What makes that information important?
English 101
Communicating Experiences Skill-Building Assignment
Instructions: Please type in answers to the questions in this assignment, then upload the assignment as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf to the correct dropbox in Blackboard (make sure it is saved as one of those file types, since Blackboard won’t read it otherwise). I will apply the rubric (available at the end of the document, and on Blackboard) to your answers for each question. If you have any unsatisfactory scores, you may resubmit up to twice in the two weeks after the assignment due date (August 28).
For each scenario presented, answer the questions below the scenario; each should take you at least a paragraph to explain. Note that for the “additional information” contextual questions you may want to phrase your answer as a question, like “why is he so sad,” rather than a factual answer, like “he is sad because his dog died,” because the actual contextual information is not provided.
Scenario 1:
Simba has had an interesting summer break. He saw his father die at the hands of a stampede of water buffalo. His uncle became king as a result of his father’s death. He ran away after seeing his father’s death, and spent the summer hanging out with two new friends dancing the hula and eating insects. He has grown a beard, and started working out. As a result, he has a new girlfriend as well, an old friend he reunited with over the summer.
His professor assigns him an essay on how he spent his summer vacation.
- Which piece of information about his summer break do you think is most important for him to center his response on, and why?
- What is one piece of additional information about who Simba is, what he has been doing, or why he has been doing it that is not present in the description that you think might be important for him to include in that essay? What makes that information important?
- Regardless of what you wrote in #1, Simba decides to write his paper with the thesis “My summer break was the worst experience of my life.” How would you connect the piece of information you chose in #1 to this thesis?
Scenario 2:
Jim is a salesman. He is the second-highest selling salesman in his office, behind his coworker Dwight. He thinks Dwight is a stick in the mud. He is in love with his other coworker, Pam. Pam is engaged to another coworker, Roy, and when Jim tells her his feelings she tells him she is still going to marry Roy, breaking his heart. Jim takes a transfer to another office. The transfer comes with a promotion and a pay raise. The transfer also means that he is no longer working with either Pam or Dwight, and that he has a new boss, Josh, who is much more successful than his old boss, Michael.
Human Resources asks Jim to write something about why he took the transfer and what he hopes to get out of it.
- Which piece of information about his transfer do you think is most important for Jim to center his response on, and why?
- What is one piece of additional information about Jim, his coworkers, his work, or anything else that is not present in the description above that you think might be important to include in this response? What makes that information important?
- Regardless of what you wrote in #1, Jim decides to write to HR with the thesis “I took this transfer in order to further my career in this company and become a better salesman.” How would you connect the piece of information you chose in #1 to this thesis?
Scenario 3:
Anne is a nurse in a local hospital. Her boyfriend, Andy, is unemployed. When Andy was out walking by their home, he fell into a large pit in a local park. Anne met a local parks official, Leslie, and became friends with her. Anne and Andy broke up. Andy is still staying on her couch because he does not have the money to move out. Anne’s work is starting to suffer from the stress.
Leslie asks Anne to write a position paper arguing that the pit in the park should be fixed.
- Which piece of information about her experience do you think is most important for Anne to center her response on, and why?
- What is one piece of additional information about Anne, her experience, the pit, or anything else that is not present in the description above that you think might be important to include in this response? What makes that information important?
- Regardless of what you wrote in #1, Anne decides to write on the thesis “the pit in the park is a menace, and needs to be filled in.” How would you connect the piece of information you chose in #1 to this thesis?
Rubric
| Category | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory (see feedback comments for details for revision) |
| On Time | Turned in by August 28 at 12pm | Not turned in on time (must revise in the next 2 weeks if so) |
| Clarity | It is easy to determine what you mean and why | Some of what you wrote is unclear or difficult to read |
| Prioritizing | You correctly identify which information should be prioritized and explain your reasons | The information you identified does not seem important, or you did not explain why it is so |
| Connecting to Thesis | You clearly identify how you would connect the prioritized information to the given thesis | It is difficult to tell how you think the information you chose would fit into this thesis, or you changed the thesis |
| Establishing Context | You correctly identify information that would be needed to provide context and explain why it is needed | You either did not identify what information might be important, or it is unclear how that would contribute to the response |
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