The Critique Essay

Writing Assignment #1 will be acritique essay.

Courses that fulfill the General Education Requirements (GERs) at UMUC all have a common theme—technological transformations. In following this theme this semester in WRTG391, you will be critiquing an author on her views on online writing courses.

The critique essay asks you tolook at a source with a critical eye and discuss its strengths and weaknesses. It will incorporate source material summary into its discussion but will also evaluate that source material.

Please write your critique essay on the following article. This article is available to you in the ereserves section of our class.

Kiefer, K. (2007). Chapter 8: Do students lose more than they gain in online writing classes? In,Brave New Classrooms(pp. 141-151). Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Considerations for this Essay:

You are taking WRTG 391 online or in hybrid format. In either case, you are involved significantly in online instruction in your class.

Kiefer argues in her essay that writing courses may not work well online. She provides various reasons for making her argument.

Youmight agree with her. Or youmight agree with her on some points but question her on other points. Or youmight disagree with her entirely. In this essay, you will evaluate her arguments and critique them.

In this essay, you will do the following:

Introducethe topic and introduce the author and essay. Thenstate your thesis.
Summarizethe author’s argument or arguments. Your opinion is not included here. You simply summarize the author’s points.
Critiquethe author.
Evaluatethe author’s argument or arguments.
Respondto the author. Note what you agree with and what you disagree with. You willincorporate at least two other sourcesinto this evaluation and response.
Concludethe essay.

Module 1in our class, which can be accessed in Content, provides additional advice on organizing the critique.

In addition, clickherefor avideo tutorial on organizing a critique essay.

Submitting the assignment:
Using the guidelines provided by the texts, please post a rough draft of your critique essay as your instructor directs you. Please use at least two credible sources other than Kiefer to help support your critique. Remember that a critique doesn’t necessarily need to be “negative” in order to be successful. You need to show that you are able to determine the validity of the material that you read.

After receiving feedback from your instructor on your critique essay, please use the comments from your instructor in revising the draft.

Please post your final draft of the Critique Essay as your instructor directs you. The final draft should be approximately 650-800 words. It should follow standard APA guidelines in citing the sources and should include a “References” page at the end of the essay to list the sources.

The following is a suggested rubric. Instructors may adjust the rubric as desired.

The introduction identifies the author and article in the introduction

5

The introduction states a solid thesis in the introduction

10

The essay adequately summarizes the author’s position without stating the writer’s position in the summary

25

The essay critiques the author’s position by evaluating the author’s argument

10

The essay critiques the author’s position by adequately developing the student’s response

10

The essay integrates at least two other sources in critiquing the author’s position

10

The essay uses accurate grammar and mechanics

20

The essay uses accurate APA format