Workshops will be completed during class time. I will pass out instructions, with room to complete the
assignment on the instruction sheet. Bring something to write with. The grading will be
straightforward: credit, half-credit, or no credit. Grade evaluation will be based on completeness and
relevancefollow instructions, thoroughly, in effect. If you miss a workshop, you have one week (the
following week) to make it upat half creditduring office hours.
Instructions and Grading Criteria for Critical Thinking Questions (CTQs)
Critical Thinking Questions will be submitted in the labeled drop box on D2L. Do not put identifying language
(your name, my title, date, course subject or call number) on assignments posted in drop boxes. You may post
the Critical Thinking Question whenever the drop box is open, but the assignment must be posted
no later than
11:59 pm, Friday,
of the week the assignment is due. The question must address a
reading
from one of the
weeks specified on the syllabus. The assignment must be posted in the appropriate drop box on D2L. Each
CTQ is worth 8% each.
Due dates for the Critical Thinking Questions are on D2L. The aim of this assignment is to cultivate a readiness
and an ability to ask questions with a view, not to split hairs or attack, but to learn. You will develop a question;
contextualize the question; and help your reader understand the meaning of the question, as well as its relevance
to the assigned reading(s). Your question should be relevant to, and should help the reader better understand,
the text. Another aim of the assignment is to give you practice writing a focused, well-organized paragraph.
What to do
: In at least (these are minimums)
five
sentences and
ninety
words, formulate
one
(
only one
) focused
question, in a single paragraph. Try to make each sentence relevant to the development of the question.
Motivate
your question; help your reader understand what parts of the text moved you to ask your question.
Your question should be clearly relevant to the topic(s) of the reading. (Be sure to proofread.)
1.
Develop your question in a complete, well-organized paragraph. The paragraph must be a minimum of
five (5) sentences and a
minimum of ninety (90) words. For this assignment, do not go over 200 words.
The paragraph should be between 90-200 words. Every sentence must be complete and grammatical.
In a well-organized paragraph, pose a
single
focused question (only one question) and write at least four
other sentences that contextualize and elaborate, or develop and motivate, your question.
11
2.
Quotations must be two sentences or less. Quotations do not count toward the sentence or the word
count. Sentence and word counts apply to your writing, not to quotations. (So, if you quote two
sentences, the paragraph would have to be at least seven sentences long, including the quotation.)
Excessive quotation will lower your grade.
3.
You must include
at least one textual citation
per Critical Thinking Question.
To cite
the text means
that you directly refer to a reading. When you cite a texti.e., when you make direct reference to a
textyou
must
provide a page or paragraph number.
4.
(a
) Avoid asking yes or no questions.
(b)
Avoid asking questions that are
external
to the text,
questions that use the text as an occasion to ask general, free-floating questions. Your question should
ask something about the reading and help your reader understand the reading.
(c
) Avoid asking
questions about an imaginary readers
mental state
(e.g., Do you agree that the free market is…? or
Do you think socialism is a good idea?). (
d)
Avoid asking generic Why? questions, such as Why
do people do that? or Why are people treated unfairly? Such questions are overly general.
Questions that are focused and specific are much stronger and more interesting.
5.
Do not answer
your own question. Develop and motivate a question, but do not answer it. Be sure not
to ask questions that are, in fact, disguised opinions. (These are not opinion papers.)
6.
You can submit Critical Thinking Questions whenever you like, so long as you post them while the drop
box is open. (Please do not wait till the final minute before the assignment is due.) Format the files as a
PDF or a Word document. Name the file in this way: (your last name)_CTQ1 (or 3, 4, 5, etc.).
Example:
Lambert_CTQ1
.
Press ‘Submit’
when you upload the file. Call Tech Support (517-432-
6200) if you have technical difficulties.
7.
Lateness
: You can turn in a Critical Thinking Question up to three days late, but there will be a lateness
penalty. If you turn in the assignment
less than 36 hours late
(1.5 days late), your grade will be lowered
by 0.5 point (half a grade). If you turn the assignment
36 and 72 hours late
(1.5-3 days late), your grade
will be lowered by 1.0 point (a full grade). Assignments more than three days late will receive a 0.0.
Rubric criteria
: Grades for the Critical Thinking Questions will be a 4.0, 3.7, 3.5, 3.3, 3.0, 2.7…and so on.
4.0-3.5
o
Meets the minimum word and sentence counts (at least 90 words, at least 5 sentences), including the
question. Consists of one unified and cogent paragraph. Presents at least one complete citation.
o
Formulates one (only one) clear question that is relevant to the weeks assigned reading(s). The
paragraph and question are relevant to, and informative about, the text.
o
Demonstrates understanding of the assigned reading.
o
The writing stays on topic. The paragraph is well organized and unified. Well-written sentences; few, if
any, grammatical errors.
o
Avoids the weaknesses listed under point (4) above and uses only academic language.
3.3-2.5
(Any, or some combination, of the following)
o
Poses two or more questions. (You should avoid multiplying questions, or asking the same question in
two different ways. Settle on one, intelligible question.)
12
o
Asks a question about a previous weeks assigned reading.
o
The development of the question does not clearly engage the text, or veers away and talks about topics
tangential to the text.
o
The paragraph is shorter than 90 words or longer than 200 words; fewer than five sentences. No textual
citation. Written as two or more paragraphs.
o
Commits two or more of the errors listed under point (4) above.
2.3-1.3
(Any, or some combination, of the following)
o
Poses two or more questions.
o
Asks a question about a previous weeks assigned reading.
o
The question does not relate to the text or relevantly address any of the topics or ideas in the text.
Poorly organized and written; excessive grammatical errors.
o
The paragraph is shorter than 90 words or longer than 200 words; fewer than five sentences. No textual
citation. Written as two or more paragraphs.
o
Commits two or more of the errors listed under point (4) above.
o
The student gives an opinion of the text instead of posing a question about it. (This is not an opinion
paper.) The paragraph uses an outside source, a source external to the text assigned on the syllabus.
maximum 200 words