The Essay Prompt
Is Anyon right to claim that a school’s socio-economic class determines the type of instruction students receive?  I want you to find out by analyzing and discussing  Mike Rose’s experiences with teachers described in “I Just Wanna Be Average” and your own school experiences with at least two instructors you have had.  In this essay, you will analyze these teachers using Anyon’s categories as explained in “The Hidden Curriculum.”  What does your analysis uncover?  Your thesis statement should explicitly answer the question I’ve highlighted above.

Tips:
Read and re-read “I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose.  Then think about how his educational experiences confirm but also challenge Anyon’s ideas.  Consider this: What was the  socio-economic status of Mike Rose’s high school? Do all the teaching styles of Rose’s instructors exemplify one particular economic class of school Anyon describes in her essay?  Do the same with your educational experiences–where was your school located?  Was there a teacher in your experience with a working class approach?  A middle class or affluent professional or executive elite approach?

Guidelines:
Clear thesis as last sentence of first paragraph

• Clear thesis as last sentence of first paragraph
• Follow paragraph outline given in the module
• Subsequent paragraphs must open with topic sentences
• Follow template for introductory paragraph
• Follow template for body paragraphs
• Cite sufficient evidence from both texts
• Cite relevant community details where your high school was located from http://www.city-data.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (median income, types of occupations, etc.)
• Use a formal academic tone
• Adhere to MLA style/conventions for format, in text citations and works cited page (Review The Pocket Style Manual.)
• Length: 5-7 pages long; attach a list of Works Cited

Rubric

Essay 2 on EducationEssay 2 on EducationCriteriaRatingsPtsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction/ThesisExceeds: Intro engages reader, introduces texts and authors, and ends with a thesis that clearly takes a position regarding the accuracy of Anyon’s claim based on the analysis of Rose’s and the writer’s own personal experiences. Thesis exhibits analytical thinking and complexity.20.0 ptsMeets: Intro introduces texts and authors and leads reader to the thesis; thesis is clearly stated and contains a position and a rationale but one or the other may not be effective OR thesis focuses on Rose and forgets to make a link to personal experiences.17.0 ptsNeeds Improvement: Intro leads to thesis; thesis lacks clarity and analytical thinking; texts and authors may be named. Template for intro paragraph may not have been followed and some elements are missing.15.0 ptsDoes Not Meet: Intro is underdeveloped and the thesis may be missing. Authors, texts and issues not referenced.0.0 pts20.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEvidence/AnalysisExceeds: Student has carefully selected the best evidence and passages are contextualized and smoothly integrated using signal phrases. Cited passages are rigorously interpreted and the interpretations are insightful.25.0 ptsMeets:

May offer an uneven analysis. Student may offer sufficient evidence but not the strongest evidence. Student offers commentary but it is not consistently insightful or sometimes absent. Perhaps evidence is provided for some subpoints but not for others. Cited passages may be inconsistently integrated.21.0 ptsNeeds Improvement: Some passages may be cited but are not smoothly integrated. And/or student may offer evidence but commentary lacks insight and is mostly obvious or trite. And/or student does not offers sufficient textual evidence. Some cited passages may not support the thesis or the topic sentence. Citation from City-data.com may be missing.19.0 ptsDoes Not Meet: Very little evidence is provided.0.0 pts25.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOrganizationOrganization Exceeds: Student follows the paragraph outline given in the modules. Each paragraph opens with a topic sentence that indicates what the paragraph will prove and relates back to thesis. Thoughtful conclusion.25.0 ptsMeets: Student follows the paragraph outline but some paragraphs may lack topic sentences or some topic sentences do not relate to the thesis. Adequate conclusion.21.0 ptsNeeds Improvement: Student follows paragraph outline but too many paragraphs lack adequate or focused topic sentences. May have an inadequate conclusion.18.0 ptsDoes Not Meet: Student does not follow the paragraph outline given in the module for this assignment.0.0 pts25.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeStyle, Grammar, Mechanics, and SpellingExceeds: Formal tone is maintained throughout the paper.There are few or no errors in mechanics, usage, grammar or spelling.20.0 ptsMeets: Formal tone for the most part. There are errors in mechanics, usage, grammar, or spelling.17.0 ptsNeeds Improvement: May use an informal tone in some places. There are several errors in mechanics, usage, grammar, or spelling.15.0 ptsDoes Not Meet: May use an informal tone. There are many serious errors in mechanics, usage, grammar and spelling.0.0 pts20.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMLA FormatExceeds: Student uses MLA format correctly and cites all quoted passages correctly. In addition, the entries on the Works Cited page are formatted correctly.10.0 ptsMeets: Student uses MLA correclty most of the time; cites all quoted passages correctly. Works cited page is, for the most part, formatted correctly.8.0 ptsNeeds Improvement: Some effort made to follow MLA guidelines but there are numerous errors either with the paper’s format, or there are numerous errors on the Works Cited page.6.0 ptsDoes Not Meet: Student does not use correct MLA format and/or does not cite quoted passages; there may be evidence of plagiarism. Works Cited page has numerous errors or no Works Cited page is included.0.0 pts10.0 pts
Total Points: 100.0PreviousNext