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.APA Citation

Includes correct APA in-text and reference citations for the source. (5%)

Accurate APA in-text and reference citations included with no formatting errors.Citation is mostly correct; only minor formatting issues present.Citation is present but includes several errors in content or format.Citation is incomplete or severely flawed.No citation provided, or citation is not in APA format.

Assignment: Choose ONE chapter from the list below and write a review paper: Please use the template to complete this assignment and look at the instructions Im a COUC students: so please focus on Chapter 14. This is Chapter Review Paper 2. Directions in the file, Please use the template. Please look at the document How heading should look as a guide along with the authors note. use the name and email in that same file. Book Name: King, J.A. & Ford, K. (Eds.) (2024). Christian Integration in Counselor Education. Kendall Hunt. ISBN: 9798765781876. I dont have the textbook but this is the name of the book. I did upload a document of what the book talks about and useful info about the book that I found online and that chatgpt talked about what the book was about. please do not use any ai my school is strict on ai and please do not use grammarly.

1. Watch the The TED site includes a transcript as well.
2. After watching the speech, try to summarize Leonards thesis in your own words. Write down your summary.
3. Find the sentence in Leonards speech that seems like the clearest articulation of her thesis. Write it down, and compare it to your own version.
4. Draw a map/diagram of Leonards argument. Your map can be as plain or as artistically inventive as you want, as long as you cover the following points:
5. The end point should be the thesis the claim that Leonard is tried to prove.
6. What are the steps on the way to this claim? Your map should include the major moves in Leonards argument (as short summaries, not as full quotations).
7. What evidence does Leonard use to support each of the moves in her argument? Add this evidence (as keywords, not as whole sentences) to your diagram or map.
8. In the end, you should have a diagram or map of Leonards argument that shows the major supports for her claim, as well as the evidence that backs up these supports. Which piece of evidence do you find most convincing? Are there any pieces of evidence you dont find convincing?

You can handwrite part or all of this assignment if you wish and upload it as a photo as part of your submission.

Write a Valentines Day Poem. Write a poem about the untraditional things people do on Valentines Day that still show signs of love.

For this discussion, you will select one of the school districts in Florida and research their ELL and/or ESOL programs. Answer the following questions: 1. What model program(s) is/are offered to ELLs in the school district? 2. Describe the model and explain if it would fall under any of the models described in Chapter 3 or in this module. 3. Based on what you have learned in this module, what is your opinion of this program?

Part 1

You have identified a country( Japan) , choose a client organization and you will write the executive brief for. You will be writing an email to the client introducing yourself and presenting several observations of why there is potential for them to do business in the chosen country.

After researching the client and organization you have chosen – share 3 things you are learning about your country that are relevant to your client’s needs, and will be the start of deeper research to develop insights for the executive brief.

Using AI would be an acceptable way to start. Try out a couple of prompts to identify 3 topic areas to pursue. Look for information where your reaction is: I never knew that before! and I never thought about it that way before… Does it remind you of something you have learned from the chapter readings that was new knowledge for you?

Share the most successful AI prompt you used for results in the discussion forum – one that gets results with high potential for further research. Write in your own words a sentence describing each of the 3 topic areas you identify, and the source AI lists.

Part 2:

Your boss wants you to keep them and your colleagues up to date on your project progress!

By the end of the week (ideally Friday) updating your choice of client and organization, and why you selected them as the focus for the executive brief assignment. After researching their organization, and a quick hit searching for insights on the organizations mission could play out in the selected country – where is your thinking going on how to approach the project?

You can pose questions occurring to you, hunches you have, and even ask if any colleagues have any suggestions or insights from experience about the client, industry, or their mission to do business in that country.

This check-in builds on the closed research theme readings you read for the Module 2, Module 3, and Module 4 Closed Research Theme Reading Check-Ins. As you are now starting to work on your research project, it’s time to dive into some of the background reading for this closed research theme to help support your independent research for your final argument paper. For this check-in, please do the following. Select at least ONE of the background readings from the closed research theme list for this class (in Modules). Read the background reading you selected. NOTE: The Background Readings are listed at the BOTTOM of your Closed Research Theme Module. Click the Submit Assignment button. In the text entry box for this assignment, write or copy the title of the background reading you selected. Then answer at least ONE of the following questions. Please write a total of at least 75 words, not counting the background reading title. You may write more! How does this background reading relate to the readings you have already read and commented on? How does this background reading respond to the guiding theme question for this class? Does the background reading bring in a new angle or perspective that helps you better understand the closed research theme? Does the background reading suggest more angles for further research? For example, does it raise questions, provide links, or suggest additional readings to pursue? If you prefer, you can type your answers in a Word file and upload your file. When done, click the Submit Assignment button. woman in red and white plaid long sleeve shirt using platinum coloured microsoft surface laptop computer