Peer Feedback: Skeleton Drafts

Alright, I confess: there’s really no such thing as a “skeleton draft.” I made that term up. But maybe it beats the other made-up term for the concept from a former student–brain vomit–that I was going to use for the truly useful designated task at hand:

1. Purge your mind of every little mote you know, think you know, want to know, know you don’t know, etc., about your topic.

   This won’t take all that long, and if you’re stuck between topics, do more than one; this may help you narrow it down. Empty your mind of what you already know, what you want to know, etc. about potential topics. If you’re debating multiple topics, maybe your classmates or I can help you if you post a bit about each.

   • Think about and answer the following questions for yourself:
     1. 1. What do you know?
        2. What do you think you know?
        3. How do you know what you know?
        4. What do you want to know?

2. Write it all down regardless of how it may sound: judgmental, backwards, wrong, right, accurate, correct, weird, useful, etc.

   You might find yourself a little startled by how judgmental you sound while thinking about a topic you haven’t put much thought toward in the past. Don’t waste time feeling bad; part of this assignment is for you to think through preconceived notions, what you’ve heard other people say, or potentially misplaced first impressions. Sometimes, though, you’ll end up cementing your initial impressions once you’ve taken the time to research and understand the subject. Either way, you’ll end up supporting your ideas in the essay itself.

3. This act should clear your mind of the matter, and then you’ll be able to see it all right there in front of you:

   pieces to manipulate, threads to follow, assumptions to dismiss / affirm, research to begin, facts to check, etc.

4. You can list it, bullet it, or write it out–no matter.

   Rather than regarding the process as busy work, make it a useful means of establishing the basis of a foundation for yourself.

5. There’s no need to polish this.

It’s simply a rough, rough beginning, a tool you’re building for yourself to establish a baseline for your ideas.

1. Return to this document throughout your research and writing process.

   Use it to assess your own evolution and as a resource for ideas as you build this assignment. Don’t just write it, submit it, and forget it; instead, use it

The skeleton draft is meant for you to empty your mind on topics you’re considering writing essay four about. BELOW THIS; IS MY ESSAY PROMT SO THE assignment above is what needs to be done. And hopefully we will match again to do my essay next.

What:

• Each and every person on this planet arguably has an idea of how to improve his immediate surroundings; you, as examples, might wish that the room you’re in was a different temperature, or you might wish that you didnt have to write the paper that this prompt introduces. Given that, I would also argue that each person on this planet has ideas concerning how to improve her household, town, country, or possibly even the world has a whole; as examples, you might have an excellent strategy to replant and maintain trees in urban societies, or you might believe that a global government would work better than our current system. So these ideas can exist on both the micro and the macro level.
• Essentially, then, what I am asking you to do for this assignment is to explore your image of an ideal you think would be beneficial to you and others around you. Choose something that is important to your life and times, a real issue / problem you can reach toward solving.
• Given that, there are many approaches you might take to writing this paper: you could present a problem and your solution for it (maybe you have some fantastic technological advances that will revolutionize bathrooms, trash removal, human relations, technology, hunger, a specific social issue, etc.); you could start from scratch and revamp the political system, the government, religion, your neighborhood, the education system, your household, etc.; you might explore what our society would be like if a historical event had not happened (911, the Vietnam War, a particular hurricane, etc.), or the contrary, that is, what the world would be like if other disasters continue to happen. To be clear, this bullet lists examples or possibilities, not limitations.
• The bottom line is that I want you to explore the ideas that are the most important and central to your life and how you might reconsider them.
• Get specific.
• Find and convince a specific audience to understand your perspective, and use pertinent research to support / make your claims.
• You are welcome to select the point of view / perspective (1st, second, etc.), but be consistent in its application.
• You are welcome to take this paper in any of a number of directions. The above-mentioned examples are only a few ideas that you might utilize when preparing your research and organizing your paper: ultimately, the final decision on what you do and how you do it is up to you. If you have an idea you are unsure about, please be sure to contact me before you begin any major effort therein.

Why:

• This assignment will serve as a continuation to effectively finding, evaluating, and incorporating outside sources into your writing.
• Please consider that while the topic you choose to write about and research certainly matters, we’re truly focusing on how you go about building and supporting your argument.
• Along the way, we will discuss the larger question, why bother using sources in my writing? In short, the academic world calls it information literacy: finding, evaluating, incorporating, and properly documenting research.
• You should become a bit of an expert on the idea you researchthat is, you should come to an understanding that is potentially outside of your own comfort zone. Pay attention to yourself as you write and research; you may, if you do this right, learn quite a bit about yourself (communications skills, reception to new ideas, etc.) and others around you.

How:

• You may organize this essay any way you see fitultimately, regarding organization, the final decision on what you do and how you do it is up to you barring the traditional five-paragraph essay approach.
• If you have an idea you are unsure about, please be sure to contact me before you begin any major effort therein.
• Don’t abandon the other kinds of writing we’ve been focusing on this semester; rather, use them in combination in this paper–use your voice.
• Balance your own ideas and outside sources/texts–if you’re looking for a ratio, ballpark 80% / 20%: 80% your ideas and voice / 20% cited material coherently integrated into your own 80%.

When:

1. You owe your rough draft to the appropriate forum by Thursday, April 16th, 11:55 pm.
2. You owe two of your peers feedback by Saturday, April 18th, 11:55 pm. If you simply tell one another how good their writing is and don’t illustrate that you’ve taken time and given thoughtful criticism, you will not receive credit for this–the most important–evaluation.
3. You owe your essay for grading by Saturday, April 25th, 11:55 pm. Submit your work as a single document in this order: cover sheet, essay, works cited, skeleton draft, interview notes, and self-evaluation.

Requirements:

• 5 pages for the final draft, and no, the cover page, skeleton draft, and work cited dont count toward page count.
• At this point in the semester, if you miss the page minimum, you will not earn higher than a D on this paper.
• 1 page minimum skeleton draft (writing what you already know before getting into any kind of research). Include itclearly labeledafter your works cited page in your final submission. There is a containing specific details.
• Incorporate an interview with a person / people who are meaningfully associated with your topic. You will conduct the interview yourselfbegin early; if you cant find an interviewee, you will be required to change topics. You may not interview family or friends for this requirement.
• You must provide contact information following the . Failure to observe this requirement will cost you a full letter grade.
• You must provide copies of your notes / interviews with the paper (or supply an audio file on the due date).
• You must incorporate a visual source specific to your topic. This might be a photo, an image, a graph, a chart, etc. Properly cite it:
• Use at least two other sources of your choice where necessary. Be certain to evaluate them (remember that Annotated Bibliography?! Apply those credibility evaluation skills!).
• Do not annotate your citations.
• Use proper MLA research and documentation skills, including a proper Work Cited page. Refer to the resources provided to you in Modules during the Annotated Bibliography unit of this course as references. Use the feedback in your Annotated Bibliography to fix previous mistakes.
• Complete and attach a self-evaluation form.
• Submit your work as a single document with a .doc or .docx file-type.

A Bit of Advice:

• Write to communicate a bigger picture. Remember: You’re not only writing about what you’re writing about; you’re also writing about what it means.
• Develop a strong thesis, and eventually use it (during revision) to unify and develop your essay with your audience fully in mind.

A Bit of Gloom and Doom:

• Failure to meet your peer review draft / feedback deadlines will cost you 25 points each from the course total.

• This assignment link will become unavailable shortly after the final copy due date and time–any papers past that point must be turned in but will not be accepted for a grade; there simply isn’t enough time for you to turn your work in late.

Generative AI: ChatGPT and Other Bots / Writing Tools / AI / Services:

• You must document any use of said resources, spellcheck/grammar checks included.
• You must not use generative AI for your assigned Writing.
• You must not use humanizing features or any other feature that alters your writing beyond simple spellchecks.
• Undocumented / unauthorized use of said resources may lead to initiation of the plagiarism process outlined elsewhere in the syllabus.
• If I suspect you have used said resources, you will be required to supply evidence of your process (brainstorming, drafts, etc.), beginning to end and possibly submit new work.

Other Info:

• use your voice.

• fully develop your ideas according to your thesis.

• please review the department grading standard included in the syllabus–it certainly applies.

• observe all minimum requirements.

• there are no brownie points for exceeding the minimum requirements (honestly).

• sentence level errors / mechanical errors should be kept to a minimum.

• do not write the classic, five or six paragraph essay (in either paragraph-count or spirit).

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